IP-PBX

Design Parameters

An IP PBX is a private branch exchange (telephone

switching system within an enterprise) that
switches calls between VoIP (voice over Internet
Protocol or IP) users on local lines while allowing
all users to share a certain number of external
phone lines. The typical IP PBX can also switch
calls between a VoIP user and a traditional
telephone user, or between two traditional
telephone users in the same way that a conventional PBX does. The abbreviation may appear in
various texts as IP-PBX, IP/PBX, or IPPBX.

With a conventional PBX, separate networks are necessary for voice and data communications.
One of the main advantages of an IP PBX is the fact that it employs converged data and voice
networks. This means that Internet access, as well as VoIP communications and traditional
telephone communications, are all possible using a single line to each user. This provides
flexibility as an enterprise grows, and can also reduce long-term operation and maintenance
costs. Like a traditional PBX, an IP PBX is owned by the enterprise.

PBX is a system that connects telephone extensions of a company to outside public telephone
network as well as to mobile networks. An IP (Internet Protocol) PBX (Private branch exchange)
is a PBX that provides audio, video, and instant messaging communication through the TCP/IP
protocol stack for its internal network and interconnects its internal network with the Public
Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) for telephony communication.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) gateways can be combined with traditional PBX
functionality enabling businesses to use their managed intranet to help reduce long distance
expenses, enjoy the benefits of a single network for voice and data and advanced CTI features
or be used on a pure IP system which in most cases give greater cost savings, greater mobility,
and increased redundancy.

An IP-PBX can exist as a hardware object, or virtually, as a software system.

Function
Because a part of PBX functionality is provided in software, it is relatively inexpensive and
makes it easy to add additional functionality, such as conferencing, XML-RPC control of live
calls, Interactive voice response (IVR), TTS/ASR (text to speech/automatic speech recognition),
Public switched telephone network (PSTN) interconnection ability supporting both analog and
digital circuits, Voice over IP protocols including SIP, Inter-Asterisk eXchange, H.323, Jingle
(extension of XMPP protocol introduced by Google Talk) and others.

SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) enabled PBX are used to make multimedia communication
(voice and video calls) over IP network. It uses enhanced encryption techniques and proxy
servers to form sessions of calls over internet.

Advantages of an on premise IP-PBX are:

 IP communications is an important step in bringing together business applications.It

uses your LAN- An IP-PBX business phone system will reside on your network using your
existing LAN. The PBX server is only a short distance away, so signaling distance and
time (latency) is very short and does not depend on traveling over the Internet and
other networks.
 Lower operational costs over time- In addition to taking advantage of lower cost VoIP
routing, purchasing your own IP-PBX lowers costs over time. When using hosted VoIP
the initial costs are most likely lower, but monthly subscription costs are ongoing and
higher over time when compared to an IP-PBX. An business owned IP-PBX will usually
result in lower averaged monthly operating costs especially for systems with a higher
number of users.
 Easier to configure and install than proprietary phone systems- Proprietary phone
systems can be cumbersome and difficult to navigate around their software to configure
and install. An IP-PBX system will be much more familiar to computer savvy people,
especially someone who has experience with networks. This can be especially true for
Asterisk based systems that have a front-end GUI such as FreePBX.
 Simpler Management- The GUI of an IP-PBX will be much more user friendly than
traditional PBXs. This allows for easier changes and additions.
 Easy to move phones- Because phones are IP based, they are like PCs, move them from
one connection to another and they find home and connect right back up to the PBX
 server. No longer are the days when a simple phone move needs to have cross connects
changed and a phone technician making a billable service call.
 Unified Messaging- Having the ability of receiving and listening to your your messages
from your Outlook inbox, along with PDFs of faxes increases communication and
productivity. Integration with work applications, such a CRM packages can help
business perfrormance.
 Branch offices- can be added to an existing system and connected through an Internet
connection. (Again lower cost, with the IP-phones being the major cost of the hardware
needed.)
 Remote Extensions- employees can plug in a compatible IP- Phone at home to their
Internet connection and be extension dialing.
 Cost savings by connecting to VoIP providers via SIP trunking- Using SIP trunking with an
in house IP-PBX can connect to lower cost VoIP providers; reducing phone bills,
especially long distance and International calls.
 More choices- Major companies that have built PBXs are now focused on IP
connectivity, but even better are all the upstart companies that are building Asterisk IP-
PBXs with lower prices and vendor neutral hardware.

Benefits of an IP PBX system

An IP-PBX is a complete telephony system that provides calls over IP data networks. All
conversations are sent as data packets. The technology includes advanced communication
features and provides worry-free scalability and robustness.

The system consists of one or more SIP phones, an IP-PBX server and optionally a VoIP gateway
to connect to existing PSTN lines. The server functions in a similar manner to a proxy server: SIP
clients, either softphones or hardware-based, register with the server and when they wish to
make a call they ask the IP-PBX to establish the connection. It has a directory of all
phones/users and their corresponding SIP addresses and thus is able to connect an internal call
or route an external one via either a gateway or service provider.

Here are the benefits:

1. Much easier to install and configure than a proprietary phone system. An IP-PBX runs as
software on a computer and can leverage the processing power and user interface as well as
Windows features. Anyone proficient in networking and computers can install and maintain it.
By contrast a proprietary phone system often requires an installer trained on that particular
system.
2. Easier to manage because of GUI-based configuration interface. Proprietary phone systems
have difficult-to-use interfaces which are often designed to be used only by phone technicians.

3. Significant cost savings using VoIP providers. With an IP-PBX you can use a provider for long-
distance and international calls. The monthly savings are significant. If you have branch offices
you can easily connect phone systems between them and make free phone calls.

4. Eliminate phone wiring. An IP-PBX allows you to connect hardware phones directly to a
standard computer network port which it can share with the adjacent computer. Software
phones can be installed directly onto the PC. It makes adding or moving extensions much
easier.

5. Eliminate vendor lock-in. IP-PBXs are based on the open SIP standard. You can mix and match
any SIP hardware or software phone with any SIP-based IP-PBX, PSTN gateway or VoIP provider.
In contrast a proprietary system often requires proprietary phones and extension modules to
use advanced features.

6. Scalable. Proprietary systems are easy to outgrow: Adding more phone lines or extensions
often requires expensive hardware modules. In some cases you need an entirely new system.
Not so with an IP-PBX. A standard computer can easily handle a large number of phone lines
and extensions - simply add more phones to your network to expand.

7. Better customer service and productivity. Since the telephone system is now computer-
based you can integrate phone functions with business applications. For example, bring up the
customer record automatically when you receive a call, improving customer service and cutting
cost by reducing time spent on each caller. Outbound calls can be placed directly from Outlook,
eliminating the need for the user to type in the phone number.

8. Twice the features for half the price. Since an IP-PBX is software-based it is easier for
developers to add and improve feature sets. Most VoIP phone systems come with auto
attendant, voicemail, ring groups and reporting. These options are often very expensive in
proprietary systems.

9. Allow hot-desking and roaming. Hot-desking, being able to easily move offices/desks based
on the task at hand, has become very popular. Traditional PBXs require extensions to be re-
patched to the new location. With an IP-PBX the user simply takes his phone to his new desk -
no patching required.

Users can roam, too. If an employee has to work from home, he can simply fire up his SIP
software phone and answer calls to his extension, just as in the office. Calls can be diverted
anywhere in the world because of the SIP protocol characteristics.
10. SIP phones are easier to use. Employees often struggle using advanced phone features such
as setting up a conference or transferring a call, which on an old PBX requires instruction.

Not so with an IP-PBX - all features are easily accessible from a GUI. In addition, users get a
better overview of the status of other extensions, inbound lines and call queues via the IP-PBX
Windows client. Proprietary systems often require expensive system phones to get an idea
what is going on. Even then, status information is cryptic at best.

DESIGN CONSIDERATION

More and more companies are making the transition to IP-based PBX systems because they
offer flexibility and cost savings. In fact, some projections indicate that this year the number of
IP PBX systems that are deployed will surpass the number of traditional PBX systems. Even so, it
can be complicated to choose a PBX system that is right for your company. There are a lot of
PBX systems on the market, and making a bad choice can have disastrous consequences. In this
article, I will talk about some of the most important things to consider when purchasing an IP
PBX.

Support

Once your IP PBX is up and running, you probably won't need a lot of support, but a PBX system
is such a critical component of a company's infrastructure that you need to make sure that top-
notch support is available whenever you need it. Therefore, it makes sense to verify that the
company's support line is available 24 hours a day.

You should also make sure that the people working the support line are efficient and
understandable. If I am calling a technical support line, it means that I have a problem that I
need to resolve quickly. If the person working the tech support line is confusing to me, then it
will take much longer to get the problem fixed.

Features

It is important to make sure that the IP PBX that you choose offers the features that you need,
but don't get too hung up on choosing the product with the most features. It has been my
experience that as a company's competitors offer more features, then a company will soon
offer those same features to their customers through a firmware update.

Operating system

Other important criteria for choosing an IP PBX is the operating system that the unit uses. If you
need to be able to customize the PBX software, then you will probably want to check into a
Linux-based PBX that uses open source software. On the other hand, if your network is 100%
Windows based, then, you may be reluctant to bring in a Linux PBX, and might be happier
investing in a Windows-based PBX.

Training

Another consideration when picking out an IP PBX is whether or not the manufacturer offers
any kind of training. Don't expect your IT staff to just automatically know how to implement an
IP PBX. Adding VoIP to a network requires a specialized set of skills, and the proper training is
essential. You should consider the cost of training when determining the total purchase price.

Is your network ready?

Regardless of which PBX system you ultimately decide to purchase, you need to take a good,
long, hard look at your network. The problem is that VoIP requires a lot more bandwidth than
data does. Adding an IP-based PBX to a poorly designed network has the potential to be
disastrous. VoIP calls may become completely unreliable because the network is unable to
deliver sufficient bandwidth, and data transfers may slow to a crawl.
Scope and Limitation

The general scope of this design is to create an IP-PBX in facilities and rooms only

within the building.

The system is only consists of one or more SIP phones, an IP-PBX server and

optionally a VoIP gateway to connect to existing PSTN lines.

Also, it has a directory of all phones/users and their corresponding

SIP addresses and thus is able to connect an internal call or route an external one via

either a gateway or service provider.

Description of the System

The system consists of one or more SIP phones, an IP-PBX server and optionally a VoIP gateway
to connect to existing PSTN lines. The server functions in a similar manner to a proxy server: SIP
clients, either softphones or hardware-based, register with the server and when they wish to
make a call they ask the IP-PBX to establish the connection. It has a directory of all
phones/users and their corresponding SIP addresses and thus is able to connect an internal call
or route an external one via either a gateway or service provider.
The most important consideration when purchasing a PBX is reliability. After all, the phones are
something that everyone expects to always work. If e-mail goes down, the first thing that
people often do is to reach for the phone instead. As such, it is important to make sure that the
IP PBX that you choose can deliver the reliability that people have come to expect. Besides,
nobody wants to have to explain to the CEO why he can't get a dial tone, or why his call was cut
off.
Design Proper

The most important consideration when purchasing a PBX is reliability. After all, the phones are
something that everyone expects to always work. If e-mail goes down, the first thing that
people often do is to reach for the phone instead. As such, it is important to make sure that the
IP PBX that you choose can deliver the reliability that people have come to expect. The first
thing that you should consider when purchasing an IP PBX is whether or not the IP PBX that you
are considering purchasing will integrate with a traditional PBX. This is an important
consideration even if you are planning on replacing your traditional PBX.
If you disconnect your existing PBX, and then start setting up your IP PBX, the company will be
without phone service until the new PBX is brought online and configured. You can prevent an
interruption of service by adding the new IP PBX to the existing PBX system, and then gradually
moving things over to the new system.