Using analog phones/faxes/etc on IP

[jraykc]

Hi,

We're moving to a new building and we have numerous analog devices (conference phones, fax machines, parking lot call boxes, etc).
The issue is that the new building is not wired for analog lines.

Does anyone know of any converter boxes or another solution that would allow us to use our current analog equipment?

Thanks.

 

[osheros]

If you don't have too many analog devices, it might just be easiest to get a patch panel that breaks telco into 24 RJ45 jacks (each pair on pins 4/5) and then patch through spare data backbone copper to each closet and then from the closet to each location needing analog. That assumes you have sufficient copper backbone and extra data jacks you can repurpose into voice jacks.

Two more options:

OPTION 1:
If you have a SIP environment (i.e. Session Manager or SES), you can use SIP ATA boxes. My fav right now is the Grandstream HT701 (or the old HT286). They're cheap, reasonably easy to configure, and speak G.711, G.729, G.729 and T.38 (for fax). You can deliver fax to them via either G.711 or over T.38. You need to be careful using T.38 if the call is coming from a trunk connected to Communication Manager (i.e. in/out via a CM connected PRI or CO trunk). Older firmware MEDPRO and gateways VoIP engines have issues with one-way audio on conferenced calls if the ip-codec set uses T.38 for fax relay. Test it or set fax relay to none and let the ATA use G.711 instead. On a properly QoS'd network, that should work fairly well for fax. If the calls in/out are via a SIP trunk provider, the call won't touch CM anyway and it won't matter. For these SIP ATA adapters you do not need to link the Session Manager user account for each of these endpoints to CM sequences (i.e. CM doesn't need to provide features to these boxes unless you care about COS/COR/coverage, which you might for some of them).

OPTION 2:
If you don't have SIP, you can use a multi-port media gateway such as the AudioCodes M1000, equipped with a PRI card. Connect the PRI card to your PBX. The AudioCodes gateway can act as a SIP proxy and registrar for the Grandstream HT701 or HT286 boxes (or AudioCodes's smaller MP201 gateway, which is a similar to the Granstream models I mentioned but more expensive). Then you just have setup UDP on the PBX to flow calls for those analog extension to the AudioCodes PRI.

Good luck.

-Sam

 

[sekitori]

We use audiocodes gateways for this purpose - works well....
available from two ports per device (MP-112)

regards,
Sekitori