[Asterisk-Users] A Head Check

[Rich Adamson]

Greg,

> 	I have been retained by a Building Management Company to install a 
> combined Voice/Data solution for a Tennated Office Space. This space will 
> rent offices, with telephone and internet service to inviduals or small 
<snip>
> 	Now.. This is our first deployment of Asterisk, and I need a head 
> check here. Am I making the right decision? :)
> 
> Sepcifically...
> 
> 1. Are the SNOM 200 IP phones a good choice for standard users? Or should 
> I consider Cisco? Price of the phone is not the important thing.. What is 
> important is ease of use with minimal training and reliability!

I'd be careful with assumptions on the Snom 200. I've been trying to
properly define "two" extns on this phone (with visual indication as
to which extn is ringing) and have not been successful as yet. Have an 
open problem with snom right now. Same issues with v2.02t and v2.03e. 
Not sure what the problem is as yet, but three symptoms are highly visible:
 a. when a second (or more) extn is defined to the second (or more)
    button, the phone goes into a loop involving Register, 100 Trying,
    and 407 Proxy Authentication Required. Generates 1,000's of never-
    ending packets. (Two different snom support people are trying to
    replicate the issue, and both have initially been finger-pointing
    towards asterisk. Too early to know where the issue is. All other
    SIP phones function as expected with multiple extns.)
 b. when multiple lines are defined (with Key Mapping as suggested by the
    snom folks), the LED's for those keys remain lite at all times. No
    way to know which extension is actually ringing.
 c. distinctive ringing on a per-extn basis is apparently broken.

Hopefully will know more about these issues by the end of this week. As
with many other SIP components, documentation is below industry standards.
The phone works fine with a single extn definition. Given the business
environment you're talking about, there is a very high probability your
customers will want two or more lines per phone. Bottom line: no way to
visually "see" which extn is ringing, and therefore no way to answer the
phone with a prearranged business greating. I've had 100% solid
success/luck using the C7960 v6.0 code with lots of not-so-common addon
funtions that may have value-add implications in your proposed 
implementation. (My past 20-year experience working for a telephone
company and full understanding of shared-tennat services, I'd have to go
with the Cisco phones if the decision had to be made today.)

I've used the snom 200 for the better part of two months with several
versions of their software. Snom seems to have a software quality control 
issue. It's likely due to lacking a structured software test plan, but
don't know that for sure.

I'd also be careful with assumptions regarding plugging PC's into the
RJ45 switch jack on the back of various phones.  There seems to be several 
unusual symptoms that have appeared on this list and I'm not sure which
are still open (verses knowledge/skill level to identify the root-cause
and associated resolutions). Given the relatively small percentage of
folks using the jack, the only valid assumption is "don't count on it
in production".

> 3. I am also responsible for delivering inbound faxes to the DID numbers 
> via Email. I.E. customer has a document faxed to them and they get it in 
> Email as a tiff. I'm considering using Hylfax with a Multitech DID capable 
> modem, but other suggestions are welcomed!

Be careful with fax assumptions in terms of routing analog fax calls
through T1's and asterisk, etc. It's certainly doable; just don't make any
assumptions before hand. (Read: may require some additional implementation
and/or testing hours to obtain exactly what you want from reliability
perspective.)

> 4. I have built some cost for support from Digium and/or other Asterisk 
> experts into the budget. Does Digium have paid support plans? 
> What about other consultants out there?

Their web site mentions such support. However, since asterisk has not matured
to the point of supporting "stable software releases (etc)", support from 
a high-availability business perspective will require more then a Digium
support contract (i.e, no published 24x7 plan today). (There are several 
people lurking on this list that can offer remote support. A contract with 
service-level penalities is probably worthy of consideration.)

> I'm just trying to make sure that I cover all the bases. This is got to be 
> a bulletproof solution, and I'm departing from my comfort level with 
> Altigen to give Asterisk a run for the money. We've got TONS of Linux 
> experience here, and comfort with customizing code, so I am happy with 
> what Asterisk gives me.. What else should I be worried about?

I'd strongly recommend implementing two asterisk boxes "on site"; one as
a primary production box and the second as a hot-spare "identical" 
backup (or some such combination). Obviously, the hot-spare backup could 
also be used to stage upgrades, etc, with a very quick back out plan when 
needed. Five-9's will be tough.

If there are any objectives to route any calls via the Internet (for any
reason, including off-prem extns), give serious consideration to another 
production asterisk box with a registered IP, etc. 

Think through a solid plan (and backup plans) for things like 911 calls,
the callerid's expected at the 911 center, legal implications if the system 
happens to be down, potential customer requirements to "not" provide 
callerid's and how that gets implemented, shared LD trunks, etc, etc.

If you're considering any special shared-tennate operator functions, research
those functions and associated operator phone requirments carefully.

There have been some comments on the list relative to the accuracy or
completeness of CDR records under some circumstances. I've not paid that
much attention, but if memory serves, seems like was related to how
phones were channeled into asterisk, asterisk not receiving call-termination
notifications, or something along those lines. Others can comment on that 
better then I.

Rich