To upgrade or not to upgrade!

[Sarlen]

My issue is, I found out I am 2 versions behind on my IP Office (currently 3.1) and looking to upgrade to the 4.0. I am NOT a PBX admin at all; basically I am the I.T. jack-of-all-trades. I do have extensive experience with a Nortel Option 51 and 11’s but the Avaya is by far a different animal.
The question is, is the upgrade easy enough for a novice to handle or do I call in a contractor to do it? I read the documentation and it doesn't sound hard to do but it doesn't list any of the hidden issues I'm sure you guys have come across.

 

[mmy1981]

Upgrading isn't hard to do. Mind that the LCR is different. It's ARS now. So make sure you have documentation about how to route your calls to the right line.

I opened a topic about this (prefix 0, dial tone and ARS). You'll find it with the search function. If not, I'll try to search the topic.

But do you really need to upgrade? If the PBX is at your office and works fine, is there a need to upgrade?

 

[qtelcom]

I tried the search function, but I always get 0 results no matter what I type in the search box. Wierd...

 

[sizbut]

STOP: Again before you kill a whole system. Did reading the documentation include reading the Technical Bulletins for the IP Office software releases between 3.1 and the current 4.0. Yes: Fundamentally the upgrade process is easy but the gotchas are in those 80 page Tecnical Bulletins for each release.

And why upgrade. Unless there is a specific reason to do it why bother. Customers with phone lines are just as pissed off as customers without their PC's, sometimes more.

 

[Sarlen]

I was told the management features with 4.0 are worth the upgrade, easier for a novice to understand/use. Does that make it worth it? I don't know, I guess that depends on the possible problems with the upgrade.

 

[jml2665]

well I would pay a professional, especially if moving up to 4.0. They will know the gotchas and the changes already mentioned above. but the biggest thing I would say is WAIT, wait till the next release (or even the next one after that) as today's 4.0 is still the first iteration and maint releases are going to fix a lot of things in this first and second updates.

 

[sizbut]

Who's hanging on the other end of this system, ie. how valuable are phone calls to the business.

If you want to study the newer Manager you can download an IP Office 3.2 or 4.0 Administration Applications CD, install on a PC other than you existing Manager and enjoy.

The newer Manager has a features to create new configurations offline so you can study all the settings without having to connect to a box.

In theory the newer Manager can be used to manage your existing IP Office 3.1 system without having to upgrade the IP Office - though depending on who you talk to the jury is still out on this backwards compatibility feature.

And having to explain all this definately says go to the support.avaya.com website or marketingtools.avaya.com/knowledgebase and get hold of the IP Office 3.2 Manager application manuals. The first 3 chapters explain all the new Manager bits.

 

[aarenot]

Hey Sarlen,
In response to your post, and questions I have a few in order to answer yours.

1) Is there something that does not work properly in your current version? If so, maybe we can help you fix it.

2) Is there something in one of the other versions feature set that would be of obvious benefit to you? If so, what features, we may be able to tell you if they would perform what you are looking for in improvement, or application. 4.0 does not perform, so forget researching that versions feature set all together, plain and simple.

3) Have you read the GA release, and techtips for the major release version which you want to upgrade through, and or to?

Lastly, if you do decide to do it yourself. Consider scheduling a tech out to do the upgrade in the morning, and do it yourself the night before. Export the call flow MDB file from the VMPRO, and "save as" the CFG file of the IPO. Copy the VM folder in voicemail Pro folder. Note, upgrades mean upgrading the IPO firmware, full admin suite of applications, VMPRO server application, User applications, and this is done by first doing a control panel add/remove programs first, then installing new from the version you are at. If you use CCC, CBC, delta server etc., they will need to be upgraded by the same method. I may have missed somethings since I am doing this from memory from the hundreds of upgrades I have done, and I use notes written on the PDF's outlining the proccess in the GA releases.
That way if you mess it up, in the mroning you have a tech coming to bail you out anyway. Hopefully you get a good tech that can handle this, as many IPO techs seem to have little experience, and their BP's do not invest anything into them for formal training.

A better option in my opinion would be to have a great tech walk you through the proccess the first time you try an upgrade, and then maybe consider trying it yourself next time.

After all, it may seem easy, just like your job may seem easy to others who do not do it all the time. It may sometimes be easy, as your job sometimes is easy, even maybe to a guy who does not do it all the time. I would bet, sometimes your job is not that easy, and you do not usually know it is going to be like that on a day until it is already that way.

Just like you, my pay is not based on the easiest day, and how I deal with those, but on how things turn out when they do not go as the PDF says they should. Or, maybe when we do not interpret the PDF as support says we should, regardless of what it says. I mean if everything went as planned I would work for like 15k less per year.

 

[spridge]

What version of the IP Office are we talking about here