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VoIP Phone Options

Explore the various options and strategies for supporting VoIP devices, including hard phones, soft phones, and legacy analog devices. Learn about the pros and cons of each option and how to secure your VoIP environment.

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VoIP Phone Options

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  1. VoIP Phone Options Dave Packham, UU Scott Baily, CSU Westnet January 2011

  2. Outline • Context of this Discussion • Hard Phones • Soft Phones • Legacy Analog Devices • Device Management • Securing the VoIP environment • Discussion Westnet January 2011

  3. Context for this Discussion • Assuming you’re in, or migrating to, VoIP • What are your options and strategies for supporting VoIP devices? Westnet January 2011

  4. Hard Phones Westnet January 2011

  5. Hard Phone Pros/Cos • Pros • Familiar form factor • Doesn’t require PC • One data port can support Phone & PC • Cons • Expensive • Difficult to manage firmware, etc. Westnet January 2011

  6. Hard Phones – Key Features • Supported by your VoIP PBX! • Protocols • Call Control (SIP, others??) • Codec (G.711, G.72x most common) • Other Features Westnet January 2011

  7. Softphones Westnet January 2011

  8. Soft Phone Pros/Cos • Pros • Always on yourlaptop • Inexpensive • Better integratedwith UC environment • Cons • Another app to manage • Potential firewall problems • E911 complexities • Echo can be a challenge Westnet January 2011

  9. Soft Phone – Key Features • Supported by your VoIP PBX! • OS Support – available for all desktop OS? • Full integration with your UC environment • Other features Westnet January 2011

  10. Soft phone peripherals Westnet January 2011

  11. Encryption • Hard phones • Promised as future software feature on many • Soft phones • Encryption more common Westnet January 2011

  12. Legacy Support • Analog gateways • Convers TDM interfaces to VoIP • Available from Audiocodes, Patton, Cisco, Avaya, etc. • Support for analog phone lines, fax, modem, etc. • Built-in echo cancellation • Can be configured as highly-available systems • Available in 1, 4, up to several thousand ports Westnet January 2011

  13. Device Support • Hard phones • Easier to support with PoE(remote power cycle) • Need to plan for obsolescence (thanks to Cisco?) • No longer expected to last for 10+ years • Older devices may not support all features • Firmware upgrades can be “pushed” centrally • Opportunity to customize application support • Need to decide how much user configuration makes sense for your environment Westnet January 2011

  14. Device Support • Soft phones • Best to minimize number of supported softphones • Standardize to the extent possible • SW revision levels behave differently • Need to test each softphone separately • Possible to manage SW upgrades with GPOs • Can be trying for both users and support staff Westnet January 2011

  15. Securing VoIP Environment • Common to have private VLAN for VoIP • Along with tight access control lists • SIP is becoming popular with the miscreants • VoIP servers should be locked down as you would servers with sensitive data • VoIP security should be part of your decision to let users install apps on their IP phones Westnet January 2011

  16. SIP services on SmartPhones • CSU’s experience is not great with WiFi • Moving between APs, etc. not a great experience • G.711 seems a bit too much for 3G service Westnet January 2011

  17. Discussion • What is working well in your environment? • Lessons learned you would like to share? • Recommendations/cautions • Other questions or comments? Westnet January 2011

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