Remote IP Phones 1

[CTCINY]

I have a BCM 400 R4.0. I have 4 remote IP phones and 5 internal IP Phones. The remote IP phones can talk to each other fine, All IP phones can talk to a digital station fine but the internal IP phones and remote IP phones cannot talk to each other. Any ideas?? FYI, the remote phones are connecting to LAN 2 (public network) and internal IP phones are connecting to LAN 1 (private Network). (I know , I know but lets not open that VPN versus public can of worms again. I always use VPN when I am working on someone else's site, but my boss wants to use the resources available to us at our site, blah blah)

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

 

[MagnaRGP]

If the remote IP phones are hanging on the public internet, then follow the media path. The public IP phones do not know how to find a non-routable IP address (192.168.X.X or 10.X.X.X or 172.16-32.X.X) and therefore will never be able to have a conversation without VPN

 

[CTCINY]

OK So there is no way to setup routing within the BCM to have calls coming from Lan 2 route to LAN 1?? Just want to make sure

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

 

[MagnaRGP]

It has nothing to do with the BCM. If a remote set at public IP 47.200.54.29 (random IP) want's to have a discussion with at set which has IP 192.168.4.215 (random private IP) it cannot happen as the Internet does not know how to route the packet.

Private IP addresses are just that -- PRIVATE. They are not routable through any public device. This is a basic IP concept.

This is why you use a VPN. Then you can have a set at private IP 172.19.243.22 (random) speak with another set at private IP 10.4.32.67 (random) even though the traffic traverses the public internet. The public internet never sees those IP's because they are encapsulated in another IP protocol (IPSec or PPTP) with public IP source and destinations.

Thus ends part 2 of my treatise as to why you need VPN for remote IP telephony.

*steps off soapbox*

 

[CTCINY]

Thanks Magna. I'm kind of new to the IP concepts and that helps alot.

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.

 

[MagnaRGP]

You're welcome.

IP telephony is not the same as traditional telephony. Different rules, different variables, different media, same net result.