Keep Your PBX in a Flash ( PIAF ) Running During An Internet Outage!

PBX in a Flash ( PIAF ) Can Run without Internet http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
If you experienced PIAF server was not able to route any calls after losing your Internet connection, even between local extensions Ward Mundy just Tweeted how we could avoid this.
The solution is to run a Bind DNS Caching Server running on your PIAF box to keep it going with an Internet outage. If you decided to use this solution, and if you are using FDQNs on your phones, the primary DNS server address must internal or external IP address of your server, where your phones are attached.
Ward Mundy, on the PIAF forum, has provided a simple script to run on your server and a set of files to get everything setup properly like ROOT server information and forwarding DNS queries to Google DNS servers.. The script is not shell script so you will have to run each line by themselves. (You can convert it into a shell script, if you have many PIAF servers running.)
After logging into your server with root capability (root or a sudo account) run the following code at the end of the article. Once you run the code and satisfied that everything is fine, run a dig command (e.g. dig inbound1.vitelity.net) for each of the FQDNs of your SIP trunk providers! This will cache the DNS information on your server to be used when the need arises. You can find the info with FreePBX: Tools, Asterisk Info, SIP Info, SIP Registry. Happy calling;

yum -y install bind*

cd /var/named
service named stop
wget http://pbxinaflash.net/source/bind/bind.tgz
tar zxvf bind.tgz
rm bind.tgz

echo nameserver 127.0.0.1 > /etc/resolv.conf

sed -i 's|$nameserver|127.0.0.1|' /sbin/dhclient-script

service named start
service network restart

dig pbxinaflash.com
dig pbxinaflash.com

# look at the output for the second dig command issued above
# 2d dig command should show a very short DNS lookup time, e.g.
#;; Query time: 1 msec
#;; SERVER: 127.0.0.1#53(127.0.0.1)
# IF ALL IS WELL...

#be sure to set named for auto start on bootup

chkconfig  named  on --level 2345
chkconfig --list named

# named should be configured to start with RunLevels 2,3,4,5

Shoretel Acquires Agito Networks, The Mobile PBX Company..

Shoretel Acquires Agito Networks.http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
VoIP Watch is telling us that Agito Networks, an untimely pioneer of in the concept of the mobile PBX, has been sold to ShoreTel for $11.4 million dollars.
Agito’s software turns smartphone into an extension of a corporate phone system. And this should be a good move by Shoretel because companies are increasingly equipping their workers with smartphones, yet the corporate PBXs and smartphones remain different entities. With Agito on their phones, these users are able to use corporate directory, corporate voice mail, conference calling and the ability to transfer calls withing the enterprise.
Agito is compatible with most smartphones across the table except Android phones.
VoIP Watch

Call Center / PBX For Your Android Phone From "ringio".

Call Center In Your Android Get your Focus Time Too.http://snapvoip.blogspot.com/
While Ringio likes to say it a PBX in your Android, I would say a Call center in an Android, After investigaing what it can do. Yes indeed it is a Small Business VoIP Solution.
If you are a busybody like everyone else, trying to brig your start-up, small or medium business to function and provide it's full potential to the customers, your staff is never enough, you need that new customer so bad but you will never let go the one you have, your team is running around accomplishing their tasks from every where, then "ringio" might be the answer for you. "ringio" is a phone system that not only routes calls to the appropriate person, but knows who is available and who is not, and also shares caller data amongst team members. Yes the little big Android App can save tons of time as it can serve all the features of a desktop application on the go. Even if your team is strewn over the entire North America, or the world for that matter, you are still a team. Good team always get their tasks done and I am sure you know it will translate into money.
You can find more about "ringio" by following the link below.
Ringio via VoIP Watch

VoIP Monitoring tools, a big part of convergence..

Robin Gareiss, via Network World, writes to explain about how VoIP monitoring tools are a key part in modern day convergence.
She goes on to say Of the dozen or so triggers that cause companies to implement VoIP, branch communications is high on the list. IT leaders recognize the number of remote workers and the number of branch locations continues to rise. And having dozens of un-interoperable PBXs at these sites doesn’t do anything to unite the company.

Recognizing this many IT decision-makers decide VoIP is the right way to streamline their communications among branch-office employees talking to one another or to those at headquarters.

But what they often overlook is how they plan to monitor and manage the communications capabilities at the branch. On average, only 18% of branch locations have IT personnel working there, leaving 82% of branch offices without on-site IT expertise.

Enter the monitoring and remote management...

Read the rest of the great article at Network World

Tags: VoIP, convergence, PBX, IPPBX

Talkswitch gives a hybrid PBX for SMB's, TS-244vs

VoIP IP Telephony @ http://snapvoip.blogspot.com


Talkswitch has released a new addition to its pbx, IPPBX line. The new hybrid 244vs. I have deployed one of their systems (not 244vs) with Polycomm phones and I and the users are very happy with it.
If you need to provide VoIP service for SMB, Small Business, I would suggest that you have a look at these systems. It is not the perfect solution but it will get you there without much hassle. Unless you have resources to manage an IPPBX like Asterisk or Trixbox.


I learned about this at VoIP News.
The TalkSwitch 244vs is a full-featured hybrid VoIP/traditional PBX telephone system that includes everything you need to sound big, control your communication costs and stay connected everywhere.
2 telephone lines (POTs lines)
4 VoIP trunks
4 local extensions
10 remote extensions
VoIP and traditional: TalkSwitch gives you both as the 244vs is a hybrid system, with capacity for VoIP and traditional telephone connections. You can save with VoIP services and VoIP inter-branch connections without sacrificing your connection to the traditional telephone network. It's the best of both worlds.

Remote extensions keep you connected, if your work doesn't stop at the office, and neither does TalkSwitch. Any phone, anywhere, can be added as a remote extension of your system. Cell phones, home phones and phones in other offices can be reached with simple 3-digit dialing, and calls can be seamlessly transferred and screened. With remote extensions, your customers, employees and partners can always stay connected.

Unlike most PBX systems, TalkSwitch doesn't tie you down to proprietary telephones. TalkSwitch systems work with standard analog phones and selected IP phones, so if you already have telephones, chances are they'll work with TalkSwitch. If you do need phones, check out our line of analog telephones tailor-made for TalkSwitch.

Links;
Talkswitch Press release
VoIP News article

Tags: talkswitch, voip, voip ip telephony, TS-244vz, 244vs, ippbx, pbx, SMB PBX