Vox Hack

S

schurtek

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Mwahahahaha.... I finally figured out how to get around the lack of bridging on my Vox router..

First... I installed a D-Link router. Set up two different ISP accounts (one for local and one for international) each on their own vlan. this is how I was setup before I got vox.

Then I had the D-Link router connected to my red zone on my IP-Cop box where I had my traffic routed automatically based on locale. If I am looking at google.com I use international bandwidth, if I am looking at mybroadband.co.za I use local bandwidth. There is a post in one these forums on how to do that. Inspired by Ant1b0dy.

Now what I've done different is I placed a switch between my D-Link and IP-Cop. I connected the switch to my Vox ADSL router, which I have pre configured to be on an IP address and subnet that suites me.

I added a bridge to my D-Link router.

I connected to the Vox ADSL Router, and I went to the Broadband Connection, entered my log in name and password for a prepaid local only account, and bang.

Based on my calculations, I should only need to top-up the prepaid account once every 6 months. That means my internet connection for the phone is running at less than R5 per month.

NOTE: Please ensure that you have correctly configured QoS on your Router that is connected to the telephone line. Ensure that QoS is correctly configured on all devices between the router and the vox router.

WARNING: Vox ADSL Phone is not intended to be connected like this. If you experience poor quality calls then please revert back to the intended configuration.

If you need some prepaid local only ADSL, speak to me... By 1GB to last 12 months.
 
Don't salute me yet... I am still trying to figure out how to upload my own ring tones and images, and most important... how to back up my damn contacts...
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this discovery also means that you can essentially use any Internet connection type in conjunction with your Vox phone, not just ADSL.

Right?
 
in theory you should be able to make it work with any connection that supports PPPoE.

I am going to be testing it out on iBurst, as my understanding is that if I use the phone to connect the iburst modem, then I can also use the phone to allow more than one PC access to iburst at a time.

I am also planning to test it with 3G, but this would require a local radius server and PPPoE routing.

I will post all my findings as they are available, but please understand that Vox Telecom does not intend their phones to be connected in any other way than as an ADSL router, and connecting it in any other way will mean they can not support you for any connection problems.

The phone does not belong to you, you are merely renting it. Changing the phones design either through software or hardware modification would be illegal.
 
I have attempted this on iburst... and it failed... I don't know why... since iburst uses PPPoE to authenticate?

I have managed to get it to connect to a MikroTik RB-150 using PPPoE authentication, and then the MikroTik routed it out to a HIGHSPEED local only account. I am currently testing this with a local WISP and getting excellent results.

I got it working with 3G, but using a local PPPoE server program. (Could be done using MikroTik router) but the results were dreadful.

Here's the secret, you ideally want an overall latency of less than 50ms...
 
I am back again!!! This time, how to get a Vox phone to work with the IS uncapped ADSL accounts.

First thing is first... you need a public IP Address.

So let's say that IS assigns your router with the address
196.109.211.233/29, you will have the following addresses in the
255.255.255.248 subnet:
.232 -> Network Address
.233 -> Router Address
.234 -> Public IP 1
.235 -> Public IP 2
.236 -> Public IP 3
.237 -> Public IP 4
.238 -> Public IP 5
.239 -> Broadcast

These addresses are supplied for use within your DMZ network. You would
use them for things like a webserver, mail server, VPN server, etc.

Now comes the fun part... your VOX Router needs one of these addresses,
so you will connect the VOX Router up to your DMZ Network, or to the
back of the IS Router.

NB: I recommend connecting it to the DMZ Network, and have a Microtik
Router between the DMZ and the IS Router to control QoS. Alternatively
you can contact your Service Provider or IS and have them setup QoS on
the IS Router.

My network looks like this:
.232 -> Network Address
.233 -> Router Address
.234 -> Mikrotik RB150 Router
.235 -> Mail/DNS Server
.236 -> Web Server
.237 -> Unused/Spare
.238 -> Vox Router
.239 -> Broadcast

Code: 
 +-----------+    +---------------+      +-------------+
 | IS Router |====| RB 150 Router |--//--| Private LAN |
 +-----------+    +---------------+      +-------------+
               +----|-----|-----|----+  
               | +-----+  |  +-----+ |
               | | VOX |  |  | WWW | |
               | +-----+  |  +-----+ |
               |          |          |
               |     +----------+    |
               |     | Mail/DNS |    |
               |     +----------+    |
               |  Demutualised Zone  |              
               +---------------------+

Each device in the DMZ is connected to it's own dedicated port on my
RB150. This means I can control speed and QoS to each device
individually, allowing my to ensure that my Vox Phone get's the best
line quality at all times. Emails can wait!!! The second on my list is
the WWW server, then my Private LAN, and the Mail server is last! The
Mail Server is always guaranteed 64Kbps, as is the Vox Phone.

Now how to get the Public IP on the phone. Log into the phone by going
to https://192.168.1.254/ Remember that you need to ensure that your PC
is on the same subnet. Click on "HOME NETWORK" then "INTERFACES".

A pages is opened up showing a make shift map of the network as the
phone sees it. At the top of the first map is the word "Interfaces" in
green. Below that is a link that reads "LocalNetwork". Click that one.

A new page is opened and in the top right hand corner it says "Overview
| Configure | Help". Click on "Configure".

In this area you want to change the network settings to reflect the
Public IP and Subnet. Turn of DHCP as well. When this is completed you
will find that you can't get back into the phone at all. That's because
you should have taken it off the 192.168.1.x subnet.

Go and plug the phone into the DMZ. Now access the router by going to
it's public IP address. Don't forget the https://

This time you will click on the word " [ Administrator ] ". Change the
Administrator password. DO NOT FORGET THE PASSWORD!!! IT IS CASE
SENSITIVE!!!

You will be prompted to enter the password to get back into the phone.

Now go down to your CLI (In windows you do this by clicking "START" then
"RUN" and typing "CMD" and the clicking "OK".

At the CLI, type "TELNET xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx" where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the
Public IP Address of your phone. You will be asked for a username and
password. The username is "Administrator" (case sensitive), and if you
don't know your password you are an idiot and shouldn't be doing this.

Edit the following lines to reflect your settings:

Code: 
:ip rtadd dst=0.0.0.0 gateway=196.109.211.233 intf=LocalNetwork
:dns client dnsadd addr=196.109.211.235
:dns server config WANDownSpoofing=disabled
:dns server route add dns=196.109.211.235 intf=LocalNetwork
:voice config intf=LocalNetwork
:system config defaultconnection=LocalNetwork
:config save filename=user

Not that I am using my own DNS Server. This can be replaced with IS DNS
Server 168.210.2.2

Cut and paste or retype the edited lines into the telnet. Then exit
telnet. Log back onto the phone, enable Telephony. Manually load your
VOX Sip Username and Password (Get this from Vox).

Bobs your uncle.
 
Are you guys finding this info useful? Should i post more?

How about getting your Vox Phone to dial 080, 0861 and 0862 numbers?
 
If you connect the iBurst modem first to a router and then connect the router to the Vox unit, would that solve the problem?
 
schurtek said:
No... it makes no sense... I tried using a PPPoE connection but it just failed?
Click to expand...
The iBurst UTD is only capable of handling one PPPoE connection at a time. If you connect it to multiple PPPoE dialers on a bridge then only the first device to dial will get through.

One way to get around this is to get a second modem. You can have more than one device on an account and then draw from the same cap for both connections.
 
When I tested the Vox Phone on the Iburst modem, I had no other device connected to the internet. The idea was to let the Vox Phone be the Internet Router connecting with the iburst PPPoE account. Then multiple computers could connect to the VoxPhone and all surf the internet.

I have done this with a Netgear WAN Router, however it failed with the VoxPhone.

Connecting the VoxPhone to another Router would cause a problem since you would now have to deal with NAT and we all know what NAT does to SIP.
 
Well then you need a bank of public IP addresses... NAT allows one to connect multiple devices with out the need for multiple public IP addresses.
 
:eek: Why does Vox not just provide a service for users who do not actually need one of their Vox handsets, surely for them the money lies in the minutes and not the handset? You should be allowed to use any SIP enabled handset and make use of their service, this is the route the other VANS are taking.

Just a thought ... use it ... or don't. Just think of the mobility being able to use any softphone or SIP enabled mobile and still having your Vox number with you all the time. :)
 
I suspect it is a support issue coupled with the fact that their network is not NAT-aware. Note that the Vox device does the PPPoE, so it gets a public IP. If you support any device, the presumption is that you're going to have devices behind NAT. If your network isn't NAT-aware, and the device is behind a gateway, the device needs to support STUN and NAT traversal. While many do, this also complicates the config further, adding to the burden of supporting a number of devices.

Also, they have some - albeit limited - ability to manage QoS with their device acting as a router. This, combined with limiting the offering to ADSL, eliminates a whole class of support issues relating to bandwidth, quality, etc.

Unrelated to Vox, I handled two support queries today that were quite technical in nature and both unrelated to the actual VoIP equipment. In the first instance, a customer was complaining about call quality and I tracked it to the fact that one of their diginet links was running errors. In the second instance, the customer's firewall was not allowing RTP (the actual voice conversation packets) through. Note how in order to support these clients, a high level of technical competance was required, not only in relation to VoIP and customer equipment, but to data and network equipment as well. This is one of the factors I accept as a reality of allowing clients to use diverse CPE and diverse types of connectivity.
 
I understand that in having an 'any endpoint' supported VoIP model the support of the environment does get hugely complex, however by human nature we are reluctant to consume products and services that we dont understand, and in saying this by default a conumer that is not in a position to support their own configuration will choose one of the standardised options like the Vox solutions. Normally this type of clientelle will not have the unique requirements that many of us have and make suitable candidates of a standardized solution.

It is for the more 'technical minded' VoIP lovers that an alternative to 'having to hack their way through getting a system to work' option should be available.

In referring the two incidents you referred to I believe the following:
1. Diginet Errors ... Although voice would have been the greatest sufferer this would affect other services as well, and the detection and resolution is part of basic WAN troubleshooting.
2. RTP Firewall Ports not open ... A basic lack of understanding VoIP and how it works.

This said, you still have a valid argument around support.
 
Last edited:
StickeyMars said:
:eek: Why does Vox not just provide a service for users who do not actually need one of their Vox handsets, surely for them the money lies in the minutes and not the handset? You should be allowed to use any SIP enabled handset and make use of their service, this is the route the other VANS are taking.

Just a thought ... use it ... or don't. Just think of the mobility being able to use any softphone or SIP enabled mobile and still having your Vox number with you all the time. :)
Click to expand...

You can get SIP only accounts, but not from Vox Telepreneur, for that you have to go directly to Vox Telecom. But why would a customer want to sit and hassle with setting up a SIP Device, or even go to the expense of buying one... then spending hours trying to sort out the QoS ques? Much simpler answer... Vox ADSL Phone... works right out the box. Very little config! :D
 
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