Looking for a new phone system.

[Albion]

My company is in the market for a new phone system. They are currently looking at Analog solutions, but I thought maybe a VOIP solution might be a better choice. Can someone point me to place that would explain in detail what hardware and software would be needed to do an entire phone system in VOIP?

Thanks much.

-Al

 

[senk1s]

i dont think there are any more analog phone systems anymore

you are looking at 4 choices digital-traditional / IP / server based/ hosted

if you need a pure IP solution:
you need an IP switch(nortel bcm/ succession avaya multivantage,ip office cisco CM, ...) almost all the players have an IP solutions
you need QoS enabled LAN - someone(vendor) must certify the network as VoIP capable
and IP phones

try the general telephony discussion forum ...

 

[gbaughma]

You may want to look at NEC; it will support Analog, Digital (DTerm), as well as IP Phones. Very scalable, all digital packet-switching.

OK, maybe I'm a little biased since I just got back from a 2-week course in the NEC 2400... but I was *very* impressed by the system.

I was told by NEC that there are TOWNS that use a 2400 as their CO.



Just my $0.02

"In order to start solving a problem, one must first identify its owner." --Me
--Greg

 

[gbaughma]

Oh, the other cool part is that the NEC DTerm phones don't *require* POE to operate (they can use a wall-wart)... so you wouldn't have to update your entire infrastructure to do VOIP; you have a nice migration path.



Just my $0.02

"In order to start solving a problem, one must first identify its owner." --Me
--Greg

 

[computerhighguy]

Depending on features, you may already have everything you need to inplement a Cisco Callmanager express solution.

Either way, stay away from PBX that does not have IP as the main solution. Here is an example why.

We recently outsourced a number of jobs to a foreign country. To extend my PBX was as simple as bringing up a VPN solution over the web (OK it was a little more complicated, but no much). I configured thier DHCP server and sent them some Cisco 7960 phones. They where registered, had US phone numbers and sounded great over an infrastructure that had to be in place anyway. You are no longer resctricted by the distance a cable can go to the PBX, but rather by round trip packet time (and a few other things). If you already have a Cisco infrastructure, then you probably already have most of what you need.


It is what it is!!
__________________________________
A+, Net+, I-Net+, Certified Web Master, MCP, MCSA, MCSE, CCNA, CCDA, and few others (I got bored one day)

 

[BuckWeet]

If you want a solution that you can count on 100% of the time, and don't want to deal with any fuss, stick with a traditional TDM digital solution..


BuckWeet

 

[andrewcccc]

In fact ,the ccm and cisco ip phone are very expensive.
you can choose other voip device,such as the voip gateway of mapoo in China.
The homepage of the company is

http://www.maipu.com.

The voip gateway of mapoo supports E1(pri/r2) and analog line and other truck interface.
Many company use the voip gateway of mapoo

 

[ccmuser]

Really? CCM express is a 700 dollar list option for phones...how much cheaper can your MAIPU be?

 

[computerhighguy]

I agree with cmmuser. And I can get SP 12+ phones for less than 40 bucks each. Not the best phone, but will work just fine. You can find 7960s for 330 bucks all day long. And there are plenty of phones in between. You really cannot beat the price and reliability.


It is what it is!!
__________________________________
A+, Net+, I-Net+, Certified Web Master, MCP, MCSA, MCSE, CCNA, CCDA, and few others (I got bored one day)

 

[ccmuser]

Buckwheet...I did not know that cisco routers are known for hardware failure.

 

[BuckWeet]

Guess you haven't dealt with cisco IOS bugs either..

and if you read what I said, I didn't push him away from any kind of IP solution.. I just said if you didn't want to deal with any hastles, go with a traditional TDM solution..

 

[ccmuser]

If you don't want to deal with hassles go with TDM...
Are you really trying to tell us that is not pushing him away from VOIP?

Are you really claiming that Cisco IOS is unstable?

 

[BuckWeet]

Yes it can be unstable, for example, if his client PC's get infected with a trojan and start generating traffic, that could possibly take down the whole network, leaving no data, no voice, etc...

If his network is properly setup and taken care of 100% of the time, it most likely won't happen, but there is that remote chance that it can happen.. Been there, done that with many of my customers..

So, as I said, if you don't want to deal with hastles, go with a TDM solution.

And as for IOS, is it unstable, not really. Is it buggy? you better believe it is...


BuckWeet

 

[ccmuser]

buckwheat try access lists.. they are amazing things!!!!

 

[BuckWeet]

Good point, what about if this person doesn't have someone who is capable of administering their own network? What about if they have 20 PC's cranking out thousands of packets a second.. That will kill any small time router they would implement..

 

[ccmuser]

VOIP in NOT meant for small time shops that do not have a trained staff.. I totally agree with that statement 100 percent go centrex or with a partner or something along those lines.. no argument at all on that point

The problem is people are blaming VOIP as a technology for failures that are implementation based!!!

 

[gbaughma]

Agreed.

VOIP isn't something that a high school hacker goes in and installs. Unless you have a good understanding of QOS, and exactly what is going on behind the scenes, partner up with someone for a VOIP solution.

Once configured and installed, it works very well; but there's a couple of things that are key to it working properly:

1) Overall network speed
2) QOS (Quality of Service) - which is the ability for your switch to say "This packet (voice) is more important than this packet (getting da porn from the net)

There are other considerations as well. On our system here, we are running gigabit to servers and workstations; however the pass-through port on our VOIP terminals only did 100-base. Ooops.



Just my $0.02

"In order to start solving a problem, one must first identify its owner." --Me
--Greg

 

[Albion]

The problem we have is that our current system doesn't have voice mail, and our carrier told us that it would cost us around $25000 just to add voice mail to it. I figure I could easily spend less then that much on a new VOIP system that would have a hundred more features.

So basically you're all saying that if I do do it I should make sure Voice is on a seperate infrastructure then our standard network?

-Al

 

[BuckWeet]

Albion, it depends

if you keep your pc's on the network up to date, virus def wise, etc..

if you have knowledge of how a network works, and how to troubleshoot it, sure go for a VoIP based system..


if you don't, then I would just go with a TDM based solution...

How many users are you talking about? 5, 10 ,15 20, more than 100????

BuckWeet

 

[computerhighguy]

Buckweet, If that is a concern, then seperate out your voice and data on physically seperate networks. Don't tie them together. I know that this is typically not possible on super large networks, but most companies I deal with, this is not a problem. Then no matter what happens to the data side, the voice side is not effected. At least while in the building.

Albion,
If you are not willing to dedicate some time everyweek to your phone system, then a server based phone system is not for you. Cisco releases OS updates about 2 times a month. Although not totally critical to install immediately, they must be installed to patch the Windows 2000 OS that CCM is installed on. With the proper CCM architecture, this is not a problem since you can typicaly reboot a server without effecting phone service. Server based phone system, to me, are very cool. I love the technology, the extensability and just the thought of being able to get my e-mail and voice mail in one place. The technology is still young, but every magazine and consulting company is saying that this is the way of the future. I have to agree. The biggest advantage to VoIP is its extensabilty. You can extend your phone system reliably to anywhere in the world with a simple VPN (OK, it may take a bit more, but not much more). You your business already has Cisco guys in house, then they can be trained very easily to run the phone system. Most of them would be happy to do it. Data is data. Buckweet would probably disagree with me on this, but it all follows the same physics. If you already have a Cisco infrastructure, then I would go with a Cisco phone system. If you already have VPN's to your different sites, I would go with a Cisco phone system (with a proper impact analysis). If you are looking for a phone system that is reliable (assuming your network infrastrucutre is reliable) and will help your resume, then Cisco is the way to go. If you job depends on the success of this project and money is not a factor, then go with e TDM. It will guarantee a successful infrastructure deplyement since every phone has to physically be connected to the phone sytems (or at least some part).

I replaced a Telrad PBX that my company has easily spent $500,000 over the last 6 years. It cost me less that $50,000 to replace it. Granted I did all the work and we already had the infrastructure. I was able to extend it to my Germany office (I am in the US), by simply sending them phones. They plugged them in and where on our phone system. I could even give them US phone numbers. I am working to do the same thing to a new office in India. You could swear they where in the next room. Management? I don't have to get out of my chair to manage this phone system. My telrad had no remote management capabilities without a huge upgrade (something like $20,000) and had about half the features.

Cisco Callmanager is typically cheaper than a TDM even if you don't have the infrascture in place. By the way, I bought most of my hardware off of ebay. Saves a lot of money and makes is more cheap.


It is what it is!!
__________________________________
A+, Net+, I-Net+, Certified Web Master, MCP, MCSA, MCSE, CCNA, CCDA, and few others (I got bored one day)