grichardomi Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Hello, I instaled a 10 extension PBX for a small business. I came across this presentation recommending PSTN - http://www.pbxnsip.com/download/qos.ppt Is it a must for high performance in a small office setting? If so, please suggest on an appropiate cost-effectice gateway hardware. Thanks Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodia PBX Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 There are plenty of gateways available, for example: AudioCodes Grandstream Ericsson Patton Parlay Mediatrix Teles Vegastream Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detlef Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Well, for me I think its a safe backup in the case that our VoIP fails. Also I use the PSTN lines as dial-in numbers over a Grandstream GWX4108 gateway and for free local and toll-free calls, where our callcentric.com VoIP provider would charges us for. Also 911 is a consideration if the VoIP provider does not provide this function. Additionaly I need the PSTN for burglar and fire alarm anyway, so why not use it for some calls as well. Also our fax runs currently over a regular line - that way I didnt have to mess with the T.38 in the beginning of our VoIP rollout. We have about 20 extension each in two US and one Mexico location. Since we have Mexico involved and don't count on a stable internet connection - if this fails we use PSTN with a simple dialplan entry. For example if a user dials 99xxxx then the PBX uses PSTN. Due to the VoIP we cut the number of PSTN lines in half because most calls use now VoIP. So far we are happy with this solution. It safes us alot of money for calls but allows us to go back any time to call out on PSTN if we encounter problems, its not the cheapest setup looking at monthly cost but I think with the best functionality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grichardomi Posted October 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Well, for me I think its a safe backup in the case that our VoIP fails. Also I use the PSTN lines as dial-in numbers over a Grandstream GWX4108 gateway and for free local and toll-free calls, where our callcentric.com VoIP provider would charges us for. Also 911 is a consideration if the VoIP provider does not provide this function. Additionaly I need the PSTN for burglar and fire alarm anyway, so why not use it for some calls as well. Also our fax runs currently over a regular line - that way I didnt have to mess with the T.38 in the beginning of our VoIP rollout. We have about 20 extension each in two US and one Mexico location. Since we have Mexico involved and don't count on a stable internet connection - if this fails we use PSTN with a simple dialplan entry. For example if a user dials 99xxxx then the PBX uses PSTN. Due to the VoIP we cut the number of PSTN lines in half because most calls use now VoIP. So far we are happy with this solution. It safes us alot of money for calls but allows us to go back any time to call out on PSTN if we encounter problems, its not the cheapest setup looking at monthly cost but I think with the best functionality. Thanks for the quick response. The GWX4108 product one that I'm considering. I'd like to consider Audiocodes or others, but they are various models making it difficult to decide which one (digital) is suitable for my small operation. Can someone recommend a specific brand or model, one that's does not require too many tinkering to install? Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grichardomi Posted October 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Thanks for the quick response. The GWX4108 product one that I'm considering. I'd like to consider Audiocodes or others, but they are various models making it difficult to decide which one (digital) is suitable for my small operation. Can someone recommend a specific brand or model, one that's does not require too many tinkering to install? Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detlef Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 I used an AudioCodes Gateway in the past and thought that thing had way too many options and made it complicated to find the right settings spread out over too many pages in the web admin interface. Also I didnt have the greatest expirence with the AudioCodes support - they never responded. The Grandstream GXW has much less settings, their customer support at least responds and downloads are available from their web site without signing up and waiting for an answer that never comes. Still I think the Grandstream might not be the best model but it does what I want and its not too hard to configure. So far it works with the PBXnSIP together without any problems but I dont have any complicated feature demands for that thing either. All I want is to receive and make calls and get caller ID on PSTN lines into the PBX and that works without any complains so far. Detlef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grichardomi Posted October 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 I should mention that I dont have local phone service or analog devides, it's all VOIP ! Is the Grandstream GXW-4108 a digital product? The presentation emphasized DIGITAL gateway. Thanks Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detlef Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 I should mention that I dont have local phone service or analog devides, it's all VOIP ! Is the Grandstream GXW-4108 a digital product? The presentation emphasized DIGITAL gateway. Thanks Guy oops, the GWX410x is pure analog PSTN... havent used any T1,E1,BRI VoIP products so I cant give you any help there. I am currently looking for an ISDN gateway into a phone system in Germany but that is not in my hands so I am not involved too much in the selection process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grichardomi Posted October 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 oops, the GWX410x is pure analog PSTN... havent used any T1,E1,BRI VoIP products so I cant give you any help there. I am currently looking for an ISDN gateway into a phone system in Germany but that is not in my hands so I am not involved too much in the selection process. Detlef, Thanks for the reply. My inquiry to Suppliers indicated that Gateway is not needed for our SIP trunking operation. So PSTN is only nescessary if you have analog devices. If anyone disagrees, please comment. Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detlef Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Detlef,Thanks for the reply. My inquiry to Suppliers indicated that Gateway is not needed for our SIP trunking operation. So PSTN is only nescessary if you have analog devices. If anyone disagrees, please comment. Guy For you SIP Trunk you dont need a gateway. Those Gateway devices are meant to adapt all the differnet available PSTN (public switched telephone network) connections into an IP enviroment. It doesnt matter if its analog or digital - its just not an IP network type. I think in the presentation the recomendation to have a gateway to a PST Network (regular phone line) is more for safety and as backup if the internet fails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodia PBX Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Well, this is a long story. I think we can say that we tried almost everything, and the above PPT is the gist of it. One bottom line is: Don't just get a cheap DSL and think that you are all set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Detlef Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Well, this is a long story. I think we can say that we tried almost everything, and the above PPT is the gist of it. One bottom line is: Don't just get a cheap DSL and think that you are all set. hehehe, but I did anyway Well, I think it all depends on your requirements. In my case we are not a business that constanly is talking to customers over the phone. I would guess that over 90% of our calls are business internal but to world wide locations. In that case we accept lower quality (which didn't really happen so far) and failing calls (real minimal) for business internal calls over the fact that our calls are basically free. Our main goal was reducing cost. Our PSTN gateway acts in this scenario as safe way if other things fail and for all incoming calls. Running everything outgoing over a cheap cable modem here in the US is working much better as expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodia PBX Posted October 10, 2007 Report Share Posted October 10, 2007 Yea for internal calls that should be okay. It is all about expectations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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