motech Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 I am an av custom integrator. I usually sell and install Panasonic kx-ta824 hybrid phone systems. I've been interested in snom for a while and I think I have two jobs that would make a nice fit. 1st job would be a personal job that would be a good test ground for me. It would be for my parents. Under 10 extensions. Mostly portable phones (M9?) They are mostly interested in automated attendant and cordless users. Would like to keep costs down for them, but want to make sure it works well. Questions for this job: 1. Would be using 1 analog phone line. What's a good low cost gateway. Patton m-ata? What if they eventually want 2 lines (doubtful). 2. My mom uses an iMac in her home office for work. It's always on. Can I use that for the snomone software? It's got 3gb of memory, Running snow leopard. She would also want to upgrade to lion eventually, will there be compatibility issues? - if that's not recommended, what's a good low cost, easy to admin solution. 3. With M9, I can have one base and up to 9 handsets. each handset can have their own extension ? They can intercom to each other ? 4. Anything else I'm missing ? Next potential job is for a wealthy client, under 20 extensions. Residential as well. Will most likely need 2 or 3 door stations (door bell intercom). Phones will be mostly snow 8xx series and a couple of cordless M9. 1. Is it recommended to have a dedicated server for that many extensions or can I run it on clients existing iMac. - what's the advantage of having it run on a dedicated Mac mini over some other dedicated cheaper machine. 2. What's a good analog phone line gateway for between 2-4 phone lines. 3.Anything else I need to know while quoting this system? General questions 1. Anything special needed in terms of network routers for both systems or can I use standard home routers like airport extreme ? 2. Can I become a snom direct dealer, as I'd like to make some profit on the product if possible. Thanks in advance, I look forward to working with the product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewgroup Posted June 7, 2011 Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 Not to sound crass, but the honest truth is if you plan to get involved in IP based telecom (Not just Snom), you need to make investments in IP skills and certified training on the products. your past Telco skill provide little in the way skill to support IP based solutions. based upon the questions, I might suggest sticking with what you know until you are more confident with the Snom Platform. You'll likely want to add VoIP call/camera boxes from other vendors, as well as integrating IP A/V products and learning IP is so critical to success. It ain't plug and play, as much as we all might wish. Good luck.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motech Posted June 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2011 Not to sound crass, but the honest truth is if you plan to get involved in IP based telecom (Not just Snom), you need to make investments in IP skills and certified training on the products. your past Telco skill provide little in the way skill to support IP based solutions. based upon the questions, I might suggest sticking with what you know until you are more confident with the Snom Platform. You'll likely want to add VoIP call/camera boxes from other vendors, as well as integrating IP A/V products and learning IP is so critical to success. It ain't plug and play, as much as we all might wish. Good luck.. Thanks for the response. Not sure what made you think so, but I'm very well versed with ip. We implement large home networks, our control systems (crestron) are all ip based, And on top of that we have an entire dedicated it division for businesses. Can anyone actually answer the specific questions I asked? Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewgroup Posted June 8, 2011 Report Share Posted June 8, 2011 Can anyone actually answer the specific questions I asked? Thanks again. I stand corrected, then why screw around saving a few dollars doing a mix-n-match Mini Mac, 3rd Party Analog Gateway, and OS integration issues like 801.1p and Q support for mixed layer two systems such as video and home Internet usage of the Layer2 transport. I equate the creating of a unique one-off solution to building and flying your own airplane. If you want to make money, and save a lot of time, I strongly suggest you install the "SnomOne Plus FX4 Yellow" and you'll have a fully integrated OS, GATEWAY, 3 year warranty and you'll save many hours. Monday Morning of this week, we installed a plus directly from the shipping Box to the Wall rack, deployed Snom 3xx phones and M9 Wireless all using PNP in 2 hours Start to Finish. Our margins were terrific (70%) as we were competing against Shoretel, Avaya, and some knockoff. We also monitor and remotely manage all PBX's for additional MSP revenue. Your only decision now is what POE ethernet switches to sell. Here I recommend the switch needs to support Both DSCP, and Port Based QOS simultaneously. We have successfully used managed business switches from Cisco/Linksys SRW series, Dlink, Netgear, Zyxel, and Cisco... Rather than selling the client a VoIP PBX, Sell them a fully managed IP network, with Anti-Virus - Malware, Internet content filteringing with UTM appliances and include CAT wall jacks in all rooms as part of the solution... Offer full IP support for all devices.... Our smallest of clients with this solution represent $400/Month in revenue... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodia PBX Posted June 8, 2011 Report Share Posted June 8, 2011 I think in general it is a good idea to try something new in a friendly environment. It is also a good idea to use stuff that you already own, e.g. that Mac. IMHO using the Windows installer is easier, Mac is not a mainstream platform for server-based products. If you want to reduce the power bill, later you can use the SheevaPlug, which is not only cheap (99 USD), but also uses only very little power so that a 24/7 operation is okay, especially at home. VoIP is a complex topic. There are many pitfalls, and it might be a rought ride to get into the details of the technology, especially when the network might not be 100 % rock solid. But you have to get started somehow, better in a friendly environment than in a customer environment. I would first finish the home project before going to a residential setup with 20 phones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motech Posted June 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 hey guys thanks for the awesome input. I'm going to order a small snom system for my parents house. we are going to use my moms existing iMac, if we need we can move to the sheeva plug in the future. we are going to have 5 cordless phones (connected to two separate base stations), and 3 corded phones (snom 300?). we are going to be using a phone line from the cable company, and will be using a Patton M-ATA. the main features we look to get out of this system are automated attendant, intercom, and personal voicemail boxes. we have a linksys vpn router, and a 24 port gigabit switch. any other suggestions or comments on product choice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewgroup Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 We have successfully used the following vendors for PA's, and Door Phones http://www.its-tel.com/index.php?Itemid=101&option=com_zoo&view=item&category_id=2&item_id=10 http://www.cyberdata.net/products/voip/index.html Using other SIP vendors will require the licenses versions of SnomOne that support other SIP vendors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattlandis Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 motech, patton m-ata is not a FXO, it is a FXS. take note. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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