Which IPPABX ?

Cor Cronje

Cor Cronje

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Our Head Office is relocating to new premises, which lends the I.T. division with a great opportunity in rolling out new networking and telecommunications infrastructure. Due to the massive expenditures involved with relocating, there is no margin for error. I’m satisfied with all aspects of my planning except for telephony communications, as I lack sufficient experience in this field.

All the info I acquired by talking to suppliers and VoIP providers left me a little confused as there seems to be many different ways to approach VoIP. I need someone to give me neutral and un-opinionated advice in reference to choosing a suitable IPPABX / VoIP solution.

We will be rolling out a certified gigabit IP (POE) network infrastructure for approximately 150 seats in total. We have 4 remote sites with 15 seats that form part of our WAN via a voice prioritised 1Mbps wireless network mesh.

I like ECN and would like to continue using their VoIP services with the new IPPABX.

Please advise me on the following:

1. Will VoIP call quality be maintained when running voice and data on the same network infrastructure?

2. How do I set my HP ProCurve switches to prioritise voice?

3. In terms of an IPPABX, we are looking at a solution that supports various hardware and software phones, VoIP gateways etc. and with rich reporting and management features.

3CX, a reasonably priced, Windows Server based solution, but if I understand Microsoft’s licensing correctly, I would have acquire a device access licence for every IP phone that connect to the server. Lacks decent reporting and user pin code features though.

Trixbox, currently downloading the ISO. Looks easy to manage and setup, your thoughts would be appreciated.

Elastix, currently downloading the ISO. Great set of features that will definitely be used in our environment, your thoughts would be appreciated.

4. Entry level YeaLink T20 phone looks like a good choice in terms of price, durability and features.

5. Do I need a PRI card to interface with ECN or can the IPPABX replace the Patton router’s function and connect directly to ECN over the Diginet line.

Thank you
 
1. Will VoIP call quality be maintained when running voice and data on the same network infrastructure?
You need to run QoS or seperate voice from data

2. How do I set my HP ProCurve switches to prioritise voice?
Will have to look into this otherwise a Mikrotik RB750G works like a bomb and is cheap

3. In terms of an IPPABX, we are looking at a solution that supports various hardware and software phones, VoIP gateways etc. and with rich reporting and management features.
As long as all devices support SIP and the G729a codec you will be fine

3CX, a reasonably priced, Windows Server based solution, but if I understand Microsoft’s licensing correctly, I would have acquire a device access licence for every IP phone that connect to the server. Lacks decent reporting and user pin code features though.
Would not use anything MS Windows based

Trixbox, currently downloading the ISO. Looks easy to manage and setup, your thoughts would be appreciated.
Heard Trixbox is also a good system but has not used

Elastix, currently downloading the ISO. Great set of features that will definitely be used in our environment, your thoughts would be appreciated.
We use Elastix in our office and for clients. Works like a charm and can do everything. Elastix is a superset of Asterisk

4. Entry level YeaLink T20 phone looks like a good choice in terms of price, durability and features.
Yealink is supported by elastix otherwise look at Snom 300

5. Do I need a PRI card to interface with ECN or can the IPPABX replace the Patton router’s function and connect directly to ECN over the Diginet line.
No, you would use a data link to them and connect via SIP. We also provide VoIP LCR breakout and PBX systems

If you would like more information, drop me a mail on [email protected]

Regards
Mark
 
Hi.

Agree with most of the above.

The key thing is to look ast Asterisk as a system (Elastix etc are more on the interface system). I highly recommend if you have technicians who can manage it.

Yealink is good. One good feature Yealink (and others) support is High Definition voice, which works really well within your company and execs really love it, especially for conferencing. Generally they don't look back after that.

I advise that you do look around before rushing into your VoIP provider. This is an excellent opportunity. We are a wholesaler so we can recommend a few really good options from our experience. Our partners have access to high-definition voice breakout. Please PM me or drop me a mail at [email protected]
 
If you're interested in an Asterisk solution, I would look at the FarSouth Networks Com.X1 or Com.X2 hardware VoIP appliance which runs Asterisk, FreePBX back-end (similar to both Elastix and Trixbox) but with FarSouth's WebGUI front-end. It's a great system and properly localised for SA conditions.

The Yealink SIP-T20P is a good phone. Personally, I'd upgrade some or all of the phones to the T22P. It has a bigger screen which is so much easier for browsing through call lists (e.g. missed calls), directories, etc. It can also juggle three calls at once versus two for the T20P. T20P is perfectly usable but anyone who deals with a extremely high call volumes will really appreciate the upgrade to the T22P and the cost difference isn't huge. For reception you can use the T26P or T28P with one or more expansion modules.

In terms of VoIP service, Switch Telecom provides a competitive service (both inbound and outbound and we offer number portability). www.switchtel.co.za for more details or you can call 087 550 0000. We also sell the Yealink phones (as well as other trusted brands).
 
i know its not very corporate but you could install 3CX on a Windows 7 box. Im not fully familiar with the licencing involved in a 3CX setup but my understanding is that you pay for the license on a concurrent calls basis, and I cant see how you'd need a per phone license?

As alluded to above, you'd need to look at getting QoS setup to give your voice traffic priority and guarentee your call quality until you leave the building :)

Are the yealink phones powered by PoE switches? Im assuming so.

What sort of budget do you have for this change of yours? And why wouldnt you appear to consider using well-known and well supported brands like Cisco, Avaya or others? Price?

Cheers,
Mark
 
Cisco is great but at a cost.

I would take asterisk over Avaya anyday. Heard some call centres complaining bitterly about licensing costs.

We also supply the FarSouth Com.X products. They are awesome however as we manage our clients devices and we want to put in more power for the clients buck we often do elastix or asterisk on a little HP server with mirrored drives. The Com.X only has 1 HD so one must remember to backup regularly and the Com.X1 which is great is limited on processing power and number of extensions but allows you to get up and running very easily and is a breeze for anyone with basic admin skills to manage.
 
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