Nortel 1230 Keeps dropping network connection.

[LugNut29]

We just got in some Nortel 1230 phones and after configuring them at full DHCP they connect. But, about an hour or so after they connect, they lose the connection and display "Server Unreachable". We have 1120E phones and they work just fine without losing connectivity. I checked to see how many phones were on each of our switches and they are about half/half. Can anyone help?

Thanks,

Tom

 

[bluemr2]

What type and release BCM? 1200's arent supported on BCM400

 

[fireeater]

1230 only work on bcm 50 and cs1000

HALLOWED ARE THE ORI

mike

http://www.ics-on.ca

 

[gberger]

And Bcm450 as well.

 

[cook1082]

BCM 50 rel 2-3 only not rel 1.

 

[gwebster]

IP Phone 1200-series is supported on:
- BCM 50 3.0 or later
- BCM 450 1.0 or later
- CS 1000 5.5 or later

 

[LugNut29]

We are using BCM50e version 6.0.2.05.237.

 

[LugNut29]

Update:

I upgraded the firmware and still does the same thing? I'm lost on this one.

Tom

 

[Khosher]

Are you using POE from your switches or external PSUs ?

If using POE what switches are you using ?

 

[LugNut29]

Yes, we are using POE switches. We are using two 3560 POE 48 port switches.

Tom

 

[LugNut29]

Update:

I logged into the EM and discovered this alarm:

"Tue Mar 10 10:12:19 EDT 2009 false 50115 major TERM.(0025, :0002): No public media address available for IP set at XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX:51050 systemId=BCM;entityId=bcmm50r3;entitySubId=utps"

This came up after I plugged one of the 1230's into the nework. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Tom

 

[Khosher]

Not too sure on that exact alarm as I haven't encountered it myself. I would start by using a local PSU and pluging the phone directly to one of the LAN ports on the BCM. Also are I would try configure the phone with a static IP address as you may be having DHCP issues. What are you using for DHCP ? The BCM router ?

 

[gm85]

I've gotten this message in the past. It usually indicates that something is blocking the phones and communicating with each other (this usually happens when the phone is able to send commands to the BCM, yet the BCM is unable to transmit commands back).

This could be caused by congestion.
How is your network built? is it a flat network, or are you using VLANS/Subnets?
Are the 1230s on the same network as the 1120e's?
Do you have all the phones on one switch or are they spread across both (for instance are the 1120's pluged into Switch A and 1230s plugged into Switch B)?
Which Switch is the BCM attached to?
Do you happen to know if you have QoS enabled on the switches?

Voice/Call Signaling protocols are very picky and do not work well on a network that may be congested (I think it may be a congestion issue since you mention they work for an hour and then stop..... which means they were able to connect, so there's probably not a firewall or ACL in place to block them)

If you're able to answer some of these questions, we might be able to do some Process of Elimination to determine what the problem is.

 

[LugNut29]

The BCM is on a flat network. All of the phones (i.e. 1120e's and 1230's) are on the the same network and spread acrossed the two switches. There are both kinds of phones on both switches.

The BCM is attatched to our top switch and I not sure if QoS is enabled or not, but I will find out.

Thanks,

Tom

 

[LugNut29]

The QoS is not enabled and we will not need it enabled, because we have such small campus.

 

[gm85]

Well I haven't experienced this before. I agree that for a network that size, QoS isn't necessary (especially if the 1120s are fine).

This is just a guess, but it sounds like there is something caused by the phone's firmware, the link, or both. There COULD be something causing the link to be lost (such as a protocol mismatch between the switch and phone).

Do the phones stay in a "Server Unreachable" state, or do they eventually reconnect?

Have you checked the switch logs at the time a phone loses connectivity? Do the phone ports have spanning-tree portfast enabled? (this shortens the spanning-tree process, so the port is available to the phone sooner when the link is established).

 

[dibthree]

Even on a small network you should enable QOS and put your phones on their own VLAN. If you are not doing any kind of shaping it only takes one user going to netflix (or similar) to cause you grief.