Our VoIP startup Octopus

It is time to introduce our startup Octopusline to the general public.
Several introductory ones so that a disinterested audience would not regret the time spent reading: this is not a social network, not an aggregator, this is not a mashup with google maps, no gloss web, it works while on windows and it is not free. In general, it is not fashionable :).
We are a small group of people, working under the wing of a large company, having complete freedom of action and evaluated by result.

We have made a communication system (PBX and Call Center) based on SIP, which should not be bought. PBX can be configured via the browser, and soft calls can be made via SIP. PBXs usually do not buy home, so this is a product for business.

In order to understand what will be discussed further, you need to know what the SIP protocol is. You can read an article on Habré about SIP , you can search for information yourself, or to understand what is written below.

SIP is a session initialization protocol that works in IP networks using very familiar and understandable methods and helps to manage video and voice streams. For example, you launched a SIP server on the TELE.RU domain and created a KARL user there. Your SIP address in this case SIP: KARL@TELE.RU - looks like an email. Another user got himself an account on the server MULTI.RU. His address looks like this: SIP: ALEX@MULTI.RU.
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In order to establish a session with ALEX, KARL sends a request to your sip server “I want to talk to SIP: ALEX@MULTI.RU. SIP server TELE.RU using DNS finds the server MULTI.RU, he finds out whether the ALEX user is online, his IP address, and sends the information back to the server TELE.RU. Then the two servers agree on what and how they will transmit (voice for example or video) and give SIP commands to users' devices (softphones, IP phones) to start a conversation.

And now the most important thing is that SIP has penetrated traditional telephony, and operators one by one begin to offer SIP phone numbers to the market. SIP phone number looks like a normal city and in fact converts the signals of traditional telephony into IP traffic managed by SIP. In practice, it is a box in which, on the one hand, the telephone wire is plugged, and on the other, the Internet. You, as a user, will have access to this number via the Internet, using any softphone or IP phone. For access you will be given the address of the operator's SIP server, a login and password to it.

Regular phone number:


SIP phone number:


This is where we saw business opportunities. The fact is that the availability of SIP numbers, although it gives freedom of movement, will in no way replace the PBX the business needs (additional numbers, etc.). Now you can buy an IP PBX, do it yourself by raising Asterisk server on linux SIP, or you can entrust this business to our servers and specialists. The phrase "our server" means that you do not need to buy anything about. After all, from a technical point of view, it’s not so important where the IP PBX will stand, just like where your employees will be: in your office, somewhere in Moscow, or in Iceland - the data from the number and phone numbers of the employees are transmitted to the PBX IP.

Number, PBX, employees:


What we offer in the West is not new, it is called Hosted PBX or Virtual PBX, and is in steady demand. You simply redirect IP traffic from your SIP number to our PBX and manage all settings through the web interface. Logically, you can clarify the analogy with the services of virtual hosting - many simply do not need their own server (or IP PBX), located on the territory of the company or the data center. It is expensive to purchase and maintain. A virtual hosting (or a virtual IP PBX) offers all the same, but on the basis of small volumes and cheap. At the same time using SIP is implemented simply a huge number of functions that covers any conventional PBX.

What is the system and what has been done. A SIP server, a whole bunch of telephony functions, a web-based management interface with separate access rights and a win softphone were implemented. Initially, all this was developed as a platform for operators and, by the way, the solution was quite successful. Now the system has grown to a level where it can be “tolerated” by a trained user who knows what SIP is. That is, it seems to us that it has reached that level of simplicity, when the complex in the settings, use and management is not very little.

Immediately we are not counting on explosive growth, but we see the future exactly the development of SIP. As for the sip, relations with traditional and cellular telephony operators will not be clear until the end, but potentially SIP is stronger.
What is offered to users now. As usual - potestit. The system is open for registrations, on the octopusline.ru website you click to try / self-registration. You can create users, call each other for free, you can connect outgoing calls using SIPNET.RU channels, you can transfer your incoming SIP number to our PBX. See the lessons “Instant Start” and “Quick Start” on the website.