Voip between branches.

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Kroks

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Hi All,,,

I need some help. We have 2 offices, JHB and CPT.
I want to connect the 2 offices using 2 voir routers.
This is purely a single connnection as it will only be used by the IT personnel.
The plan is to have 2 "cheap" routers, both connected to a extension port on either of the switchboards. When you from a extension dial the number of the extension where the 1st router is connected to it answers and in turn picks up the extension on the remote site, giving a dial tone so that you and dial the final extension number.
I have done this years ago as a test, but for the life of me cant remember the equipment we used. This has to be as cost effective as possible as under a certain cost we dont have to go thru the whole 3 quote process.

Any suggestions would be prreciated.

p.s. the network side is not a issue as it will run on a established VPN between the sites.

Thanks

Kroks
 
Stupid question maybe, but why not just use Skype if its only going to be for IT? Is there some specific features you are looking for?
 
It will only be used for IT to do telefonic support for users, I.E. I need to call users in the remote site to provide support after a ticket has been logged. We do use Skype at the moment between IT departments, but Skype is blocked for normal users.
 
Kroks said:
It will only be used for IT to do telefonic support for users, I.E. I need to call users in the remote site to provide support after a ticket has been logged. We do use Skype at the moment between IT departments, but Skype is blocked for normal users.
Click to expand...

Oh right, ok, that makes sense.

What PBX systems are you running at each site? Are they IP based?

I work in the telecomms industry doing exactly what you are looking at, but usually only for very large industry (banks, insurance etc) but I'll try and give you some advice
 
Thanks Sparky,

They are not IP based. I am reading a bit now and it is said by the interwebz that you can use 2 Linksys SPA's to do this.
 
An option is to go with a hosted PBX like from Clearvoice or OfficeConnection? Then all you just need an internet connection and some SIP phones and you're away. This way, folk on the road can even sign in using softphones from a mobile or laptop when out of the office.
 
The hosted PABX thing is not possible at all. The CPT site is on 200 extensions (and still growing). JHB is only about 20 extensions. I need to provide support for the CPT users. I remote desktop in and will generally call them over the phone. I am just trying to eliminate the cost of the call from JHb to CPT.
 
Hi Kroks,
This is a very simple thing to do so i will give you the basics. As you first sugested you could use 2 VoIP routers but as im assuming that you probably have basic routers on the sites anyway so all you need is 2 x ATA (analouge telephone adaptors) these are cheaper than VoIP routers, these can give you a LAN connection to your DSL and FXS analouge to your PBX, how you do the routing on the pbx at each end is up to you, the inbound route could hit an ext, ring group, whatever. The thing to bear in mind is how many concurrent calls you require between the sites, if it is only one then you are home and dry, if two bear in mind this, 1/ the inbound calls will not hunt across the 2 channels in the ATA, 2/ some of the cheaper ATA's ony give you G729 on 1 channel & G711 on the other, so it gets hungry ! If you want more than this then you will require a 'gateway' which normally comes in 4 or 8 channel and will hunt and give you G729 on all. Then all you need is a VoIP provider to give you free or very cheap calls between JHB & CPT. Look at www.whichvoip.co.za most of the providers are there and you can compare services and choose what is best for you. If you let me know how many concurrent calls you require, i can advise you on the hardware that can do the job. Hope this helped, Paul
 
R999.00 per site per month = all equipment, gateway (patton), adsl line rental and access - on network/inter branch calls=17c - local/national calls=34c, mobile=95c - all calls billed per second.

if you are going to supply your own gateway etc it will be a SIP only account, calls are charged at the same rate, but monthly fee is R0.00

both options include CLI, non geographic and geographic numbers - as many as you require.

if you want more details let me know and i will assist you.
 
Last edited:
Kroks said:
The plan is to have 2 "cheap" routers, both connected to a extension port on either of the switchboards. When you from a extension dial the number of the extension where the 1st router is connected to it answers and in turn picks up the extension on the remote site, giving a dial tone so that you and dial the final extension number.
Click to expand...

Hi,

This can easily be done by two Quintum Tenor VoIP Gateways, you can configure Port Mapping which will allow you to achieve exactly what you mentioned.

You can pick dial an extension on your local PBX which in effect will be connected to the VoIP Gateway, the VoIP Gateway will route the call over IP to the remote VoIP Gateway which will be connected to an extension on the remote PBX - providing you with ringback/dial tone from the remote PBX - you can then just dial the extension you wish to reach on the remote PBX.

Inbox me for more info.
 
Kroks there is no reason why a hosted system will not work. All you need is a good connection that would be necessary anyway. A 1MB Diginet using ViBE technology can handle 100 simultaneous calls reliably. Hosted simply means, at another location. If you link the locations with a solid enough connection, its literally is if they are on the same network. You simply cater for the bandwidth you needto maintain a solid connection. It makes life so much easier, having everything based in a A class data centers and monitored 24/7.

George
 
I did the same over 2 x Panasonic PABX's & Cisco Aironet donkey years ago.
It worked OK-ish but was limited to one concurrent all (when dialing a specific extension)
The process was tedious and it didn't always work.
Granted, it was a 1km wireless link running at about 14Mbps (through trees).
lol.


Since then I've never gone the "1 concurrent call" setup again as it's just not worth it.

If you use VOIP between sites (with many users) you can just as well do it properly.
5+ concurrent calls should be the minimum - so everyone can use it.
It's pointless to spend money and time for only one channel.

Looking at the time & effort involved I'm all for a hosted solution.
And if money is an object while call quality is not, then you can run VOIP over ADSL.
Or get 2 x 4Meg ADSL and bond them.
Get a Fishbone from VOX and try it.
 
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