[Asterisk-Users] Asterisk with Nortel BCM

Fri Oct 29 21:53:36 MST 2004

If you are going to be running a system at the central location as a
core switch, you will want to ensure you have, at minimum, an
enterprise-class PBX (Asterisk is an example of an enterprise-class
PBX). A carrier-class system would be better (but you're going to pay
for it!).

I have yet to hear of one of the big names doing VoIP well - they are
all stuck in their old-fashioned mindset, and are resistant to the new
paradigm. What this means is that they are not as obsessed about
standards-compliance as they should be. They figure they need to lock
you into their technology, not give you flexibility. This will cause you
immeasureable grief as you try and get interoperability support from a
company that really doesn't want to offer it.

This has gotten to be such a problem that AT&T has started their own
VoIP interoperability
lab.(http://www.telecommagazine.com/default.asp?journalid=3&func=departm
ents&page=0409t02&year=2004&month=9) 

Another important thing to understand is the difference between a key
system and a PBX. About eight years ago a Lot of vendors started
referring to their key systems as a "Hybrid-PBX". What this meant was
that the system had a few PBX-like capabilites, but was still very
limited in functionality. Once people got used to the moniker, they
dropped the "Hybrid" and now the term PBX means almost nothing. A
respectable discussion on the topic of Key system vs. PBX can be found
here: 
http://www.pbxinfo.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid
=431.

The difference (aside from the limited features on a key-system) is that
a PBX switches all channels through the same dialplan, whereas a key
system keeps trunks and stations in different numbering spaces. Also, a
PBX thinks differently from a key system. A PBX thinks in terms of
taking calls from one channel and connecting (switching) them to another
channel. A key system mostly just worries about getting incoming lines
to ring on phones. Any key system I've seen that provides a PBX-like
numbering plan (such as routing codes - 9 for local, 8 for long dist,
etc) has to do it through a kludge; Nortel's BCM/Norstar is a classic
example of this.  

So when you're evaluating a "PBX", you'll need to have a proper telecom
geek look at how it handles it's routing functions. It's not easy
knowledge to gain, and I've never seen any good books on the subject.
Ask your supplier to get you a definitive answer to this question: "Is
this a hybrid-PBX?". If there is any hesitation in providing that
answer, be cautious.

I couldn't comfortably recommend anything other than Asterisk, because
from what I've seen, no one handles VoIP more openly. All of the big
name vendors will happily promise you the world - if you're willing to
pay for it.

There's a ton of commercial PBXs out there. It's hard to say which one's
best because they all have their niches.

asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com wrote:
> Thanks for your answer.
> 
> We don't have to use Nortel's BCM, it is one of the option
> we're considering (not sure if it is still in the game now).
> I will ask this way, what commerical fullvoip PBX you will
> recommend? Unfortunatelly I can't use asterisk for this
> central point, but I can (and will) use asterisk on satellites
> offices. 
> 
> Can you please give some hints what vendors/makers I should
> not forget? 3com looks promising....
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> -David
> 
> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com
>> [mailto:asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of
>> Jim Van Meggelen
>> Sent: Friday, October 29, 2004 4:24 PM
>> To: 'Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion'
>> Subject: RE: [Asterisk-Users] Asterisk with Nortel BCM
>> 
>> Use H.323 and in the BCM set the protocol to "Other".
>> 
>> Do you HAVE to use the BCM? It's a really horrible system. I
>> worked for many years in tech support, and I've been involved
>> in BCMs since the beta trials of version 1.0, four years ago.
>> I know BCM, and I can tell you that it is one of the worst
>> telephone systems ever produced. Check out the spec sheet:
>> 
>> - The operating system is Windows NT 4.0 -- no really, an
>> EIGHT YEAR OLD OPERATING SYSTEM.
>> - The MSC card is a Norstar KSU that they put on a PCI card.
>> That's FIFTEEN YEAR OLD technology - and it shows.
>> - The platform is an Intel Pentium III 700Mhz, with 256megs
>> of RAM, and a 20meg hard drive. How much do they want you to
>> pay for it?
>> - Many of the critical scripts in the system are DOS batch
>> files (I am NOT kidding!).
>> 
>> The BCM is famous for it's instability (go figure), and
>> mind-numbingly stupid interface. Unless you have a lot of
>> money to waste on obsolescence, I'd remove the BCM completely
>> from the equation.
>> 
>> If you have to go Nortel, go with a Succession (even a
>> Norstar would be a more stable choice, and you can tie it
>> into a VoIP gateway with PRI trunks).
>> 
>> You might want to consider not using Nortel's VoIP technology
>> at all -- I don't think they fully understand VoIP yet.
>> Better would be to tie any Nortel gear into your VoIP network
>> using legacy trunking through, say, an Asterisk gateway, like this:
>> 
>> [NT PBX/KSU]---PRI---[Asterisk]=====(WAN cloud)=====[Asterisk]
>> 
>> I wouldn't use the BCM as a boat anchor, but for sure it
>> should NEVER be used as the core of a VoIP network - it's
>> just a key system, and not a very good one at that!
>> 
>> Good luck!
>> 
>> 
>> asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com wrote:
>>> Hello,
>>> 
>>> does anyone has an experience with connecting Asterisk to Nortel's
>>> BCM (http://www.nortelnetworks.com/products/0> 1/eedge/bcm.html)? I
>>> would like to make this working using some voip protocol IAX, SIP,
>>> but it looks like Nortel's can't do that?
>>> 
>>> My scenario is Nortel's BCM in central office and asterisk
>>> installations in satellites offices.
>>> 
>>> Thanks,
>>> David
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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