Questions for a Proof of Concept

[Jordack]

Greetings

I have been looking into different options for a phone system replacement. Currently I’m at the proof of concept stage. I have a few questions regarding 3cx and would like some recommendations.

1) I will likely go with SIP trunking. Does anyone have recommendation for a SIP trunker. For Mideast US (Indiana, Ohio, Michigan area) I found a few but they have minimums that don’t make much sense for a small system that will last a few months.
2) Looking for a recommended inexpensive handset for my proof of concept. One that is easy to get working with 3cx but costs less than $150. It will need to be dual port.
3) The 3cx brochure mentions fax support. However I read another forum posting stating the fax server was no longer support. Does 3cx still support incoming?
4) What is a recommend max latency between the handset and the server? Would 75ms be too much?
5) I have not downloaded the software yet, but I understand there is an option to trial the full version. How long is the trial?
6) Extension to extension; is that licensed as one or two calls?
7) Is 3cx supported on Windows Server 2008 R2? And will it work in Server Core mode.
8) Best way to prevent “hacking”/ exploiting poor security practices? I assume that preventing the use of softphones from the outside should help reduce the risks. With my proof of concept the design will only allow traffic to pass the firewall to and from my sip provider. Dealing with user laziness will be a challenge later.
9) Anyone have issues running 3CXbehind a SonicWall firewall? ( I miss my checkpoint)
10) Does it support on demand call recording? Or is it a record all and none?
11) Feature wise; Is there any difference between Mini, Small Buss, Enterprise?

I know some of these questions could possibly be resolved if I had read all the documentation, but I’m being an n00b. Prior to actually installing the software I’ll it will get read. Right now I’m trying to feel out if 3cx is a good fit for me. One think I was drawn to was the fax server, just need it to receive faxes, read DID and email to the user.

Thank you for your time.

 

[abc123]

I will answer as best as i can

1. 3cx has a number of supported providers with templates in there. We are also launching our sip trunks this quarter and will have many options which can included packages or per minute pricing with no commitments which may help
2. Grandstream 1200 is a great entry level phone (about $65) but we were recommended the new Grandstream 1450 (about $85) by Kevin from 3cx yesterday. Will be ordering one to try this week.
3. Incoming fax needs a t38 sip provider or connect to a PSTN via a gateway. 3cx inbound fax is excellent and we have one company with 25 individual fax numbers. Outbound fax was discontinued but we recommend relayfax (contact me from more details)
4. The latency is up to the user. I have my family in NZ and UK with remote connections to my pbx and no problems at all.
5. Trial is unlimted duration but limited concurrent calls and features. There is also a demo version with less concurrent calls but all the features. Contact us for a demo download.
6. Extension to Extension is one call. Ext to VM is one call. External call to Extn is one call. External call forwarded to external call (e.g. cell phone is 2 calls). Contact me with you current and expected business set up and we can make a recommendation for your best needs.
7.Yes (ours is running on 2k8 r2) and no (as far as i know)
8. A good firewall and normal network security is normally sufficient. There are some anti hacking features in v9. Strong passwords are automatically generated. You can blacklist ips. And new in V10 (due out around April) there are some extra features such as not allowing remote extensions on a per extension basis etc. Our SIP trunking will also have international calling disabled by default but you can turn it on via the web control panel which will also help those people who do not need international calls and will stop hackers making them.
9. We recommend with sonicwall to use it as a paperweight. We have an alternative solution. However we were again informed by Kevin yesterday that the latest version of sonicwall does work better - however neither he nor I would use one.
10. Recording can be set to record all calls on an extn by extn basis. But you can also choose to record an individual call using the assistant (and soon to be the new MyPhone in v10).
11. No. Just CCS. Again, contact me to discuss your business set up and possible needs and we can make the best recommendation for you.

 

[Jordack]

So I got bored last weekend and installed 3cx on an old system. 30 minutes later my wife called me a dork when I called her from my iPad.

Once I got to work, it was a bit more challenging.

1) I setup an account with Call Centeric. Outgoing worked well but no luck on the incoming. Not consernded with it at this time. Planning on setting up an account with VOIP.ms I think then I can get a couple of DID's to test the system more.

2) I got the ok to pick up a couple of Aastra 9143i. Some of the other proposals are recommending this phone as well. Cost is about $120 a piece. Hoping there are no known issues with these devices.

3) I'm thinking to keep faxes on PSTN. For my test site they have only one fax. However to expand this are there any issues with getting a couple of trunk lines with 20 DIDs?

4) So far this hasnt been an issue. Seems to stay below 50ms

5) Demo key came with the email when I downloaded the software. Its for 2 concurrent calls with will work for my PoC

6) Thank you

7) Running on 2008 looks to run in 32bit mode. Only issue I had is there is no way to get 3cx to ignore all web cache proxy server settings. Disabling the "WinHttpAutoProxySvc" service seems to have resolved this. Did not try core.

8) I assume blocking incoming connection on port 5090 and 5060 would prevent and connections from the outside.

9) I have had to turn off every "feature" I bought the SonicWall for. Every VIOP test solution has had issues with it. Its sad that a $30 fw works better than a $3k firewall.

10) Thanks

11) Thanks

Couple of additional questions/issues.

12) Can I bridge two 3cx systems without having to create a special prefix? For instance can 3cx be smary enough to know that anything that starts with 41xx goes to building A and all calls that start with 42xx go to building b?

13) Had to disable the STUN server on the 3cx server. Otherwise CallCentric would not register. Testing the softphones (handsets not in yet) I can only get it to work it I enable the "Use 3cx Tunnel" and it does not work on my iPad (it had worked at home)

Without tunneling I get errors such as:
16:38:36.158 Requests rate from IP 192.168.30.222 is too high! Blacklisted for 334 seconds

Only thing I can think of its with the SonicWall device but nothing appears in the logs. Anyone have any thoughts?

14) I'm considering replacing the firewalls; Anyone had any luck with ClearOS or FortiGate?

 

[abc123]

Glad you had it going. Sonicwall is a problem and we are hearing a new firmware has improved it.

We are launching our own VOIP Provider service this month - it is in final testing stages now so you may want to look into that.

If you block 5060 from outside then you wont get incoming calls as the invite usually comes in on 5060.

If you fail to authenticate and try to make a call, or if anything is blocked then your phone will keep trying and hence the blacklist.

run the firewall checker in 3cx.

Where possible turn off stun and use a static ip or at least have port forwarding turned on your external firewall.

Yes you can bridge the systems. 3cx is only as smart as you make it So you have to set outbound rules and they are powerful but yes you can bridge between countries and get local calls overseas.

We do a great security appliance which works well with 3cx so contact us if you wish to know more

 

[sigma1]

On the SIP trunk topic. Please be very cautios picking ap rovider with multiple servers in different locations. We have been rather annoyed by a specific provider with a single location having outages (especially lately).
We recently launched our service taking advantage of our servers in several cities in the contry (and London UK). You can register with multiple servers at the same time and should any of our POPs go down your incoming DID is automatically routed to another POP using our primary carrier backbone. This ensures no single point of failure on our network. In theory most providers are either single proxy location or use SRV records to route you as they require. Our approach is a bit more labor intensive but just lik our 3CX Cloud, the network is world class.

BroadVox is a good option too.

 

[Jordack]

So far everything looks good. Setup two DID accounts with Call Centric. Inbound works well and outbound DID is good. I think I may be able to sell this to the others.

Given that V10 is soon to be out, is it worth showing to stake holders? 3cx is not the lowest cost option for us. And we all know what stakeholders look at. 3cx offers more to my users than the other option, however as long as a phone makes phone calls the rest are bells and whistles.

I know that v10 is likely to be under a NDA so I hoping someone from 3cx would be able to respond. Are there any screen shots available of the new Assistant. This will be the visible part to the users, the rest I'm sure they could care less.

And a few more questions:
1) best phone. I know this is like asking "whats the best linux distro". I read that Polycoms do not have STUN support and the SIP Proxy Manager will not work with Aastra phones. I see a lot of recommendations for Grandstream but on other forums I see Snom > Grandstream. And then I see Grandstream is listed as supported where Snom is not.

Security
2) Best way to secure a remote@home handset. If I wanted to give a person a handset to take home, Plug into their home network and connect back to the office. What is the best way to secure that communication? Other than VPN. Do any handset have secure methods built in.

3) Securing traffic from Main Office to VIOP service provider. I know this is mainly dependent on the VIOP provider. But does anyone know of any solutions or providers whom provide a method of securing VIOP traffic?

Education
4) The key to any successful deployment is education. How much different will v10 be to v9? This is really towards; When v10 comes out how much of the two v9 books will still be valid? Are they worth my money? *cough* kindle support.

Think that is it for now, I'm sure I will have more questions soon.

 

[abc123]

V10 adds new features but will not be a whole lot of difference to v9 in terms of install and other things stakeholders would be interested in. If they dont care about the bells and whistles then they wont really pay too much attention to the v10 differences.

No screen shots yet as I believe that the assistant is the last component being built and is not ready yet.

1. best phone: Any supported phone. Though I like Grandstream. It just does what I want. But you will be down to splitting hairs between individual small features based on your needs.

2. Tunnel is the easiest way for remote extensions. I am not sure why you need secure communications? Drug cartel??? lol. Remember the person on the other end is probably not going to have secure comms so wiretapping etc is not ruled out.

3. Same as #2. Why? 3cx does have an SRTP capability. I think if you told us your concerns we can better advise you.

4. The V9 books will work as there may be steps removed or partly completed for you but the principle is going to be much the same.

Each PBX comes with a complete admin and (separate) user manual and there are videos on the 3cx site so between the books, manuals and website you should have plenty to go on. Failing that I would suggest you get your local 3cx partner to help you (they list them on the 3cx website).

 

[abc123]

Talking about v9 books in ebook form

Kerry just posted his book is now available in ebook form

See this post for the link http://www.3cx.com/forums/3cx-v9-ebook-now-available-19370.html