Box Telephone Systems

Boxed IP PBXs are also known as on-premise IP PBXs. Usually box PBXs are placed on the object - in a server or in a shield box. The data from the IP phones goes to the IP PBX server via the LAN. Calls can go both through the telephone operator and in the form of VoIP through a SIP trunk. Gateways can be used to connect the system to traditional telephone networks.

Costs for VoIP-providers and manufacturers are reduced thanks to boxed open source PBXs like Asterisk. This allows users to access state-of-the-art technologies and the latest features much cheaper than in the past.

Here are three stories of the creation of telephone networks based on a boxed PBX from the experience of very different organizations - a manufacturing company, a bank and a university.

VoIP systems have always competed with solutions based on traditional PBXs, and therefore they have a wide range of functions. The advantages of boxed PBX:
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• Rich functionality - a set of opportunities is wider than that of traditional PBX, and the possibilities themselves are higher.
• SIP - with the integration of a SIP trunk, you can access free calls and IP calls, which reduces costs compared to using traditional phone lines.
• Ownership - you get a tangible, your own system.
• Lack of points of failure - a lot of traditional and SIP lines are used to route calls. Thus, the failure of one of the lines will not affect the performance of the network.
• Unified Communications - Box PBXs are capable of serving not only telephone calls. Their capabilities include instant messaging, voice conferencing and video messaging.

Example 1. Fitesa Germany

Fitesa is a manufacturer of nonwovens used in sanitary, medical, and industrial applications. Ten divisions of Fitesa are located in eight countries of the world, headquarters - in the USA. Fitesa Germany was founded in 1969 in the city of Peine, Lower Saxony.

Task

Fitesa was not satisfied with the existing telephone system - which required a lot of investment, inflexible and did not meet the technical and functional requirements.

The company wanted to find a modern, flexible and scalable solution for servicing 30 thousand m ^{2 of} office, warehouse and production premises. This solution was supposed to allow you to independently administer the system, reconfigure and remotely support IP phones. A system was required that could be easily integrated into the existing VMWare environment and provided all the available areas with mobile coverage. Also, the system had to support integration with Outlook and a single number assignment scheme, whereby any employee can be reached by the same extension number regardless of location. Great importance was attached to the intuitive clarity of the system and the possibilities of automatic configuration and administration. Finally, the costs should have remained at an acceptable level.

Decision

Fitesa was pleased with its existing supplier: the company Bel Net from Braunschweig was invited to do not only the integration of a modern telephone system, but also all the necessary electrical work.

Bel Net has analyzed whether it is possible to cover all company facilities with a DECT network. On the basis of the UCware server, a flexible and high-performance IP PBX was created with expansion modules for the mobile network and Outlook. Panasonic DECT telephones and 40 Snom 710 and Snom 720 IP telephones were installed in offices and in the production area.

In order not to interrupt workflows, the active telephone system continued to function during testing. The final solution was launched in January after hours. To familiarize 40 key users with a new PBX and telephones, a two-hour seminar was held. And those, in turn, passed the knowledge to colleagues.

Benefits

The new IP PBX allowed not only to reduce the cost of operation, but also made the telephony system flexible and scalable, it can be managed without the involvement of external specialists. Fitesa uses the “hot table” system: an employee should log in on any phone, and he can call his extension number regardless of whether he is sitting at the table or moving around the territory. Snom phones can be controlled via the web interface, and remote configuration can be performed using the Auto Provision feature.

Example 2. PSD Bank Rhein-Ruhr

PSD Bank Rhein-Ruhr is a remote service bank with offices in Dortmund and Düsseldorf and a branch in Essen. The bank’s assets for the 2008 fiscal year were about 3 million euros. Two hundred and twenty bank employees supported 185,000 customers in Germany, mostly by telephone.

Task

Due to the financial advantages of VoIP, it was decided to replace the ISDN system, which no longer met the technical requirements, with an Asterisk-based telecommunications system, and transfer all services of the bank to VoIP. Fixed connection decided to save as ISDN. Then they began to look for suitable phones. The selection criteria were obvious: the device must retain the functionality of a regular office phone, while offering greater flexibility, high voice quality and ease of setup. Additional requirements are safety and ease of use.

The crucial moment for PSD Bank Rhein-Ruhr was the completion of the project in a short time. So that the system upgrade didn’t affect daily work, all the telephones in Dortmund, Düsseldorf and Essen needed to be installed in one weekend, by Monday morning.

Decision

Upon completion of careful planning and preparation, the bank commissioned the implementation of the Dortmund company LocaNet telephone system. It is a provider of IP communications solutions based on open source software that specializes in installing and maintaining secure networks, online applications, and security and communications solutions. PSD Bank Rhein-Ruhr decided to implement the Asterisk system with ISDN media gateways so that incoming and outgoing calls go through ISDN at the same time as employees talk to each other via VoIP.

After conducting a tender and examining the offers, the bank settled on Snom 370, a professional office phone using the open protocol SIP. Snom 370 offers a high level of security and a wide range of functions. Another argument in support of Snom 370 is its excellent compatibility with Asterisk-based phone systems, as well as intuitive control through a freely customizable XML menu.

Benefits

The employees of PSD Bank Rhein-Ruhr quickly mastered the new devices - only a few of them needed consultations on one or two issues. Updating the system has significantly reduced the load on the IT department and increased its mobility. Another nice thing - managed to meet the allocated budget.

Example 3. University of Würzburg

Würzburg Julius and Maximilian University was founded in 1402 and is one of the oldest in Germany. The university has produced many famous scientists, among which 14 Nobel laureates. Today the University of Würzburg has 10 faculties, 400 teachers and 28 thousand students.

Task

Like many government agencies, the university has exploited the Siemens ISDN system for many years, which over time could not cope with the load. In 2005, when the service agreement expired, it became clear that it was necessary to look for a new solution. The system needed to be replaced - ideally, economical and scalable. Interested in new telecommunications, university leaders decided to switch to VoIP. Helmut Selina, a mathematician from the computer center of the university, together with a team of six, took up the job. They had to transfer to VoIP the entire telephone system, covering 65 buildings and 3,500 numbers.

The university has set several key goals:

• personal phone number for each employee;
• separate telephone numbers for each unit;
• telephone numbers for rooms - corridors, lobbies, elevators and auditoriums;
• a separate phone number for each of the campus students;
• maximum growth opportunities with minimum restrictions.

It was necessary to integrate into the network more than 3,500 phones supporting several IDs and installed in 65 buildings. The university announced a tender for the supply of VoIP-phones.

Decision

For the purpose of reinsurance, it was decided to use ISDN and VoIP in parallel during the test period so that possible malfunctions and difficulties would not affect work. Gradually installed in the workplace phones Snom 370 in addition to the old ones. The first 500 employees started working with new devices in September 2008.

Benefits

The new Snom phones were well received by the team. Together with Asterisk, they provided all users with functions that were previously very laborious and were available only to a narrow circle of employees. These features, coupled with excellent voice quality, have led faculty and other staff to quickly become accustomed to using new devices. In most cases, the phones did not require special configuration and quickly became the main user. Snom 370 perfectly proved to be in more difficult conditions. For example, some devices had to work in buildings connected by tunnels. In another case, WLAN was used in one of the network segments, and the staff were extremely surprised that the phones worked without interruption. As a result, the number of devices, it was decided to increase to 4500.