An assumption in this blog  is that if your company has a  ”network administrator”  on staff, you have a network that is large enough to require constant  ”care and feeding”.    As such dumping a bunch of VoIP phones onto your network without VLAN’s  would never happen.  After all,  the fist job of a network administrator is to make the network broadcast space smaller and smaller.  That is why we subnet!   Take a typical Class C network with 100 [...]

As you can tell from our video library and blogs, we are very excited supporters of the ShoreTel Contact Center!  You can not find a more feature rich or cost effective  solution to call routing, email routing  and web collaboration!    To be fair, however,  ShoreTel has always been ahead of the curve with “call center” like  functionality.    Out of the box, the ShoreTel IPBX has an amazing set of features that can fit just perfectly in the small [...]

Generally, we do not fill out  forms given to us by Carriers.   Most Carrier forms use nomenclature that is “Marketing Speak” and not technically driven.   It seems we have 100 different ways to refer to a TDM with PRI signalling and only one of them means anything to an engineer.   There are a variety of new delivery methods being offered to clients for PRI service and it is important to understand exactly what type of circuit you [...]

So you can’t get any help from the IT department getting a private printer connected to your office PC.  So what do you do?  You run down to your local favorite “we sell cheap computer stuff” store and buy a “hub” or “usb multiplier” or something that looks like a small “Ethernet Switch”.  You take it back to the office, and having send the quick start guide, you unplug your computer from the wall jack, plug it into your shiny [...]

A VoIP deployment is an act of intimacy.  One of the great challenges for the deployment team is defining the demarcation point between the phone system, the network and the various applications that integrate withe the phone system.   Clearly, the foundation of a successful deployment is a strong network foundation.   The ability of the network to provide the necessary DHCP services including NTS, IP and vendor specific options are area’s that need to be clearly defined.   Who [...]

ShoreTel will often have a controlled release of software.   For example, Version 9.0 might be shipping to new clients but will not be availalbe to existing installations until it is declared GA.    Existing clients with a compelling need, could always obtain the upgrade, but it would be subjected to the terms of a controlled release.  Over the years I have observed that an 8.0 release, for example, never goes GA, but becomes 8.1 when it does.   With [...]

Microsoft Office Communications is a powerful collaboration tool. The MOCS provides web conferencing, IM, audio conferencing, desktop sharing and also provided SIP. For purposes of this brief discussion, we will stay focused on the Internet Messaging component of MOCS. With the Release of ShoreTel 8+, the Professional Call Manager provides both desktop to desktop video conferencing and Internet Messaging. The Internet Messaging component makes use of a Microsoft OCS server and the ShoreTel solution integrates the solution as an application [...]

If you ask your average IT professional what a T span is, the usual response will be that it is a 1.5MB connection to the internet. Ask your average telecom tech what a T span is and you will be told it is 24 channels of dial tone! As a VoIP Engineer what a T span is and you should get the answer:, “what do you want it to be”? One of the great challenges of implementing a VoIP solution [...]

Are all your customers equal?  Every business owner, large or small knows the answer to that question and the answer is no!    We have Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze customers,  each of which represents a different value to the business.  For this reason, we often want to structure our call flow to prioritize these customers.     You do not have to work in a “call center” to manage this priority scheme.   The ShoreTel Personal Call Manager, for example, [...]

Installing a VoIP solution has a wide range of technical issues that need to be addressed, organized and accounted for. From co-coordinating the “porting” of phone numbers from the old telephone carrier to the new carrier; to determining who has responsibility for providing DHCP and Time services to the new phone devices the technical detail is an endless check list. Generally, we always manage to get all of the technical details correctly identified and successfully implemented. The speeds and feeds [...]