Cisco VoIP setup

[Jaffa Cakes!]

Hi guys,

Moving our crappy old NEC phone system to something new very soon and looking for some help...

My requirements are x2 PSTN lines (we're UK based), 6 IP phone extensions, a power failure phone, voicemail for these extensions, and a menu (1 to go to a voicemail box, 2 to go to reception, 3 for IT sort of thing).

Anyone got any ideas on hardware, modules, and which IOS version I need? Config isn't a problem, I've never had to purchase the hardware or licensing before though.

If we go router based I'd like to still use it as a router for NAT etc, but we don't push much internet traffic (8mbps ish). If you think Cisco isn't necessarily the answer please do recommend something else! Our budget is going to be a few thousand.

Many thanks

 

[shade91]

What exactly do you have there now? That'd help to better understand your existing environment when recommending something.

 

[Jaffa Cakes!]

What exactly do you have there now? That'd help to better understand your existing environment when recommending something.

It's a NEC PBX, about 12 years old without necessary modules for stuff like IP or menus. The staff have been asking for things like voicemail, the menu system, and maybe even voicemail to email if possible (although not a huge loss) for a long time now.

We're redoing our core network so now's the time to get the phones done otherwise the money will be taken away again for the next few years!

 

[XOR != OR]

Such a small environment, I'd go with asterisk + POE switch + ATA + a beefy UPS + a "normal" phone for severe outages.

It's simple, it's cheap, it's reliable and it's insanely configurable.

 

[Jaffa Cakes!]

I don't want something that involves a server or some kind of computer since there wont be an easily available on site tech. I'd rather have the stability, support and "set and forget" of some kind of appliance.

 

[XOR != OR]

I don't want something that involves a server or some kind of computer since there wont be an easily available on site tech. I'd rather have the stability, support and "set and forget" of some kind of appliance.

Ya, I can appreciate that. Although I have many installations out there and I haven't had any real issues with reliability, support can be a challenge. Not because it's difficult ( ssh to the right port, viola; you're in ), but because linux/asterisk admins are in short supply in the area.

Heck, most places I haven't stepped foot in since the original installation. There's no need.

 

[shade91]

Such a small environment, I'd go with asterisk + POE switch + ATA + a beefy UPS + a "normal" phone for severe outages.

It's simple, it's cheap, it's reliable and it's insanely configurable.

Hosted PBX > that

 

[Red Squirrel]

Most "appliances" are basically just a server anyway.

We had a F3 firewall/VPN appliance that served an entire hospital, when it was taken out of service we opened it for fun, and there was an IDE seagate hard drive in there. Just one. No raid or anything. That thing could have failed at any given time and all the config and everything would have been lost not to mention the downtime while we try to source out an IDE drive.

Sometimes a server built with redundancy in mind is better than an appliance.

Dual PSU + raid, and backups of course.

Hosted PBX / Centrex is always an option too, but then there's a monthly cost.

 

[shade91]

Hosted PBX / Centrex is always an option too, but then there's a monthly cost.

The monthly cost is far better than:

• Managing a vendor relationship with a professional services company - there's a lot out there and most of them stink at what they do.
• Maintaining the server hardware
• Paying for hardware support of the hardware (in event of component failure)
• Maintaining power and power backup for that hardware
• Maintaining cooling for that hardware
• Finding a vendor to support it if your professional services partner goes out of business.
• Maintaining the software and keeping it up to date and secure
• Factoring this in to your business continuity/disaster recovery plan

This is why I always recommended hosted platforms of commodity services for smaller businesses. They never have the requirements that larger more sophisticated shops do. Email? Phone system? File sharing? CRM? ERP? Marketing? Accounting? HRIS? Single sign-on with multi-factor authentication so you only use one ID with a 2nd factor to secure your access across all these apps? Yes, outsource it all if you're a small fry. We're in the process of dumping our complex ADFS infrastructure and outsourcing our SSO needs though we have thousands upon thousands of users. Something around 7 or 8 virtual servers and complex F5 rules replaced by an AWS-hosted SaaS with an agent that we install on our DCs.

 

[wizdum]

I don't want something that involves a server or some kind of computer since there wont be an easily available on site tech. I'd rather have the stability, support and "set and forget" of some kind of appliance.

We're currently in the process of replacing our Avaya system with an Asterisk based Elastix system (http://www.elastix.org/). You can get hardware or software appliances, but we opted to use our own hardware with their installer (Its basically just CentOS). The install process took about 25 minutes. Once installed the interface is really nice, and there are plenty of online resources for help with configuration. They offer a few different support packages, and have a list of verified compatible hardware.

So far everyone has been blown away with the sound quality and price of Elastix with YeaLink phones.

 

[XOR != OR]

Hosted PBX > that

I don't like transporting voice over the internet. That's my only hangup with hosted services. Too many things can go wrong with it, too many variables that I don't control.

Otherwise, it's not a bad idea.

 

[shade91]

I don't like transporting voice over the internet. That's my only hangup with hosted services. Too many things can go wrong with it, too many variables that I don't control.

Otherwise, it's not a bad idea.

In 90-95% of my cases it has worked out successfully though I make sure to set expectations with the customer.

 

[Jaffa Cakes!]

I'm not going to be using the internet for our voice, it's a pretty rural place so our connection isn't fantastic (4 bonded ADSL gives us ~8Mbps down) and it's already hitting it's capacity, hence our 2 POTS phone lines.

The Elastix appliances look like a very easy solution for this (although these are just PC hardware), but does anyone know how they handle power failure? We need a usable phone in the event of a total power outage. At the moment our PBX switches to a phone we have stashed in a cupboard as soon as the power's gone.

I might just factor in a UPS for our comms cab at this rate, too.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Oh definitely get a UPS. This goes for anything critical really especially in a business setting. It's very hard on equipment when it gets badly shut down. Depending on the uptime you require I'd even suggest an inverter charger with a couple 100AH batteries. Just read up on proper hydrogen venting and other safety stuff if you take that route.

A rackmount UPS with extended run pack may work too and will be simpler in terms of safety and setup. Depends how much you want to spend though.

 

[dave99]

I'd definitely put a ups on it, be foolish not to. For a backup phone, just wire a separate jack, or use a splitter, and plug your analog phone into that when the powers out.

 

[Jaffa Cakes!]

I'd definitely put a ups on it, be foolish not to. For a backup phone, just wire a separate jack, or use a splitter, and plug your analog phone into that when the powers out.

D'oh! Totally forgot we could do this. Think this is going to be the way forward, far cheaper than the Cisco route.

Comms UPS has been on the cards for a while anyway, it's just because the comms stuff is away from our servers.

 

[XOR != OR]

In 90-95% of my cases it has worked out successfully though I make sure to set expectations with the customer.

Ya, that'd be the key.

OP: Glad you found something that'll work for you. You'll really appreciate avoiding cisco on this, trust me.