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Help Me Plan My Trixbox Installation

bk1
Posts: 35
 Member Since:
2007-01-07
Submitted by bk1 on Sat, 06/05/2010 - 7:39am.

I am working with someone and they are moving their office to a new location in the next few months. They are looking to take this opportunity to modernize their phone system.

So, I am working on getting myself more familiar with Trixbox etc but in the meantime, we would like to put together a plan so they will know how much to budget.

Here are some details:
- Office with 15 employees in the main location with one at an outside office. The outside office does not HAVE to be included in this plan overall.
- My estimate would be that the most external concurrent calls they would have is 7 or 8.
- Currently has PRI that provides voice and data. (I think that is the correct term.) Basically, all the channels are for data traffic until needed for voice comm. Currently pay about $510 per month for this circuit with 20DID numbers

So, based on that what would your plan consist of? I am looking for input from both people who have done this for their business as well as people who install systems like this for a living.

My first thought was to just stick with the same kind of circuit they have now and they look into what type of card/device I would need to interface the two. This really wouldn't provide them with any cost savings per month but allows for rock solid voice communications.

Another option I was looking into was to get 2 DSL lines, one for data and one for voice. Then, use someone like Vitelity to provide the majority of the DIDs etc. This plan seems to provide more cost savings but would have more potential for problems IMHO.

Your input is greatly appreciated!

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jchuby
Posts: 611
 Member Since:
2006-07-20
where are you / they
Sat, 06/05/2010 - 12:36pm

where are you / they located?

--

JChuby
Experienced Trixbox Tech for Hire in Greater NYC
Experienced in Remote Tech Support / Custom DialPlan / Assistance As Well
JChubak@gmail.com or PM me on Trixbox.org Forums



bk1
Posts: 35
 Member Since:
2007-01-07
In the midwest: Wisconsin
Sun, 06/06/2010 - 11:04am

In the midwest: Wisconsin



jchuby
Posts: 611
 Member Since:
2006-07-20
-Try to split your calls:
Sun, 06/06/2010 - 7:55pm

-Try to split your calls: How many Outgoing active at once, How many incoming at once?
-How much bandwidth does the office need for NON Voice applications? Web, e-mail, any services not VOICE.
-Where are you mainly calling?
-How Long as your calls
-How many total minutes are you using per month in the office?

You might see you are mainly getting 6 incoming calls, while 1 will be outgoing, or the opposite....
Why does this matter? Because with Trixbox you can setup providers for different things...
Incoming providers with unlimited incoming only service + X channels will cost you $__.
But you can use a different provider for outgoing paying less per minute.

You can find a great combination of services from multiple providers, have failover, and still save a ton, and have a great modern, reliable phone system.

You will need an internet connection... but to figure out how fast, assuming that you will not use compression, use http://www.bandcalc.com/ to calculate the bandwidth for total calls (just fill in the channels box). 15 Channels.... 1200kbps. + Internet traffic = Your needed speed.

If you are looking for what you have now, think about these
1)Consider something from bandwidth.com or one of those guys (bandwidth.com, megapath, ... fill this in)
Where they set you up with a internet t1 and provide VOIP trunks over it. They have integration with the T1 vendor, so they have QoS and manage the lines somewhat.

2) Talk to your local CableCo's business division, get a price quote, take it back to the phone company - theyll change theirs usually

--

JChuby
Experienced Trixbox Tech for Hire in Greater NYC
Experienced in Remote Tech Support / Custom DialPlan / Assistance As Well
JChubak@gmail.com or PM me on Trixbox.org Forums



andrew
Posts: 1472
 Member Since:
2006-05-30
There are many different
Sun, 06/06/2010 - 9:29pm

There are many different ways to get Voice and DATA. In many cases the way you are doing it (combined) is the cheapest. But shop around prices vary by geographic region and even by towns in a state. Usually the more carriers that provide service to your area the better deal you can get.

If you go with any PRI option you will need a PC server running trixbox with a PRI card. If you go with a VOIP phone service provider you just need a PC no card.

Next you need a VOIP phone for each employee figure about $100-$200 per phone. You also need phones for conference rooms.

Another option is to use our Unbound service. You pay $25 per user/month and we give you the phones and everything you need including unlimited long distance calling. Unbound works very well for small offices like the one your talking about becasue there's no actual phone system to worry about.

In this case that would be $375 per month instead of $510 that they are paying now. But you would need to buy internet service for maybe $99 per month. So you save $35 per month and there is no phone system to buy! If you a phone system installer you can get a cut of this monthly fee for yourself.

The most important thing is to get a list of the feature requirements that the customer has. If they are just making simple calls then Unbound may be the way to go. If they need advances features then it may be cheaper to install a full trixbox phone system.

Also make sure they have a good LAN. Remember even if you go with a PRI the voice will go over the network inside the company so good network switches are a must. Look into PoE (power over Ethernet) switches. That way you don't need a power brick for each phone.



bk1
Posts: 35
 Member Since:
2007-01-07
Inbound and outbound is
Wed, 06/09/2010 - 2:19pm

Inbound and outbound is pretty even. Nothing like a ton of sales calls each month or a ton of incoming support calls. Just a good mix of both.

So, I think 4 or 5 outbound with 4 or 5 inbound would be a good starting point. I can ask for more detailed info from the office manager if necessary.

Looking at their last phone bill I see the following:
1,345 local calls
43:54:25 hh:mm:ss

domestic interstate:
108 calls
3:22:36 hh:mm:ss

domestic intrastate:
328 calls
11:52:00

I believe they currently have about 25DIDs but don't know that they NEED that many.

Any other info that would be useful to you guys?

How does a voice/data PRI work physically as far as plugging it all in? I understand that the card in the trixbox server would need to be plugged in. How does it also plug in to the router for internet?



kwarnimo
Posts: 79
 Member Since:
2008-05-19
The Voice/Data PRI will be
Wed, 06/09/2010 - 7:47pm

The Voice/Data PRI will be split at the provider's side. We're in WI too, the biggest carriers in the area are TW Telecom and TDS for this sort of circuit (at least in Milwaukee). They'll have some sort of edge device that they bring their T1(s) in to and split it off in to an ethernet handoff and a PRI.

If you need any local assistance, PM me. My company does data networking & trixbox installs in the Milwaukee / Chicago area, so if you run in to any troubles, we're a local resource if you need something.



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