Voice of Reason: effectively combine Internet and telephony in the office
To organize the work of a small office - what would seem to be easier for a sysadmin? I chose the provider, connected the broadband access, and it remains only occasionally to follow the traffic volume. So, at least, leadership often thinks. Several phone numbers and Internet access are all that I had to rely on for many years as system administrators at various small and medium-sized companies.
About the smooth functioning of the office - even if it employs only 3-5 people - with such an approach, you can immediately forget. And when there are 15-20 employees in a team, or a company has several offices assembled into a single network, wait for a real production nightmare. Let me explain why.
What is required for office work?
• In addition to Internet access, this is, first of all, telephony - not only internal, but also external. Be sure to need the simplest services like transfer calls to other subscribers, call forwarding, conferences. I arranged the services in this sequence, since, as follows from my practice, translations and forwards are used significantly more often than conferences. Recently, however, the status of conferences is growing, they are becoming more in demand. In addition, much depends on the specifics of the company and the preferences of its leadership.
')
Voice functions - the most problematic part, with all the seeming simplicity. Telephony needs good voice quality, stability and reliability (one failure - and the client is lost), and more - fax support. Many offices require additional features — for example, the auto attendant function. It is unprofitable for an employer to single out an employee for processing incoming calls from the category “switch me to Vasya / Masha / Natasha / Petya” or “connect to the sales department / accounting department”. Especially since a live person does not answer any calls anymore. Automatic voice recognition systems - those that are able to distinguish Masha from Natasha by ear - are more expensive than a good, leggy secretary.
• Another layer of services - also, at first glance, the simplest - is associated with the infrastructure functions of office communications: servers for storing information, network-connected printers, and office wireless wi-fi. Separately - this is a feasible task, even for an amateur. But together they require a logical and structural approach. Especially, if a company has several offices or, for example, it is necessary to provide employees with different levels of access to services and information.
How to combine all the necessary options into one?
When all the listed services are introduced (and they, of course, will be required in the office at the same time), the problem of integration arises in full growth. Here, amateurs and sophomores can hardly cope: you need a strong practical skill and an accurate understanding of the technological difference between the various implementation schemes. It took me more than a year to fully immerse myself in the problem and the selection of solutions, like most specialists who are able to build a full-fledged architecture in the office at minimal cost.
So, we will have to organize together the work of various devices, each of which solves any one small part of the problem. On the market, you can find a lot of "semi-free" products - on different platforms, from different developers or equipment suppliers.
To bring such products and selected devices together, to build a stable infrastructure, we need tons of nerves and weeks of free time. This is not only my opinion: ask any sysadmin who has run communications in a new office at least once in his life. He will remember the opening of each new site as a nightmare.
I would like to emphasize once again: problems begin with the organization of just a few jobs, not to mention companies with a large number of employees.
It was not always possible to fully integrate all the necessary “semi-free” products and make them function smoothly, like the absolute majority of my colleagues. In some companies, the management did not particularly bother and simply outweighed all communications on mobile communications - the good, signal quality and distribution territory now allow it. But let's be honest: office calls to a personal number can bring any priceless employee to the white hot. You are already (or still) not in the office, but still remain “on a leash” with the bosses, who with great enthusiasm hang up official tasks both before and after the working day. In general, as you understand, in offices where all communication is kept on personal mobile, valuable specialists do not live long. And I really understand them humanly.
But there is good news. The market does not stand still, and no one has canceled the sisadmin's ingenuity. Therefore, I hasten to please you, convenient and inexpensive solutions for organizing communications in offices still exist. Yes, yes, including the support of the main internal communication services. Let's see what is better to start and what features must be taken into account in order to build such a solution in your office.
1. Voice quality
This item is often difficult, especially when using IP-telephony. The fact is that voice quality depends primarily on what compression algorithm is used and how speech data packaging is organized.
Search engines give us a few major players in the field of VoIP, but not all things go smoothly. Some - for example, the company Vocaltec no longer exist or absorbed by other manufacturers. As you understand, support for original devices in this case can be, to put it mildly, difficult. Many players have completely removed their voice solutions from their product lines, while others have only the top models and developments left in the product range.
Of those who stood at the origins of packet telephony, few continue to work successfully. Several Internet sources point at once to the example of the company AudioCodes: they began precisely with the implementation of coding and compression algorithms, and today they are the developer of one of the most common until recently codecs - G.723.
However, I paid attention to them not only and not so much for the experience in the market. The main advantage of AudioCodes over other manufacturers is that the company itself is engaged in the development and production of the very DSP-processor, which is actually the heart of any device in a VoIP network. The main and primary task - packetization of speech information, which, as we remember, depends on the quality of the voice function, rests on this piece of iron. Thus, an excellent DSP processor is the support and hope of a sysadmin in any office, which provides stability, system flexibility, and support for all the additional features that the bosses will ask for sooner or later.
2. Control Shell
On top of the already described DSPs, in most cases, it is necessary to adapt software from other manufacturers that use third-party designs and mechanisms - from the DSPs themselves to protocol stacks and voice SDKs. On the market a lot of similar solutions, designers, assembled in pieces. You open the box, and there is the DSP from one supplier, the SIP stack from the second, the voice SDK from the third, the codecs from the fourth, and the universal card from the fifth. I personally observed this, and more than once: comrades from the Middle Kingdom especially love to release such masterpieces.
On top of all this colorful merry-go-round, the control shell is written, and the designer is packed in a beautiful box (which, by the way, has already been ordered from the sixth supplier). And ahead - to conquer the office telephony market.
How does this, if I may say so, product differ from the integration of different solutions by hand? That's right, nothing. It seems to work, but it is unstable, bugs are found at every step. Well, add here the cost of a superman who will take on the work of Sisyphus to maintain this delicate balance made in china.
Companies that released not only their DSP-processors, but all other devices, placed in a single shell, on the market once and off. One of the few, if not the only one, is the same AudioCodes, in which all the underlying processes are perfectly interconnected. What is important - with the exemplary quality of codecs and packetization algorithms.
3. Connection technology
At the next stage, we study the telephone installation from the point of view of technology. Offers for connecting small offices - the sea. Suitable - much less. So, what does the modern market promise us?
1) Analog Interfaces. Stable and workable, but still it is - greetings from the last century. Connection is tied to a place that is inconvenient for many companies. Everything else telephony will exist separately from the Internet, in different connections and interfaces.
2) SIP trunk. The long-awaited solution for many system administrators: telephony and the Internet in one “wire”. But iron is not always perfect “friendly” with a universal connection, and certain skills will be needed for tuning. The “capital” minus of SIP is one - weak security, especially in terms of voice channels. Hack SIP-device is quite capable of a student, you only need to google it. And installing and configuring a border session controller (SBC), which solves security problems, is not a task for a student sysadmin. And for an office of 5–15 employees, finding an SBC with such a number of licenses at a normal price is not an easy task, although the same AudioCodes has an SBC with the required number of licenses, even for 5–10 subscribers. And this, in my opinion, is again an indicator of the flexibility of this vendor to the complex task.
3) Virtual PBX. It is considered one of the most attractive options, since it does not require the installation of special equipment - only subscriber devices are needed, such as SIP phones or telephone adapters. But there are, however, serious drawbacks. Service from the operator involves the solution of only one task - the organization of telephony, as a rule, in complete isolation from all other services. In addition, you need a fairly serious network infrastructure - a router, switches, and a bunch of other equipment. For an office of 5-10 people, this is extremely expensive.
4) Universal devices
Careful monitoring of the market gave rather modest results. I managed to find out by and large one more or less universal package that solves the main tasks of organizing communications in a small office. Salvation was found in the MegaFon product line, combined in the Express Office solution. This option relies on a wireless IT infrastructure: the client only needs an electrical outlet, according to the operator. Even a specially trained IT specialist will not be needed.
In fact, the office is organized in any room, and depending on the needs of the company, you can choose different sets of connections - only the Internet, or the Internet in combination with a telephone or a mini-PBX. My attention was attracted by the L set - as the most responsive to the tasks that I most often had to solve.
Why do I think this option is optimal?
- It is possible to organize an office with a mini-PBX "on the knee", without laying any cables and selecting the right equipment. Everything is already included in the package - a router, a modem, a company phone and a SIM card.
- One set allows you to deploy a fairly wide infrastructure: up to 32 devices can be connected via Wi-Fi, up to four computers or office equipment can be connected via Ethernet. It also offers a WAN port for an external Internet channel, up to five DECT handsets and up to two standard analog telephones. And instead of a telephone, you can connect a fax machine.
- The express office of MegaFon is built on the “right hardware”. This is a customized device from the AudioCodes already mentioned by me more than once. Connected subscribers are available, including built-in Wi-Fi hotspot and USB ports, which can be used to connect not only LTE modems, but also external USB drives or a printer. Organized in this way, the file and print server will be available to employees via WiFi. If we talk about WiFi, it supports multiple SSIDs, you can make a hidden network or a guest network, without access to office data.
You can build L2TP or PPTP tunnels - again for secure connection to the central office.
- IPTV protocols are supported. The set-top box will have to be connected additionally, but its absence in the kit is fully compensated by the presence of the built-in DECT-base, which is much more in demand for the organization of office work.
Thus, we get as close as possible to the universal, which does not require the "crossing" is not intended for this development. So, it provides a much more stable and reliable operation of the entire office network.
I will talk about the process of building the configuration and step-by-step connection of services in my next review.
Do not disconnect.
About the smooth functioning of the office - even if it employs only 3-5 people - with such an approach, you can immediately forget. And when there are 15-20 employees in a team, or a company has several offices assembled into a single network, wait for a real production nightmare. Let me explain why.
What is required for office work?
• In addition to Internet access, this is, first of all, telephony - not only internal, but also external. Be sure to need the simplest services like transfer calls to other subscribers, call forwarding, conferences. I arranged the services in this sequence, since, as follows from my practice, translations and forwards are used significantly more often than conferences. Recently, however, the status of conferences is growing, they are becoming more in demand. In addition, much depends on the specifics of the company and the preferences of its leadership.
')
Voice functions - the most problematic part, with all the seeming simplicity. Telephony needs good voice quality, stability and reliability (one failure - and the client is lost), and more - fax support. Many offices require additional features — for example, the auto attendant function. It is unprofitable for an employer to single out an employee for processing incoming calls from the category “switch me to Vasya / Masha / Natasha / Petya” or “connect to the sales department / accounting department”. Especially since a live person does not answer any calls anymore. Automatic voice recognition systems - those that are able to distinguish Masha from Natasha by ear - are more expensive than a good, leggy secretary.
• Another layer of services - also, at first glance, the simplest - is associated with the infrastructure functions of office communications: servers for storing information, network-connected printers, and office wireless wi-fi. Separately - this is a feasible task, even for an amateur. But together they require a logical and structural approach. Especially, if a company has several offices or, for example, it is necessary to provide employees with different levels of access to services and information.
How to combine all the necessary options into one?
When all the listed services are introduced (and they, of course, will be required in the office at the same time), the problem of integration arises in full growth. Here, amateurs and sophomores can hardly cope: you need a strong practical skill and an accurate understanding of the technological difference between the various implementation schemes. It took me more than a year to fully immerse myself in the problem and the selection of solutions, like most specialists who are able to build a full-fledged architecture in the office at minimal cost.
So, we will have to organize together the work of various devices, each of which solves any one small part of the problem. On the market, you can find a lot of "semi-free" products - on different platforms, from different developers or equipment suppliers.
To bring such products and selected devices together, to build a stable infrastructure, we need tons of nerves and weeks of free time. This is not only my opinion: ask any sysadmin who has run communications in a new office at least once in his life. He will remember the opening of each new site as a nightmare.
I would like to emphasize once again: problems begin with the organization of just a few jobs, not to mention companies with a large number of employees.
It was not always possible to fully integrate all the necessary “semi-free” products and make them function smoothly, like the absolute majority of my colleagues. In some companies, the management did not particularly bother and simply outweighed all communications on mobile communications - the good, signal quality and distribution territory now allow it. But let's be honest: office calls to a personal number can bring any priceless employee to the white hot. You are already (or still) not in the office, but still remain “on a leash” with the bosses, who with great enthusiasm hang up official tasks both before and after the working day. In general, as you understand, in offices where all communication is kept on personal mobile, valuable specialists do not live long. And I really understand them humanly.
But there is good news. The market does not stand still, and no one has canceled the sisadmin's ingenuity. Therefore, I hasten to please you, convenient and inexpensive solutions for organizing communications in offices still exist. Yes, yes, including the support of the main internal communication services. Let's see what is better to start and what features must be taken into account in order to build such a solution in your office.
1. Voice quality
This item is often difficult, especially when using IP-telephony. The fact is that voice quality depends primarily on what compression algorithm is used and how speech data packaging is organized.
Search engines give us a few major players in the field of VoIP, but not all things go smoothly. Some - for example, the company Vocaltec no longer exist or absorbed by other manufacturers. As you understand, support for original devices in this case can be, to put it mildly, difficult. Many players have completely removed their voice solutions from their product lines, while others have only the top models and developments left in the product range.
Of those who stood at the origins of packet telephony, few continue to work successfully. Several Internet sources point at once to the example of the company AudioCodes: they began precisely with the implementation of coding and compression algorithms, and today they are the developer of one of the most common until recently codecs - G.723.
However, I paid attention to them not only and not so much for the experience in the market. The main advantage of AudioCodes over other manufacturers is that the company itself is engaged in the development and production of the very DSP-processor, which is actually the heart of any device in a VoIP network. The main and primary task - packetization of speech information, which, as we remember, depends on the quality of the voice function, rests on this piece of iron. Thus, an excellent DSP processor is the support and hope of a sysadmin in any office, which provides stability, system flexibility, and support for all the additional features that the bosses will ask for sooner or later.
2. Control Shell
On top of the already described DSPs, in most cases, it is necessary to adapt software from other manufacturers that use third-party designs and mechanisms - from the DSPs themselves to protocol stacks and voice SDKs. On the market a lot of similar solutions, designers, assembled in pieces. You open the box, and there is the DSP from one supplier, the SIP stack from the second, the voice SDK from the third, the codecs from the fourth, and the universal card from the fifth. I personally observed this, and more than once: comrades from the Middle Kingdom especially love to release such masterpieces.
On top of all this colorful merry-go-round, the control shell is written, and the designer is packed in a beautiful box (which, by the way, has already been ordered from the sixth supplier). And ahead - to conquer the office telephony market.
How does this, if I may say so, product differ from the integration of different solutions by hand? That's right, nothing. It seems to work, but it is unstable, bugs are found at every step. Well, add here the cost of a superman who will take on the work of Sisyphus to maintain this delicate balance made in china.
Companies that released not only their DSP-processors, but all other devices, placed in a single shell, on the market once and off. One of the few, if not the only one, is the same AudioCodes, in which all the underlying processes are perfectly interconnected. What is important - with the exemplary quality of codecs and packetization algorithms.
3. Connection technology
At the next stage, we study the telephone installation from the point of view of technology. Offers for connecting small offices - the sea. Suitable - much less. So, what does the modern market promise us?
1) Analog Interfaces. Stable and workable, but still it is - greetings from the last century. Connection is tied to a place that is inconvenient for many companies. Everything else telephony will exist separately from the Internet, in different connections and interfaces.
2) SIP trunk. The long-awaited solution for many system administrators: telephony and the Internet in one “wire”. But iron is not always perfect “friendly” with a universal connection, and certain skills will be needed for tuning. The “capital” minus of SIP is one - weak security, especially in terms of voice channels. Hack SIP-device is quite capable of a student, you only need to google it. And installing and configuring a border session controller (SBC), which solves security problems, is not a task for a student sysadmin. And for an office of 5–15 employees, finding an SBC with such a number of licenses at a normal price is not an easy task, although the same AudioCodes has an SBC with the required number of licenses, even for 5–10 subscribers. And this, in my opinion, is again an indicator of the flexibility of this vendor to the complex task.
3) Virtual PBX. It is considered one of the most attractive options, since it does not require the installation of special equipment - only subscriber devices are needed, such as SIP phones or telephone adapters. But there are, however, serious drawbacks. Service from the operator involves the solution of only one task - the organization of telephony, as a rule, in complete isolation from all other services. In addition, you need a fairly serious network infrastructure - a router, switches, and a bunch of other equipment. For an office of 5-10 people, this is extremely expensive.
4) Universal devices
Careful monitoring of the market gave rather modest results. I managed to find out by and large one more or less universal package that solves the main tasks of organizing communications in a small office. Salvation was found in the MegaFon product line, combined in the Express Office solution. This option relies on a wireless IT infrastructure: the client only needs an electrical outlet, according to the operator. Even a specially trained IT specialist will not be needed.
In fact, the office is organized in any room, and depending on the needs of the company, you can choose different sets of connections - only the Internet, or the Internet in combination with a telephone or a mini-PBX. My attention was attracted by the L set - as the most responsive to the tasks that I most often had to solve.
Why do I think this option is optimal?
- It is possible to organize an office with a mini-PBX "on the knee", without laying any cables and selecting the right equipment. Everything is already included in the package - a router, a modem, a company phone and a SIM card.
- One set allows you to deploy a fairly wide infrastructure: up to 32 devices can be connected via Wi-Fi, up to four computers or office equipment can be connected via Ethernet. It also offers a WAN port for an external Internet channel, up to five DECT handsets and up to two standard analog telephones. And instead of a telephone, you can connect a fax machine.
- The express office of MegaFon is built on the “right hardware”. This is a customized device from the AudioCodes already mentioned by me more than once. Connected subscribers are available, including built-in Wi-Fi hotspot and USB ports, which can be used to connect not only LTE modems, but also external USB drives or a printer. Organized in this way, the file and print server will be available to employees via WiFi. If we talk about WiFi, it supports multiple SSIDs, you can make a hidden network or a guest network, without access to office data.
You can build L2TP or PPTP tunnels - again for secure connection to the central office.
- IPTV protocols are supported. The set-top box will have to be connected additionally, but its absence in the kit is fully compensated by the presence of the built-in DECT-base, which is much more in demand for the organization of office work.
Thus, we get as close as possible to the universal, which does not require the "crossing" is not intended for this development. So, it provides a much more stable and reliable operation of the entire office network.
I will talk about the process of building the configuration and step-by-step connection of services in my next review.
Do not disconnect.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/262669/
All Articles