[Asterisk-Users] analog or sip ? was far end disconnect supervision

[Lance Arbuckle]

Rich Adamson wrote:
> 
> > Thanks to everyone that responded to my channel bank question.  Ive
> > decided that the Adit 600 would be a good choice.
> > Then I got to thinking about SIP phones and wondered if their quality
> > has progressed to the point that they can be deployed to customers who
> > "just want their phones to work" and wouldn't tolerate any SIP hickups.
> > As for pricing, I would think the SIP phones would need to be in the
> > $200 price range to be competative with analog or ADSI phones plus a
> > channel bank.  I know there are lots of variables that figure into the
> > analog vs SIP question like number of incoming lines and how they're
> > delivered and the number of extensions etc....   I guess what would be
> > helpfull to me would be some general rules of thumb that you asterisk
> > experts use to determine what type of extension phones to recommend for
> > a given customer.
> 
> Lots of choices ranging from about $80 to $700 (and more) depending upon
> manufacturer, model, features, etc. Believe the wiki has some references
> to many of them.
> 
> For business use, I've had excellent experience with the Cisco 7960
> (refurb ~$350 with the power cube), and average-moving-to-good/excellent
> with the Snom 200 (using the latest firmware). Both are probably
> considered higher-end multiline business sip phones by most on this list.
> There are others but I've not attempted to eval those.
> 
> Your customer is likely to drive the decision "if" you let them eval
> a few different models. Since you indicated that you're just getting
> started with *, etc, pure guess is that most business sales are likely
> to require a mixture of multi-line and single-line insturments.
> 
> There has been a fair amount of list traffic relative to how various
> phones support nat, call transfer, music on hold, speaker volume,
> call waiting tones, and other issues. Best guess is that you would
> likely only sell a select set of single-line and multi-line units purely
> from a support perspective, with actual proposals based on specific
> requirements (eg, a location needs nat therefore this model, business
> office with all internal phones likely a different model, another
> business with an unlimited checkbook gets a Cisco ;).
> 
> Rule of thumb...
>  - don't give an executive or check-writer a cheap phone, or one that
>    is so lite-weight they pull it around their desk
>  - find a single-line instrument or two you are comfortable supporting
>    (seems like the list has suggested at least one vendor's cheap phone
>     has a high mortality rate that might be worth striking from your list)
>  - understand where the ata-186 kind of boxes fit (and where they don't
>    fit from a real business perpective)
>  - understand the value (or lack thereof) for the phone having an
>    internal switch with two RJ45 jacks (and who's phones don't work very
>    well with this)
>  - keep a sharp eye on the sip marketplace going forward ;)
>  - understand the value of QoS in switches
>  - find a supplier that delivers & invoices reliably, and will work with
>    you on defective units
> 
> If you're looking for opinions on specific models, I'm sure you'll get
> a number of responses from those with favorites.

<disclaimer>I haven't a clue, yet</disclaimer>

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you're firmly in the SIP
camp. While I like the idea of adding extensions by simply plugging a
phone into the network, knowing what some of my potential Asterisk
customers have for data network hardware makes me cringe when I think
about adding 20,30 or 40 Sip phones to the mix :)

So, I was thinking that perhaps going the analog route with a nice ADSI
screen phone might be best for those customers that are either (a)too
cheap to buy cisco's, (b)reluctant to replace network hardware,
(c)afraid of technology...etc. etc.  From what I've pieced together from
googling the list archives it seems like this approach would offer the
customer a solid system today that could grow with SIP phones as
Asterisk and SIP mature a bit more.

Can anyone share what their favorite analog business phones are ?
Is ADSI a good way to go ?  If so, which models are your favorites?

Thanks everyone :)

-Lance