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685
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15
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Site survey

ajames2007
Level 1
Level 1

hi

My boss has asked me to carry out a site survey on our remote site to see if they are ready for voice. what sort of things do I need to record / recomend. i.e certain switch code levels , any ideas would really help -thanks

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

thisisshanky
Level 11
Level 11

a. Switches should be capable of POE (unless using power bricks on phones)

b. If using Cisco phones, its recommended that you use Cisco switches.

c. Currently you may only have data vlans. In the new network with phones added, you will need segment this into multiple vlans.

d. All cabling on site should be cat 5 for a minimum and switches should support 10/100mbps connections.

e. Any analog phone/ modem/fax requirements. If you have more than 10 or 15 analog devices, it may be worth using VG224. Otherwise you can use ATA186s of FXS ports on remote site router.

f. Determine the number of users at the remote site. Depending on this you will need to select an ISR router that can support that many users under SRST mode.

g. Determine end to end delay over the wan from remote site to main office. You can use freeware utilities like Qcheck to get this information. You may also want to run a Voip network assessment tool to get more information on how ready the network is before moving to IPT.

h. You will want to ask users at the remote site, what kind of features they are using today on their key system or PBX. This will help emulate similar features (if possible) to keep the end user experience same.

i. You may want to do some trunk sizing calculations to determine, what type of connections are required at the remote site to the PSTN (full T1, partial T1, FXO etc).

HTH

Sankar

PS: please remember to rate posts!

Sankar Nair
UC Solutions Architect
Pacific Northwest | CDW
CCIE Collaboration #17135 Emeritus

View solution in original post

5 Replies 5

thisisshanky
Level 11
Level 11

a. Switches should be capable of POE (unless using power bricks on phones)

b. If using Cisco phones, its recommended that you use Cisco switches.

c. Currently you may only have data vlans. In the new network with phones added, you will need segment this into multiple vlans.

d. All cabling on site should be cat 5 for a minimum and switches should support 10/100mbps connections.

e. Any analog phone/ modem/fax requirements. If you have more than 10 or 15 analog devices, it may be worth using VG224. Otherwise you can use ATA186s of FXS ports on remote site router.

f. Determine the number of users at the remote site. Depending on this you will need to select an ISR router that can support that many users under SRST mode.

g. Determine end to end delay over the wan from remote site to main office. You can use freeware utilities like Qcheck to get this information. You may also want to run a Voip network assessment tool to get more information on how ready the network is before moving to IPT.

h. You will want to ask users at the remote site, what kind of features they are using today on their key system or PBX. This will help emulate similar features (if possible) to keep the end user experience same.

i. You may want to do some trunk sizing calculations to determine, what type of connections are required at the remote site to the PSTN (full T1, partial T1, FXO etc).

HTH

Sankar

PS: please remember to rate posts!

Sankar Nair
UC Solutions Architect
Pacific Northwest | CDW
CCIE Collaboration #17135 Emeritus

Excellent Thanks

can you suggest a good Voip network assessment tool ?

Thanks again

I am not sure if there are freeware voip network assessment tools. I have used Netiq, but its not free. Or you can check out Prognosis.

http://www.ir.com/products/voip_and_ip_telephony_monitoring/products__and__solutions/page__1399.aspx

Sankar Nair
UC Solutions Architect
Pacific Northwest | CDW
CCIE Collaboration #17135 Emeritus

Rob Huffman
Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame

Hi Sankar,

Really an exceptional answer here. A "Blueprint" for many others to follow I'm sure! 5 points all day long.

Thanks man,

Rob

Thanks for the rating and the kind words, Rob!

Sankar Nair
UC Solutions Architect
Pacific Northwest | CDW
CCIE Collaboration #17135 Emeritus
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