[Hen] OneNet services

[Gray, Zane W. III.]

The University of Oklahoma's Norman campus is currently using Nortel's VoIP services.  The platform was a decision based upon hardware cost (a line card for the existing phone switch) and recurring O&M costs (easier to support a single, unified platform than to try to integrate two separate systems).  We currently utilize our VoIP services both on and off campus.  Our off-campus sites include our Tulsa campus, remote sites with T-1 connections, and SOHO's with broadband services.
 
Deploying VoIP has been relatively painless for the majority of our campus.  The only issues were related to:
 
1)  QoS over "low speed" (i.e. <T-1 and >25 users) links.  We quickly learned that having routers instead of "dumb bridges" (e.g. NetToNet T-1 or DSL units) on each end of these links became a valuable asset.  We were able to tune QoS parameters to allow VoIP traffic to have highest priority across low-speed links.  QoS over high speed links isn't required, and can cause a slight decrease in network performance (vendor dependent) if enabled.
 
2)  The initial roll-out of VoIP would not work behind firewall'd/PAT'd connections.  Nortel has since provided a fix for this issue, but I still urge anyone attempting to roll out VoIP to ensure that their phones will work behind the most popular SOHO firewalls.
 
3)  The first VoIP phones that we deployed did not support VoIP.  This has since changed, and we are looking into mid-span PoE devices to retrofit areas which do not have network equipment that provide in-line PoE.  Future purchases of network hardware will include PoE support (Nortel supports Cisco proprietary or IEEE standard PoE).  To date, wattage output per port has not been an issue, but the future phones (color with video conferencing capabilities) may require more power than our existing switches can supply.
 
Hope this helps others in their VoIP decisions.
 
-Zane

________________________________

From: hen-bounces at lists.onenet.net on behalf of Johnson, Bill
Sent: Tue 12/28/2004 4:20 PM
To: Hen at lists.onenet.net
Subject: [Hen] OneNet services



How many of you are currently doing VoIP? Are you using it "on campus"
or "between campuses" or "both"?

Also, can you give a few details about your experience deploying you
system?  The comments you share may be a big help to others on this list
who are considering doing so.


Bill Johnson
Director of Network Operations - OneNet
Director - Netrad Infrastructure for CASA
President - Oklahoma Distance Learning Association
405-225-9444
cell 405-919=1718
video 164.58.250.185

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