OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic

Yahoo Archive
#1
Sorry to bring this back up. We are also looking at a Hosted
Solution Using Cisco Hardware. Anyone have any sucess using hosted
Voice?
--- In vantage@yahoogroups.com, "Michael McWilliams"
<mmcwilliams22@...> wrote:
>
> I am appreciating all the responses. They are very helpful, I
have
> already added Cisco into the mix to see what they can come up with.
> We currently have two locations. One south of Chicago & then one
in
> South Carolina. We will be digital in this facility & then have
to
> make a decision for South Carolina. We may go with just IP phones
> or put a smaller system down there with digital & create the IP
> connection over our VPN. We also want to keep into consideration
> users that will be working with an IP phone from home(Under 5).
> It is funny that the people mention the Inter-Tel issues. They
were
> out for a demo & there call dropped not even two minutes in.
>
> --- In vantage@yahoogroups.com, "Randy Vander Galien"
> <rvandergalien@> wrote:
> >
> > We are in the middle of a corporate mandated phone system
> replacement
> > initiative involving the Inter-Tel 5000 system. If you are
> considering
> > VOIP I would not recommend the Inter-Tel 5000 system.
> >
> > Having recently relocated one of our facilities we attempted to
> > integrate the Inter-Tel system with the IP/Fiber network, pure
> Cisco,
> > that serviced the industrial park by adding a PRI/T1 card to the
> > Inter-Tel system. Suffice it to say the IP service and the Inter-
> Tel did
> > not play nice together and we were never able to resolve the
> > incompatibility issues and we had to revert back to analog
> service.
> >
> >
> >
> > The initiative involved installing the digital version of the
> system
> > initially with the intent to add/blend-in IP were it made sense
as
> we
> > did not need the IP endpoints everywhere. We currently have the
> system
> > installed in 5 of our 10 locations and are essentially stand-
alone
> > digital systems, currently. Once we had the system installed in
> each
> > location, or at least our regional offices, we were going to
> incorporate
> > the VOIP component connecting each location across our MPLS WAN.
> > Unfortunately Corporate made the selection/decision without IT
> > involvement and we are now giving serious consideration to
> scrapping the
> > current initiative as a result of our experience and additional
> research
> > by the IT Department. As a stand-alone digital system it may be
a
> viable
> > option as I am sure they are competitively priced.
> >
> >
> >
> > Randy Vander Galien
> >
> > IT Manager
> >
> > ACH Foam Technologies
> >
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> >
> > From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com]
On
> Behalf
> > Of Michael McWilliams
> > Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 12:48 PM
> > To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
> > Subject: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic
> >
> >
> >
> > Any input on the following phone systems? I cannot seem to find
> any
> > comparisons. Avaya IP office, Intertel 5000, Nec Aspire....
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
>
#2
Any input on the following phone systems? I cannot seem to find any
comparisons. Avaya IP office, Intertel 5000, Nec Aspire....
#3
We have the Inter-Tel 5000, the only VoIP we are doing is between our location in NC to MD across a 3Mb MPLS circuit and have a ton of issues with echos, drop calls, out of bandwidth, yet we are not using more than 1Mb of bandwidth. This is a new installation with new equipment. We have found their support terrible, makes Epicor's look great.

I haven't dealt with Avaya, they have always been too expensive.

I have looked at some NEC stuff and have been really impressed with the price and options versus anyone else. I haven't used their support so I can't comment on how good they are.

Darren Giordano
Information Systems
PACE Worldwide


----- Original Message ----
From: Michael McWilliams <mmcwilliams22@...>
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:48:10 PM
Subject: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic

Any input on the following phone systems? I cannot seem to find any
comparisons. Avaya IP office, Intertel 5000, Nec Aspire....





____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better pen pal.
Text or chat with friends inside Yahoo! Mail. See how. http://overview.mail.yahoo.com/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
#4
Good Afternoon Everyone,



I have some implementer complaining about the speed of epicor and we
don't have any real users in the system. We are on 8.03.403D. Has
anyone else experienced this? Does any one know of a stress test that I
could use to gage the speed of the system?



Thanks!



Dale Kalsow | Information Technologies Director
____________________________________________________________________
Determan Brownie, Inc. | 1241 72nd Avenue NE | Minneapolis, MN 55432

* Phone: (763) 502-9689 | * Fax: (763) 571-1789

* dale.r.kalsow@... | * http://determan.com/



"Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive
in."



Electronic Privacy Notice. This e-mail, and any attachments, contains
information that is, or may be, covered by the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. 2510-2521, and is also confidential and
proprietary in nature. If you are not the intended recipient, please be
advised that you are legally prohibited from retaining, using, copying,
distributing, or otherwise disclosing this information in any manner.
Instead, please reply to the sender that you have received this
communication in error, and then immediately delete it. Thank you in
advance for your cooperation.

________________________________





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
#5
We had an Avaya PBX and went with the Cisco system. Basically, a couple of servers for your call manager and one for the voice mail. The VoIP works great, we went ahead and put in a wireless lan controller for the access points and the wireless VoIP phones are great. They were able to support our existing analog phones/faxes, etc.

Originally I didn't think we could afford Cisco, but when you purchase a complete system, new switches, etc they give some awesome discounts. We were purchasing equipment at 57% off normal pricing. It didn't hurt that we had a competitive bid from Avaya. Cisco will slash some prices to try and take Avaya's business. Just FYI

Paul Lipham
I.S. Manager
Alabama Specialty Products, Inc.

________________________________
From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Darren Giordano
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:32 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic


We have the Inter-Tel 5000, the only VoIP we are doing is between our location in NC to MD across a 3Mb MPLS circuit and have a ton of issues with echos, drop calls, out of bandwidth, yet we are not using more than 1Mb of bandwidth. This is a new installation with new equipment. We have found their support terrible, makes Epicor's look great.

I haven't dealt with Avaya, they have always been too expensive.

I have looked at some NEC stuff and have been really impressed with the price and options versus anyone else. I haven't used their support so I can't comment on how good they are.

Darren Giordano
Information Systems
PACE Worldwide

----- Original Message ----
From: Michael McWilliams <mmcwilliams22@...<mailto:mmcwilliams22%40yahoo.com>>
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:48:10 PM
Subject: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic

Any input on the following phone systems? I cannot seem to find any
comparisons. Avaya IP office, Intertel 5000, Nec Aspire....

__________________________________________________________
Be a better pen pal.
Text or chat with friends inside Yahoo! Mail. See how. http://overview.mail.yahoo.com/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
#6
We are very close to selecting a NEC Electra Elite IPK II system to replace our very old Nortel Meridian/Norstar system. I have been pretty impressed by the technology cpompared to the Nortel BCM400 and a ShoreTel VoIP based system. The BCM seems too much like the old system wrapped in a new CPU & software shell and the ShoreTel would require disrupting our IP network (including new switches, etc...) and possible impact on Vantage performance. We don't really need VoIP features anyway and were really impressed when the NEC reseller we are using advised against it for us. Even though the BCM can use our existing phones the NEC system with all new (and better) phones is $10K less expensive and seems at least comparible in capabilities. The PC Attendant and PC Assistant options are also better than similar products from Nortel (or 3rd party add-ons) and the NEC system will use our existing Cat-3 wiring same as the BCM would have.
-Todd C.

________________________________
From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Darren Giordano
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:32 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic


We have the Inter-Tel 5000, the only VoIP we are doing is between our location in NC to MD across a 3Mb MPLS circuit and have a ton of issues with echos, drop calls, out of bandwidth, yet we are not using more than 1Mb of bandwidth. This is a new installation with new equipment. We have found their support terrible, makes Epicor's look great.

I haven't dealt with Avaya, they have always been too expensive.

I have looked at some NEC stuff and have been really impressed with the price and options versus anyone else. I haven't used their support so I can't comment on how good they are.

Darren Giordano
Information Systems
PACE Worldwide

----- Original Message ----
From: Michael McWilliams <mmcwilliams22@...<mailto:mmcwilliams22%40yahoo.com>>
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:48:10 PM
Subject: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic

Any input on the following phone systems? I cannot seem to find any
comparisons. Avaya IP office, Intertel 5000, Nec Aspire....

__________________________________________________________
Be a better pen pal.
Text or chat with friends inside Yahoo! Mail. See how. http://overview.mail.yahoo.com/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
#7
You could try putting in 300+ releases in the Sales Order Entry and see how long that takes. We are on 8.03.304 and it takes a very long time. However, I was informed from a previous posting that the speed has significantly improved regarding this aspect in .403.

Regards,

Vivek Nittala
VIRA Manufacturing


"Dale R. Kalsow" <dale.r.kalsow@...> wrote:
Good Afternoon Everyone,

I have some implementer complaining about the speed of epicor and we
don't have any real users in the system. We are on 8.03.403D. Has
anyone else experienced this? Does any one know of a stress test that I
could use to gage the speed of the system?

Thanks!

Dale Kalsow | Information Technologies Director
__________________________________________________________
Determan Brownie, Inc. | 1241 72nd Avenue NE | Minneapolis, MN 55432

* Phone: (763) 502-9689 | * Fax: (763) 571-1789

* dale.r.kalsow@... | * http://determan.com/

"Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive
in."

Electronic Privacy Notice. This e-mail, and any attachments, contains
information that is, or may be, covered by the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. 2510-2521, and is also confidential and
proprietary in nature. If you are not the intended recipient, please be
advised that you are legally prohibited from retaining, using, copying,
distributing, or otherwise disclosing this information in any manner.
Instead, please reply to the sender that you have received this
communication in error, and then immediately delete it. Thank you in
advance for your cooperation.

________________________________

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






Vivek Nittala
Systems Engineer
VIRA Manufacturing
1, Buckingham Avenue
Perth Amboy, NJ 08861
Tel: 732-442-8472 ext. 132

---------------------------------
Be a better pen pal. Text or chat with friends inside Yahoo! Mail. See how.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
#8
Why don't you spend time with this person referred to as 'some implementer', have him/her show you the activities they are experiencing application speed issues with, and then YOU can perform the troublesome tasks for an hour or so to see if they are just whining or have a valid complaint?

I'm guessing (even on .403) it will be the latter. The solution might be as simple as caching some specific apps for this user.

...Funny thing about 'complainers'... for every one that we might occasionally find to be a bit of a pest, they usually are saying what 20 others are too chicken to speak up about.

Use them to your advantage.

Rob Brown

"Dale R. Kalsow" <dale.r.kalsow@...> wrote:
Good Afternoon Everyone,

I have some implementer complaining about the speed of epicor and we
don't have any real users in the system. We are on 8.03.403D. Has
anyone else experienced this? Does any one know of a stress test that I
could use to gage the speed of the system?

Thanks!

Dale Kalsow | Information Technologies Director
__________________________________________________________
Determan Brownie, Inc. | 1241 72nd Avenue NE | Minneapolis, MN 55432

* Phone: (763) 502-9689 | * Fax: (763) 571-1789

* dale.r.kalsow@... | * http://determan.com/

"Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive
in."

Electronic Privacy Notice. This e-mail, and any attachments, contains
information that is, or may be, covered by the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. 2510-2521, and is also confidential and
proprietary in nature. If you are not the intended recipient, please be
advised that you are legally prohibited from retaining, using, copying,
distributing, or otherwise disclosing this information in any manner.
Instead, please reply to the sender that you have received this
communication in error, and then immediately delete it. Thank you in
advance for your cooperation.

________________________________

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






---------------------------------
Get easy, one-click access to your favorites. Make Yahoo! your homepage.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
#9
We bought a Samsung system a year ago that is some weird hybrid - mainly
digital, with a card that allows you to do VoIP. We only have 3 users
on the VoIP card, everyone else is on the old fashioned digital system,
which is much cheaper than a pure VoIP system and most people don't need
the features of VoIP. But for our 3 users that are in remote locations,
it's great.

We've had no trouble at all with the system. Our vendor can do
maintenance remotely via software and much of the changing of phone
numbers in various office moves can be done by a non-technical person.
We are very pleased with the system.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
#10
If you can find someone who knows about Asterisk locally, I'd highly
recommend it.

Asterisk is an open source software that runs on Linux. We got quotes
from a few vendors last year for a VoIP system before I stumbled upon
Asterisk. Their quotes were fairly similar, running about $20,000.
When we opted to go with Asterisk after some early testing with it on a
dummy computer, we spent about $6,000. Now granted the $20,000 included
all their labor to do everything, but I know I didn't spend $14,000
worth of my time. On top of that it's an extremely flexible &
customizable system.

All that being said, it's not for everyone. You either need to fully
immerse yourself into it, or find someone who will set it up for you.



________________________________

From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Barbara Keller
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 6:24 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Vantage] Re: OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic



We bought a Samsung system a year ago that is some weird hybrid - mainly
digital, with a card that allows you to do VoIP. We only have 3 users
on the VoIP card, everyone else is on the old fashioned digital system,
which is much cheaper than a pure VoIP system and most people don't need
the features of VoIP. But for our 3 users that are in remote locations,
it's great.

We've had no trouble at all with the system. Our vendor can do
maintenance remotely via software and much of the changing of phone
numbers in various office moves can be done by a non-technical person.
We are very pleased with the system.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
#11
Your implementer is correct. Without any doubt, v8.03 has speed
problems. Epicor recently came out with a tool that helps mitigate
the speed issue somewhat. Contact support and you can get it from
them. - Monte Tomerlin

--- In vantage@yahoogroups.com, "Dale R. Kalsow" <dale.r.kalsow@...>
wrote:
>
> Good Afternoon Everyone,
>
>
>
> I have some implementer complaining about the speed of epicor and we
> don't have any real users in the system. We are on 8.03.403D. Has
> anyone else experienced this? Does any one know of a stress test
that I
> could use to gage the speed of the system?
>
>
>
> Thanks!
>
>
>
> Dale Kalsow | Information Technologies Director
> ____________________________________________________________________
> Determan Brownie, Inc. | 1241 72nd Avenue NE | Minneapolis, MN 55432
>
> * Phone: (763) 502-9689 | * Fax: (763) 571-1789
>
> * dale.r.kalsow@... | * http://determan.com/
>
>
>
> "Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you
arrive
> in."
>
>
>
> Electronic Privacy Notice. This e-mail, and any attachments,
contains
> information that is, or may be, covered by the Electronic
Communications
> Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. 2510-2521, and is also confidential and
> proprietary in nature. If you are not the intended recipient,
please be
> advised that you are legally prohibited from retaining, using,
copying,
> distributing, or otherwise disclosing this information in any
manner.
> Instead, please reply to the sender that you have received this
> communication in error, and then immediately delete it. Thank you in
> advance for your cooperation.
>
> ________________________________
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
#12
We have an Inter-tel Axxess phone system in Cincinnati and an Inter-tel
5000 in California. We rarely have problems. Inter-tel's support has
been good to us. I find that the different branch offices have different
levels of knowledge. You can always call the national support number and
get a knowledgeable person on the phone quickly. They also can remote
into your system and take care of most problems quickly (which is mainly
my lack of programming knowledge). On the Inter-tel 5000 with VoIP
phones, I have found that you will have the problems descried by Darren
if you do not run a separate LAN connection for the VoIP phone (do not
use the pass thru port on the VoIP phone). We have 8 network paths to
California and over 24 IP phones spread throughout the world. A good
Internet connection is a must for the remote IP phones, especially
upload speed. We have found out that when we paid the little extra to
move up, it helped out tremendously.



Mitel or Inter-tel is usually the best bang for the buck; and Mitel just
bought Inter-tel. I have heard great things about Shore-tel as well. In
today's world, I would seriously consider a phone system that supported
open standards such a SIP. I am really interested in using SIP phones
both software and hardware, SIP trunks and SIP gateways to presence
software. SIP seems to be the way to go.



We looked at Asterisk and personally, compared to Inter-tel, the system
interface for programming was not as nice as Inter-tel's. It seemed very
much like Linux versus Windows. Asterisk might be lean and mean and
highly customizable, but not as easy to work with compared to other
systems.



Joe Luster

Network Administrator

Cold Jet, LLC

513-831-3211 ext. 308

513-831-1209 FAX

<http://www.coldjet.com>



________________________________

From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Darren Giordano
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 2:32 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic



We have the Inter-Tel 5000, the only VoIP we are doing is between our
location in NC to MD across a 3Mb MPLS circuit and have a ton of issues
with echos, drop calls, out of bandwidth, yet we are not using more than
1Mb of bandwidth. This is a new installation with new equipment. We have
found their support terrible, makes Epicor's look great.

I haven't dealt with Avaya, they have always been too expensive.

I have looked at some NEC stuff and have been really impressed with the
price and options versus anyone else. I haven't used their support so I
can't comment on how good they are.

Darren Giordano
Information Systems
PACE Worldwide

----- Original Message ----
From: Michael McWilliams <mmcwilliams22@...
<mailto:mmcwilliams22%40yahoo.com> >
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:48:10 PM
Subject: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic

Any input on the following phone systems? I cannot seem to find any
comparisons. Avaya IP office, Intertel 5000, Nec Aspire....

__________________________________________________________
Be a better pen pal.
Text or chat with friends inside Yahoo! Mail. See how.
http://overview.mail.yahoo.com/ <http://overview.mail.yahoo.com/>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
#13
We are in the middle of a corporate mandated phone system replacement
initiative involving the Inter-Tel 5000 system. If you are considering
VOIP I would not recommend the Inter-Tel 5000 system.

Having recently relocated one of our facilities we attempted to
integrate the Inter-Tel system with the IP/Fiber network, pure Cisco,
that serviced the industrial park by adding a PRI/T1 card to the
Inter-Tel system. Suffice it to say the IP service and the Inter-Tel did
not play nice together and we were never able to resolve the
incompatibility issues and we had to revert back to analog service.



The initiative involved installing the digital version of the system
initially with the intent to add/blend-in IP were it made sense as we
did not need the IP endpoints everywhere. We currently have the system
installed in 5 of our 10 locations and are essentially stand-alone
digital systems, currently. Once we had the system installed in each
location, or at least our regional offices, we were going to incorporate
the VOIP component connecting each location across our MPLS WAN.
Unfortunately Corporate made the selection/decision without IT
involvement and we are now giving serious consideration to scrapping the
current initiative as a result of our experience and additional research
by the IT Department. As a stand-alone digital system it may be a viable
option as I am sure they are competitively priced.



Randy Vander Galien

IT Manager

ACH Foam Technologies



________________________________

From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Michael McWilliams
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 12:48 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic



Any input on the following phone systems? I cannot seem to find any
comparisons. Avaya IP office, Intertel 5000, Nec Aspire....





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
#14
Dale,
Several questions\ideas:
1. Have you attempted to tune the .pf's. Ben Nixon from Epicor
has done some training sessions on this. Typically the line starting
with -Mm 1024 -mmax 4000 -Bt 200 can be tuned . I run -Mm 4096,
-mmax 64000, -Bt -4096. The -Mm setting needs changed on the
database properties as well. Do not do this on your live system,
test on the training system.

2. Is your server hardware up to specification? Have you tried a
benchmarking tool such as CliBench MKIII to look at hard drive
performance and system perfromance. Most of the speed issues arise
for hard drive configuration, sometimes a raid controller needs tuning
or is weak. (NO RAID 5 too slow) Also, having the database on a
separate raid and hard drive from the OS and the main Epicor
directory can help.

3. Are you end user trained to memory cache the favorite screens?


--- In vantage@yahoogroups.com, "Dale R. Kalsow" <dale.r.kalsow@...>
wrote:
>
> Good Afternoon Everyone,
>
>
>
> I have some implementer complaining about the speed of epicor and we
> don't have any real users in the system. We are on 8.03.403D. Has
> anyone else experienced this? Does any one know of a stress test that I
> could use to gage the speed of the system?
>
>
>
> Thanks!
>
>
>
> Dale Kalsow | Information Technologies Director
> ____________________________________________________________________
> Determan Brownie, Inc. | 1241 72nd Avenue NE | Minneapolis, MN 55432
>
> * Phone: (763) 502-9689 | * Fax: (763) 571-1789
>
> * dale.r.kalsow@... | * http://determan.com/
>
>
>
> "Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive
> in."
>
>
>
> Electronic Privacy Notice. This e-mail, and any attachments, contains
> information that is, or may be, covered by the Electronic Communications
> Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. 2510-2521, and is also confidential and
> proprietary in nature. If you are not the intended recipient, please be
> advised that you are legally prohibited from retaining, using, copying,
> distributing, or otherwise disclosing this information in any manner.
> Instead, please reply to the sender that you have received this
> communication in error, and then immediately delete it. Thank you in
> advance for your cooperation.
>
> ________________________________
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
#15
I am appreciating all the responses. They are very helpful, I have
already added Cisco into the mix to see what they can come up with.
We currently have two locations. One south of Chicago & then one in
South Carolina. We will be digital in this facility & then have to
make a decision for South Carolina. We may go with just IP phones
or put a smaller system down there with digital & create the IP
connection over our VPN. We also want to keep into consideration
users that will be working with an IP phone from home(Under 5).
It is funny that the people mention the Inter-Tel issues. They were
out for a demo & there call dropped not even two minutes in.

--- In vantage@yahoogroups.com, "Randy Vander Galien"
<rvandergalien@...> wrote:
>
> We are in the middle of a corporate mandated phone system
replacement
> initiative involving the Inter-Tel 5000 system. If you are
considering
> VOIP I would not recommend the Inter-Tel 5000 system.
>
> Having recently relocated one of our facilities we attempted to
> integrate the Inter-Tel system with the IP/Fiber network, pure
Cisco,
> that serviced the industrial park by adding a PRI/T1 card to the
> Inter-Tel system. Suffice it to say the IP service and the Inter-
Tel did
> not play nice together and we were never able to resolve the
> incompatibility issues and we had to revert back to analog
service.
>
>
>
> The initiative involved installing the digital version of the
system
> initially with the intent to add/blend-in IP were it made sense as
we
> did not need the IP endpoints everywhere. We currently have the
system
> installed in 5 of our 10 locations and are essentially stand-alone
> digital systems, currently. Once we had the system installed in
each
> location, or at least our regional offices, we were going to
incorporate
> the VOIP component connecting each location across our MPLS WAN.
> Unfortunately Corporate made the selection/decision without IT
> involvement and we are now giving serious consideration to
scrapping the
> current initiative as a result of our experience and additional
research
> by the IT Department. As a stand-alone digital system it may be a
viable
> option as I am sure they are competitively priced.
>
>
>
> Randy Vander Galien
>
> IT Manager
>
> ACH Foam Technologies
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf
> Of Michael McWilliams
> Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 12:48 PM
> To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic
>
>
>
> Any input on the following phone systems? I cannot seem to find
any
> comparisons. Avaya IP office, Intertel 5000, Nec Aspire....
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
#16
We have about 100 handsets and are looking at both commercial and open
source solutions -

http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Open+Source+VOIP+Software



This looks really good. It's peer to peer --

http://sipx-wiki.calivia.com/index.php/Main_Page



Free client -

http://www.openwengo.org/



This looks to be one of the best soft clients available -

http://www.fonality.com/hud_features.html



Has anyone here worked with the SIPx from SIPFoundry or SIPxchange from
Pingtel?





From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Michael McWilliams
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 9:54 AM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Vantage] Re: OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic



I am appreciating all the responses. They are very helpful, I have
already added Cisco into the mix to see what they can come up with.
We currently have two locations. One south of Chicago & then one in
South Carolina. We will be digital in this facility & then have to
make a decision for South Carolina. We may go with just IP phones
or put a smaller system down there with digital & create the IP
connection over our VPN. We also want to keep into consideration
users that will be working with an IP phone from home(Under 5).
It is funny that the people mention the Inter-Tel issues. They were
out for a demo & there call dropped not even two minutes in.

--- In vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> ,
"Randy Vander Galien"
<rvandergalien@...> wrote:
>
> We are in the middle of a corporate mandated phone system
replacement
> initiative involving the Inter-Tel 5000 system. If you are
considering
> VOIP I would not recommend the Inter-Tel 5000 system.
>
> Having recently relocated one of our facilities we attempted to
> integrate the Inter-Tel system with the IP/Fiber network, pure
Cisco,
> that serviced the industrial park by adding a PRI/T1 card to the
> Inter-Tel system. Suffice it to say the IP service and the Inter-
Tel did
> not play nice together and we were never able to resolve the
> incompatibility issues and we had to revert back to analog
service.
>
>
>
> The initiative involved installing the digital version of the
system
> initially with the intent to add/blend-in IP were it made sense as
we
> did not need the IP endpoints everywhere. We currently have the
system
> installed in 5 of our 10 locations and are essentially stand-alone
> digital systems, currently. Once we had the system installed in
each
> location, or at least our regional offices, we were going to
incorporate
> the VOIP component connecting each location across our MPLS WAN.
> Unfortunately Corporate made the selection/decision without IT
> involvement and we are now giving serious consideration to
scrapping the
> current initiative as a result of our experience and additional
research
> by the IT Department. As a stand-alone digital system it may be a
viable
> option as I am sure they are competitively priced.
>
>
>
> Randy Vander Galien
>
> IT Manager
>
> ACH Foam Technologies
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> ] On
Behalf
> Of Michael McWilliams
> Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 12:48 PM
> To: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic
>
>
> Any input on the following phone systems? I cannot seem to find
any
> comparisons. Avaya IP office, Intertel 5000, Nec Aspire....
>
>






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
#17
Speaking from personal experience integrating a Cisco CallManager and
Unity system, I can tell you that it's very good, but watch out for
problems with analog fax machines over the digital lines. You'll likely
need to include a digital-to-analog module, and even then, there will be
some other configuration problems on the system to make sure that the
33.6 fax machines work properly. We originally planned on integrating a
RightFax server (which eliminates the analog-fax/digital-line issue),
but it was many months between initial implementation of the VoIP and
implementation of the RightFax.

Plan DHCP scopes and VLANs appropriately, as you certainly do not want
all the VoIP traffic running across your production data network.

With a multi-site integration, you might consider looking into MPLS
instead of using VPN over standard Internet links. MPLS (multi-protocol
label-switching) is, to put it very simplistically, LAN-to-LAN VPN
without actual VPN configuration - you connect both locations to your
provider's "cloud" (has to be the same provider on both sides) and let
them worry about security of your traffic.

Every layer-2 packet that leaves one office is tagged as it enters the
provider's cloud. The tag not only identifies the traffic as belonging
to you, but defines the priority (QoS) as well, and routes the packet
accordingly. This could save you a lot of money, as it means you don't
have to direct *all* your traffic over the high-cost "real-time"
circuits that the VoIP traffic demands. Depending on your needs, a T1
MPLS link to the provider's cloud may be all you need for both data
*and* voice.

Cisco offers the CallManager product (which needs two-servers for
fault-tolerance, plus the optional Unity voice-mail server), and also
offers the CallManager Express product, which I believe runs wholly
within a router rather than on a server/servers.

Good luck!
--Ari
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ari Footlik
IT Manager - R. A. Zweig


________________________________

From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Michael McWilliams
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 9:54 AM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Vantage] Re: OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic



I am appreciating all the responses. They are very helpful, I have
already added Cisco into the mix to see what they can come up with.
We currently have two locations. One south of Chicago & then one in
South Carolina. We will be digital in this facility & then have to
make a decision for South Carolina. We may go with just IP phones
or put a smaller system down there with digital & create the IP
connection over our VPN. We also want to keep into consideration
users that will be working with an IP phone from home(Under 5).
It is funny that the people mention the Inter-Tel issues. They were
out for a demo & there call dropped not even two minutes in.

--- In vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> ,
"Randy Vander Galien"
<rvandergalien@...> wrote:
>
> We are in the middle of a corporate mandated phone system
replacement
> initiative involving the Inter-Tel 5000 system. If you are
considering
> VOIP I would not recommend the Inter-Tel 5000 system.
>
> Having recently relocated one of our facilities we attempted to
> integrate the Inter-Tel system with the IP/Fiber network, pure
Cisco,
> that serviced the industrial park by adding a PRI/T1 card to the
> Inter-Tel system. Suffice it to say the IP service and the Inter-
Tel did
> not play nice together and we were never able to resolve the
> incompatibility issues and we had to revert back to analog
service.
>
>
>
> The initiative involved installing the digital version of the
system
> initially with the intent to add/blend-in IP were it made sense as
we
> did not need the IP endpoints everywhere. We currently have the
system
> installed in 5 of our 10 locations and are essentially stand-alone
> digital systems, currently. Once we had the system installed in
each
> location, or at least our regional offices, we were going to
incorporate
> the VOIP component connecting each location across our MPLS WAN.
> Unfortunately Corporate made the selection/decision without IT
> involvement and we are now giving serious consideration to
scrapping the
> current initiative as a result of our experience and additional
research
> by the IT Department. As a stand-alone digital system it may be a
viable
> option as I am sure they are competitively priced.
>
>
>
> Randy Vander Galien
>
> IT Manager
>
> ACH Foam Technologies
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> ] On
Behalf
> Of Michael McWilliams
> Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 12:48 PM
> To: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic
>
>
>
> Any input on the following phone systems? I cannot seem to find
any
> comparisons. Avaya IP office, Intertel 5000, Nec Aspire....
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
#18
Anyone look at Microsoft Response Point phone systems. Or found or used
any other product that puts voice messages into your Outlook inbox?



Patrick J. Winter



From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Todd Caughey
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 2:35 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [SPAM] RE: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic



We are very close to selecting a NEC Electra Elite IPK II system to
replace our very old Nortel Meridian/Norstar system. I have been pretty
impressed by the technology cpompared to the Nortel BCM400 and a
ShoreTel VoIP based system. The BCM seems too much like the old system
wrapped in a new CPU & software shell and the ShoreTel would require
disrupting our IP network (including new switches, etc...) and possible
impact on Vantage performance. We don't really need VoIP features anyway
and were really impressed when the NEC reseller we are using advised
against it for us. Even though the BCM can use our existing phones the
NEC system with all new (and better) phones is $10K less expensive and
seems at least comparible in capabilities. The PC Attendant and PC
Assistant options are also better than similar products from Nortel (or
3rd party add-ons) and the NEC system will use our existing Cat-3 wiring
same as the BCM would have.
-Todd C.

________________________________
From: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> ] On
Behalf Of Darren Giordano
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:32 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic

We have the Inter-Tel 5000, the only VoIP we are doing is between our
location in NC to MD across a 3Mb MPLS circuit and have a ton of issues
with echos, drop calls, out of bandwidth, yet we are not using more than
1Mb of bandwidth. This is a new installation with new equipment. We have
found their support terrible, makes Epicor's look great.

I haven't dealt with Avaya, they have always been too expensive.

I have looked at some NEC stuff and have been really impressed with the
price and options versus anyone else. I haven't used their support so I
can't comment on how good they are.

Darren Giordano
Information Systems
PACE Worldwide

----- Original Message ----
From: Michael McWilliams <mmcwilliams22@...
<mailto:mmcwilliams22%40yahoo.com> <mailto:mmcwilliams22%40yahoo.com>>
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:48:10 PM
Subject: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic

Any input on the following phone systems? I cannot seem to find any
comparisons. Avaya IP office, Intertel 5000, Nec Aspire....

__________________________________________________________
Be a better pen pal.
Text or chat with friends inside Yahoo! Mail. See how.
http://overview.mail.yahoo.com/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential and
privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient,
please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail, delete this
e-mail and destroy any copies. Any dissemination or use of this
information by a person other than the intended recipient is
unauthorized and may be illegal.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
#19
Everyone of the recent systems we've looked at has a Unified Messaging (or Unified Communications) add-on option. Usually a software key code on the system to turn on X number of seats. These have ranged in price from $33/user to $50/user. Voicemail is routed to an Outlook add-in that usually treats it like a second Inbox. Voice messages can then be played with a built-in player and also exported as a .wav file attachment to outgoing email. Most, if not all, also handle faxes but I have not checked the details on that part yet. In talking to the various vendors it was clear they are all striving to be compatible as with MS as possible.

In addition to Unified Messaging the NEC system we are 99% sure to be going with has a PC-Assistant product that does the telephony part of dialing the phone from Outlook Contact info and doing screen-pops with incoming caller ID info. This also has an option if it was an operator directed call with a message "toner salesperson" from the operator to send the call to another extension such as a voicemail box with a "special" message for just such callers. I can't wait!
-Todd C.

________________________________
From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Winter, Patrick
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 1:51 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [SPAM] RE: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic


Anyone look at Microsoft Response Point phone systems. Or found or used
any other product that puts voice messages into your Outlook inbox?

Patrick J. Winter

From: vantage@yahoogroups.com<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>] On Behalf
Of Todd Caughey
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 2:35 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [SPAM] RE: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic

We are very close to selecting a NEC Electra Elite IPK II system to
replace our very old Nortel Meridian/Norstar system. I have been pretty
impressed by the technology cpompared to the Nortel BCM400 and a
ShoreTel VoIP based system. The BCM seems too much like the old system
wrapped in a new CPU & software shell and the ShoreTel would require
disrupting our IP network (including new switches, etc...) and possible
impact on Vantage performance. We don't really need VoIP features anyway
and were really impressed when the NEC reseller we are using advised
against it for us. Even though the BCM can use our existing phones the
NEC system with all new (and better) phones is $10K less expensive and
seems at least comparible in capabilities. The PC Attendant and PC
Assistant options are also better than similar products from Nortel (or
3rd party add-ons) and the NEC system will use our existing Cat-3 wiring
same as the BCM would have.
-Todd C.

________________________________
From: vantage@yahoogroups.com<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> ] On
Behalf Of Darren Giordano
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:32 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic

We have the Inter-Tel 5000, the only VoIP we are doing is between our
location in NC to MD across a 3Mb MPLS circuit and have a ton of issues
with echos, drop calls, out of bandwidth, yet we are not using more than
1Mb of bandwidth. This is a new installation with new equipment. We have
found their support terrible, makes Epicor's look great.

I haven't dealt with Avaya, they have always been too expensive.

I have looked at some NEC stuff and have been really impressed with the
price and options versus anyone else. I haven't used their support so I
can't comment on how good they are.

Darren Giordano
Information Systems
PACE Worldwide

----- Original Message ----
From: Michael McWilliams <mmcwilliams22@...<mailto:mmcwilliams22%40yahoo.com>
<mailto:mmcwilliams22%40yahoo.com> <mailto:mmcwilliams22%40yahoo.com>>
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:48:10 PM
Subject: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic

Any input on the following phone systems? I cannot seem to find any
comparisons. Avaya IP office, Intertel 5000, Nec Aspire....

__________________________________________________________
Be a better pen pal.
Text or chat with friends inside Yahoo! Mail. See how.
http://overview.mail.yahoo.com/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential and
privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient,
please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail, delete this
e-mail and destroy any copies. Any dissemination or use of this
information by a person other than the intended recipient is
unauthorized and may be illegal.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
#20
The Cisco CallManager system has an application add-on (free, or at
least, "included") that will add "Dial" options to your Outlook
contacts. I'd bet that CallManager Express, which works in a similar
manner, can make use of the same application.

The Cisco Unity voicemail system will drop incoming voicemail messages
into your Outlook mailbox as WAV files, accessible via Outlook, Outlook
Web, and WindowsMobile device (very helpful) - full Exchange
connectivity. If you use POP/SMTP to access your email, though,
checking your messages will render the "message waiting" indicator
useless, as when you retrieve your messages with POP, the server marks
everything you retrieve as "read." Another way to describe this is to
say that you can turn the "message waiting" indicator on/off by
marking/unmarking email in your Inbox as "read" or not, but not if you
use POP/SMTP.

--Ari
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ari Footlik
IT Manager - R. A. Zweig


________________________________

From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Todd Caughey
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 2:07 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: RE: [SPAM] RE: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic



Everyone of the recent systems we've looked at has a Unified Messaging
(or Unified Communications) add-on option. Usually a software key code
on the system to turn on X number of seats. These have ranged in price
from $33/user to $50/user. Voicemail is routed to an Outlook add-in that
usually treats it like a second Inbox. Voice messages can then be played
with a built-in player and also exported as a .wav file attachment to
outgoing email. Most, if not all, also handle faxes but I have not
checked the details on that part yet. In talking to the various vendors
it was clear they are all striving to be compatible as with MS as
possible.

In addition to Unified Messaging the NEC system we are 99% sure to be
going with has a PC-Assistant product that does the telephony part of
dialing the phone from Outlook Contact info and doing screen-pops with
incoming caller ID info. This also has an option if it was an operator
directed call with a message "toner salesperson" from the operator to
send the call to another extension such as a voicemail box with a
"special" message for just such callers. I can't wait!
-Todd C.

________________________________
From: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> ] On
Behalf Of Winter, Patrick
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 1:51 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: RE: [SPAM] RE: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic

Anyone look at Microsoft Response Point phone systems. Or found or used
any other product that puts voice messages into your Outlook inbox?

Patrick J. Winter

From: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com
<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>]
On Behalf
Of Todd Caughey
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 2:35 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [SPAM] RE: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic

We are very close to selecting a NEC Electra Elite IPK II system to
replace our very old Nortel Meridian/Norstar system. I have been pretty
impressed by the technology cpompared to the Nortel BCM400 and a
ShoreTel VoIP based system. The BCM seems too much like the old system
wrapped in a new CPU & software shell and the ShoreTel would require
disrupting our IP network (including new switches, etc...) and possible
impact on Vantage performance. We don't really need VoIP features anyway
and were really impressed when the NEC reseller we are using advised
against it for us. Even though the BCM can use our existing phones the
NEC system with all new (and better) phones is $10K less expensive and
seems at least comparible in capabilities. The PC Attendant and PC
Assistant options are also better than similar products from Nortel (or
3rd party add-ons) and the NEC system will use our existing Cat-3 wiring
same as the BCM would have.
-Todd C.

________________________________
From: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> ]
On
Behalf Of Darren Giordano
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:32 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic

We have the Inter-Tel 5000, the only VoIP we are doing is between our
location in NC to MD across a 3Mb MPLS circuit and have a ton of issues
with echos, drop calls, out of bandwidth, yet we are not using more than
1Mb of bandwidth. This is a new installation with new equipment. We have
found their support terrible, makes Epicor's look great.

I haven't dealt with Avaya, they have always been too expensive.

I have looked at some NEC stuff and have been really impressed with the
price and options versus anyone else. I haven't used their support so I
can't comment on how good they are.

Darren Giordano
Information Systems
PACE Worldwide

----- Original Message ----
From: Michael McWilliams <mmcwilliams22@...
<mailto:mmcwilliams22%40yahoo.com> <mailto:mmcwilliams22%40yahoo.com>
<mailto:mmcwilliams22%40yahoo.com> <mailto:mmcwilliams22%40yahoo.com>>
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 1:48:10 PM
Subject: [Vantage] OT ( Phone Systems) Of Topic

Any input on the following phone systems? I cannot seem to find any
comparisons. Avaya IP office, Intertel 5000, Nec Aspire....

__________________________________________________________
Be a better pen pal.
Text or chat with friends inside Yahoo! Mail. See how.
http://overview.mail.yahoo.com/ <http://overview.mail.yahoo.com/>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential and
privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient,
please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail, delete this
e-mail and destroy any copies. Any dissemination or use of this
information by a person other than the intended recipient is
unauthorized and may be illegal.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]