Jan 19 2009 8:13PM GMT
Posted by: Troy Tate
Skype,
VoIP,
Security,
Firewalls,
support
Recently I posted a question about using Skype in a corporate environment. Based on the lack of any feedback, it really makes me wonder if Skype is an overhyped solution for corporate environments. I also posted the same questions to another professional mailing list I subscribe to and received only one (very good) response from that peer group.
So, to be redundant, I want to ask you blog readers the same questions. If there are no responses, then I will take this to mean that either your organizations do not use Skype or that you would rather not share poor experiences. I would appreciate feedback either positive or negative about using Skype in corporate environments.
As is true with most organizations today, we are under pressure to reduce costs where we can. Some users are coming and asking why we are not using Skype for international calling. I’m not sure if I fully understand the risks so I am posting this question here on ITKE.
Has anyone implemented Skype for their organization and is supporting it on company networks and equipment? If not, why not? If you have implemented Skype services, some additional information would be useful.
What precautions were required before implementing this service/application?
What has network usage been like since implementation?
What configuration changes at the firewall (both edge & client) were needed to support the application?
Please feel free to share any other advice you may have about this type of service/application.
Nov 17 2008 7:44PM GMT
Posted by: Troy Tate
administration,
Cisco,
VoIP,
unified communications,
IP telephony,
DataCenter,
PSTN,
design,
risk,
diagnostics,
vulnerability
As you may have seen in some of my previous posts the company I work for has implemented VOIP/IP telephony at some of our locations.
VOIP - IPT - QOS - COS on and on - Oh My!
CampIT Enterprise VOIP conference
VOIP virtual panel discussion
Recently we had a phone system outage at the largest of these sites. This was a site with a clustered Cisco CallManager solution. This outage lasted 4+ hours. We were definitely surprised that both members of the cluster failed at the same time and how long it took to recover. Since that time we obviously are working with our support vendor to find a better method of providing uptime to the phone system at this site. I am also looking at making sure my other sites are prepared in the event of a similar outage.
The solution for providing a backup to the CallManager cluster is called Survivable Remote System Telephony (SRST). Think of this as CallManager light. A limited number of the phones still have connectivity and can make/receive calls. I say “limited” because the SRST function is dependent on the PSTN gateway hardware. A larger gateway can support more users. The current gateway we had was a Cisco 2821 series router. This would support 96 users. A Cisco 3825 will support 175 users.
One thing I understand though is that you cannot necessarily specify which phones will get serviced by SRST. The phones are serviced on a first-come-first-served basis. This could be an issue if there are phones that should be serviced and an outage is occurring. Unneeded phones would need to be disconnected from the network to provide capacity to support the critical phones.
Hopefully this will be the last of 4+ hour outage for the phone systems at this site and none will happen at my others. The Cisco solution has been very good for my organization and so far has been very reliable with the exception reported here.
Thanks for continuing to read my blog and hope you have a great day on the technology frontier wherever that may be for you!
Oct 9 2008 3:56PM GMT
Posted by: Troy Tate
administration,
Networking,
Cisco,
Monitoring,
VoIP,
unified communications,
IP telephony,
DataCenter,
IT education,
WAN,
LAN,
PSTN,
design,
howto,
risk,
education
As you may have already read, I will not be attending the Enterprise VOIP event at CampIT Conferences in Chicago on 10/14. Well, I thought I would bring my portion of the discussion to you in this virtual panel discussion and maybe you and I both can gain some from this forum.
Some background on our environment: IP phone population - over 400, distributed at 4 sites, largest ~150, smallest 60; all Cisco
Why implement VOIP?
- greenfield site - needed a phone system and VOIP made sense for a new site install to position for future
- acquired company in process of implementing VOIP - came into a situation where an acquisition had purchased VOIP and I became owner of the implementation; had issues with chosen vendor and equipment lists; eventually came out successful but was not without its pain during implementation.
- forward looking strategy - setup the company to have regional communication hubs for IP telephony; we have VOIP in North America, Europe and Asia now; this could permit us to leverage our WAN for toll bypass provided we build other local site infrastructure to support this technology.
Our biggest challenges:
- users: they find the phones easy to use and very good features; however, there are some features like managing meet-me conference calling that they feel are too onerous so don’t take the time to use this cost-saving feature
- administrators: setting up phones is an infrequent event so it is not a real simple task to setup a new phone; moves are made easier than traditional systems; troubleshooting skills are different since voice now is carried over the data network until it reaches a PSTN gateway
Best features:
- dial another site using extensions rather than 10 digit or more dialing
- “on phone” directory - can lookup another IP phone user’s extension directly on the phone rather than finding them on a piece of paper or website somewhere
- easier conference calling than old system
- mobile-phone like features: listing missed calls; call history log
- moves are made easier; adds are a challenge since done infrequently
Desires for additional features/services:
- more ringtones (must have been someone young and a heavy cell phone user)
- integration with e-mail/web
What are the risks?
- it’s challenging to implement in an “old school” infrastructure environment (flat network, no-vlans, hubs still in use, etc.) It takes lots of forethought and understanding VLAN’s, WAN links, need to update staff skills.
- The network MUST be reliable or voice will suffer. Traditional phone companies have had 100+ years to make a bulletproof network.
- Costs. It’s not cheap to implement this technology. You have to weigh the ability of the organization to support non-industry leading implementations versus choosing the best technology you can afford.
- Maintenance. Upgrading the software in the servers, gateways and phones is much riskier than upgrading a traditional PBX environment.
What are the rewards?
- It positions the organization to take advantage of other services provided that it is not simply an IT-led project but meets business requirements.
Feel free to add comments on your own experiences, concerns. This is a great forum and keep up the good work of information sharing!
Oct 8 2008 2:00PM GMT
Posted by: Troy Tate
administration,
Networking,
tools,
VoIP,
unified communications,
IP telephony,
DataCenter,
IT education,
design,
howto,
awareness,
education
Update: I will not be a panel member at the CampIT Conference on Enterprise VOIP being held in Chicago (Rosemont) on Tuesday, October 14. However, please try to attend this event if you are in the area and support the CampIT conferences group.
Per the CampIT Conference website:
According to leading industry analysts, 99% of enterprises have implemented IP Telephony. Many made the decision to do so based on projected long term savings and increased efficiencies. But what are the best ways to capitalize on your existing investment and prepare for the future? How can you leverage your investments to provide new services that your business is asking for?
In this one day conference attendees will learn:
- How to leverage IP telephony and unified communications (UC) to improve business processes
- How to determine which UC services are the best fit for your organization
- How to troubleshoot converged networks
- How to determine if your IP converged network is vulnerable and what you can do about it
- How to integrate mobility with UC
- Advice from the experienced enterprise IT User: How IP telephony/UC users are maximizing their investment
The panel discussion will be at the end of the day so hopefully you will stick around for that part of the event. Even if you do not, the event will hopefully help you and your organization understand what VOIP or unified communications can do for sustained business value.
Aug 18 2008 7:24PM GMT
Posted by: Troy Tate
administration,
Networking,
Storage,
Security,
tools,
Monitoring,
VoIP,
web,
reporting,
internet,
DataCenter,
DataManagement,
WWW,
IT education,
WAN,
LAN,
malware,
design,
website,
troubleshooting,
Performance,
howto,
network analysis,
online identity,
Metrics,
wireshark,
risk,
packet capture,
research,
awareness,
diagnostics
Ok, I admit it. I’m a network tool junkie. I constantly look for neat tools to perform tasks in the easiest manner possible and give me reliable information. This website from RingofSaturn.com is definitely one of the cooler online tool websites. Check out the browser sniffer tool if you are curious about what information your browser gives up while surfing the web. You might be surprised!
Check out the TCP/IP tutorial. It’s a quick easy read that you can share with those you are trying to explain how a network works.
Checkout this website. I guarantee that if networks are in your blood, you will find something of interest here.
Thanks for your time. Let’s be good network citizens together & practice safe networking!
Apr 8 2008 2:21PM GMT
Posted by: Troy Tate
Monitoring,
VoIP,
DataCenter,
LAN,
Performance,
howto
Well, well, well, so you want to implement voice over IP or IP telephony. You have heard it is going to give you some great cost savings and make your life easier. Hmmmm… upon further thought, the idea of implementing this technology frightens you and I totally understand why.
I have implemented VOIP at four of my sites now. One in Europe that is a small office serviced by a Cisco CallManager Express implementation. My Asian site is a full CallManager cluster solution. My two sites in North America are implemented in a different configuration yet. One of the North American sites has the CallManager cluster like Asia and the second North American site is a SRST (Survivable Remote System Telephony) managed by the other North American site.
So, as you can see, my organization has a good amount of experience in this area and I hope to share some of that with you and help you through this process if you should require this technology in your environment.
Let’s start with some of the reasons some folks say IPT should be implemented.
- Capital investment costs: This really depends on the solution that you choose. Remember all of the necessary infrastructure elements that are required to support IPT. IPT implementations may add 30% or more in infrastructure equipment replacement or additions.
- Voice service costs savings: The home consumer may see some cost savings (think Vonage), but the enterprise may already be receiving long distance rates in the two cents per minute or less range. However, other operational costs may offset the savings that IPT appears to offer. More to follow on other costs/issues in a future blog entry.
- Operational savings: This may be the “real deal” when it comes to cost savings to an organization. IT becomes the owner/operator of the system as it shares the data network infrastructure and operational management.
Some future elements to follow in our discussion will include capacity planning, troubleshooting, partner selection. The volume of information to share is almost endless.
Your continued interest is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time. Let’s be good network citizens together & practice safe networking!
