Can I use IP phone without a call-manager?

[teru-lei]

Hi all,

We are thinking about to use ip voice feature to reduce the cost of the site-to-site calls. There is 3 sites in our company and each site is about 20 persons. So I think it's not good to use FXS card. But if I use IP phone (so that I can make good use of the ports in my switch), must I use call manager to admin? Can I just place the routing config in the router? because we do not really need the CDR record and there is only 60 persons in our company. Can any one tell me? Thank you!!

Best Regards

Teru Lei

[paul.harrison]

Teru,

You have a number of options. You could re-load all the IP phones as SIP phones and build the calling tables but this is VERY VERY time consuming and almost impossible.

You could use ITS on the router, a sort of cut down call manager though it has some features Call manager doesn't.

You could load up SRST and use that permenantly without the need for call manager.

Or you could bite the bullet and buy call manager and use the phones the way they were meant to be used, with all the features of call manager. I personally would not try anything other than using call manager or ITS otherwise you will have some very unhappy users who have expensive phones and no features.

Paul

[fc]

The option of re-loading all the IP phones as SIP phones and building the calling tables is somewhat interesting. Are there any hyperlinks that explore the "how to's" of this option?

F C Wood

fc@wood.org

[nmilojevic]

Hi!

Well, in a way, it's possible. We did that using Cisco 2600 as gatekeeper and gateway (for PSTN connectivity) but we didn't use Cisco IP phones. We had self-developed H323 units, which registered to gatekeeper as endpoints. For test purposes, we added one Call Manager and few 7960, and it also worked fine, but I have no idea, if 7960 can work without CCM.

Regards,

Nikola

[m.lacroix]

Hi Teru,

there is 3 ways you can achieve what you want to do.

First of all you can install router with FXS port and use H.323 to make route plan between site. This could be a solution must for me not the best one.

Then Cisco have a key system (subset of a PBX) call ITS. This is a software that you can install on a 2600 or 3600 series to provide call control to IP phone. It could be a good solution but you will not be able to use all the feature of Ip Phone and Ip Telephony.

Finally you can install a centralize ICS7750 (smallest Call Manage platform) to provide call control to all site and local voice gateway for local pstn access. Then if you want redundancy SRST can be use in case of a wan outrage.

[fc]

Great information, Nikola!

Did you test any analog phones with ATA-186/188 analog telephone adapters?

All the best,

F C Wood fc@wood.org

[pacameron]

Hi Teru,

Speak to you Cisco account manager and ask about being placed on the ITS (Integrated Telephony System) program. It makes a IOS based router into a mini call manager, without the need of a dedicated CM server. Have a look here for more details -

http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/access/ip_ph/ip_ks/ipkey2.htm

It soundslike it would be ideal for your application.