Anyone have a Cisco contact (VoIP phones)?

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zacdl

[H]ard|Gawd
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Feb 12, 2007
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Basically I need to talk with someone (we could even discuss it here if you want) about VoIP phones for Cisco.

I think I can run them no problem internally- how they are going to work in remote offices as well as connect to the rest of the world is what I am unsure of (ideally I want some sort of online service- no phone company at all. something like vonage- entirely through the internet).

Was wondering if any of you had a Cisco contact as I am just unable to get ahold of anyone (They said they would call back- but never have...).

Thanks!
 
Cisco phones work well with SIP through a firewall ( assuming both sides are setup correctly. SIP is a "fun" protocol ) ( for very small values of "fun" ).

What protocol were you thinking of using?
 
I have not the slightest idea ;)
I don't know what my options are (Which is what I was hoping to talk with the rep about).

Is it possible to run it all through the internet in some way (IE- pay an online company to provide the phone connectivity to the outside world)?
 
What does Cisco support as a connection?
Like I said- it would be very nice for everything to just run out the modem (to the Internet) rather than having to go through ANY phone equipment at all (thus eliminating the phone company).
 
There's two main options for Cisco VoIP:

CallManager Express
Max support 240 phones on the 3845 platform

CallManager
Supports thousands of phones depending on the server configuration

Both of these can do H.323 or SIP trunking to an IP service provider, such a CBeyond or BroadVoice (think Vonage).
 
Tacman said:
I have a few contacts for voip, pm me if your in the great lakes region.
Click to expand...
Not in that region- too bad :(

Arch said:
There's two main options for Cisco VoIP:

CallManager Express
Max support 240 phones on the 3845 platform

CallManager
Supports thousands of phones depending on the server configuration

Both of these can do H.323 or SIP trunking to an IP service provider, such a CBeyond or BroadVoice (think Vonage).
Click to expand...
Express should work...
CBeyond and BoardVoice seems to be exactly what I want. That gets the main office out on the Internet- now how do I setup our terminals to connect to our main office? Do they need servers as well?
 
How would you connect remote phones to the main office?

With CME you're going to need a WAN or a point to point VPN between sites. Remote phones would register to the central site with no server required at the remote end. However, if connectivity between the remote site and main site is interrupted the phones will no longer work at the remote location.

With CCM you would also connect over the WAN or a point to point VPN. However, you could use SRST at the remote sites so that in the event of a WAN outage, the remote phones would fail over to a locally installed router which would (typicall) has some basic telephony connectivity to maintain things like 911 dialing.
 
Does CME have support for remote locations?

Like if I have CME running at the remote locations as well (on another server)- would it be possible to just say "here is the IP of the central server" and it manage the connections itself?

I guess another question: Can CME run on *nix? Be nice just to have a dedicated server to run that on (And *nix is so cheap). Also, this WILL allow us to keep all our old phone numbers, correct?

Each remote office has cell phones- so 911 functionality isn't a huge issue. However, keeping the phone running if there is an internet problem is. What kind of failover methods are there?
 
CallManager Express runs on a Cisco router, it isn't a software package you can load on any old server.

Its supports remote locations only in the fashion I mentioned above. Remote phones can register to the central CallManager Express router, but if there's an interruption of service, the phone will not work.
 
What software is running on the central server then? Anything?
Is the CME just for remote locations? In other words- I need one at each remote location?
 
CallManager Express doesn't run on a server. There is no server. Its software that runs on a router. So, you would have a centralized router, where in CallManager Express would be running.

You would only need a VPN capable router at the remote sites.
 
Arch said:
CallManager Express doesn't run on a server. There is no server. Its software that runs on a router. So, you would have a centralized router, where in CallManager Express would be running.

You would only need a VPN capable router at the remote sites.
Click to expand...

So does each phone need to be directly connected to this router? I hope not.

If I only need a VPN capable router at remote sites- how do the phones use it? Don't they have to have some sort of knowledge where the CME is at?
 
I use a cisco phone at home with SIP... has its own external number for the outside world to call in, a master account that has all outgoing calls to none SIP phones billed to and also a set of SIP phones in work that I can call for free.

it gives me the ability to have a phone without renting phone lines etc.

All I have to do is plug it into an RJ45 on the wall or into a switch.

I am now setting up an Asterisk server to do more tests.

While we are on the Subject I would like to add a logo to my Cisco phone but do not have the small software package (bmp2logo.exe) . Is there anywhere I can download it for free or is it a subscription only prog?

also I need cfgfmt.exe
 
zacdl said:
So does each phone need to be directly connected to this router? I hope not.

If I only need a VPN capable router at remote sites- how do the phones use it? Don't they have to have some sort of knowledge where the CME is at?
Click to expand...


The phones do not all have to be plugged into the router, they can be plugged into a switch that is plugged into the router.

The phones on the VPN learn of the CME through the configuration they download via tftp. The TFTP address is learned through DHCP option 150.
 
I use voiptalk.org its a free SIP service, you just pay for your outgoing none SIP calls
 
Shoot me a PM with your specific questions.

I am a Cisco Certified IP Telephony Design Specialist and do this on a daily basis.
 
SWEETNESS! Too bad I leave on a trip tomorrow ;) Will PM you! Thanks.
 
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