[Asterisk-Users] SoftPhones: Bad, or just bad QoS?

[Tom Rymes]

Ed,

There are two main drawbacks to the softphone, as I see it:

1.) User interface - The interface to the softphones is really less  
than ideal. This includes the problem mentioned earlier about not  
hearing ringing unless you have your headset on, dialing with the  
mouse, not having telephone service if your PC isn't on, etc. The  
traditional telephone "interface" of handset, dialpad, etc. is  
utterly pervasive and very simple and user-friendly. You lose that  
with a softphone.

2.) Quality/Cost - For good softphone quality, you HAVE to use a  
headset or external USB handset, etc. This is a pain, because users  
don't always want to use a headset, they want the choice. The other  
problem is that one of the main advantages of the softphone is that  
it is cheap, and paying for a good headset reduces that advantage  
(and you DON'T want to skimp on headsets). The other factor is that  
softphone quality depends on soundcard quality, etc. As a Mac shop,  
this ought to be a smaller problem.

The other thing to keep in mind is that your users, especially your  
boss, are going to be judging the Asterisk system, and you  
performance, based mostly on their interaction with the system. If  
their main interface to the system is a Cisco 7940G or Polycom 501,  
they are likely to be impressed because the new system gives them  
such major benefits, but doesn't require them to use funny computer  
phones, start up their PC to receive or make a call, etc. If they  
have to use X-Lite, then their reaction is likely to be "This system  
works well, but I hate that I have to have my PC on, I have to dial  
with the mouse or numeric keypad, If software update is installing an  
update voice quality goes to hell, etc. This is not to mention that  
if you need Gigabit for the file transfers, etc that your computers  
are doing, then voice quality is likely to go to hell whenever they  
initiate a major file transfer.

To sum up, the common wisdom here seems to be that softphones are  
great in limited situations (traveling, maybe call centers), but that  
once you add a quality headset, they aren't much cheaper, and the  
quality and user experience really suffer. You would be much better  
off with a Polycom 301, which can be had for about $125, especially  
if you are buying 60 at once. Also, in you personal situation, I  
would seriously look to separate your voice LAN from your apparently  
heavily trafficked data LAN, because QOS and sound quality *could*  
become a problem on any network port that is handling a major data  
transfer. Not to mention that you could likely do this on the cheap  
using your existing cat-3 cables. 10-Mbit switched is more than  
enough for your VOIP, especially considering that you can send at the  
very least 24 calls over a 1-Mbit Data T1.

Tom

On Jul 14, 2005, at 3:49 PM, Ed Pastore wrote:

> Hi again, folks. I've been getting feedback from this list and  
> elsewhere that softphones are generally not considered good enough  
> for hardcore business use. Can someone point me to where I can find  
> more detail on this debate?
>
> Is the problem that the technology isn't mature, that the load on  
> the computer is too high, or simply that it doesn't work well in a  
> poorly designed network?
>
> Any time I mention VOIP and network, people tell me to make sure  
> that I have QoS capabilities. If I do, and can tweak it  
> appropriately, will that eliminate (or at least greatly minimize)  
> problems with soft phones?
>
> I am really loathe to rewire my building, and I really have to move  
> to gigabit for unrelated reasons, so I would like to be able to use  
> the single gigabit port in every office to serve both the computer  
> and the phone. That seems to mean either soft phones or putting a  
> small gig hub in every office, no?
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