Posts made by AdamF

I've been managing Hyper-V environments (from multi-host clusters, to single hosts with local storage) for many years now. I've always managed them from Windows boxes, because we were always a Windows shop. Recently I've switched over to a Macbook for my main work computer. I love it for ease of managing my Linux boxes, and just about everything else. I run VirtualBox on it and have a few VMs on it, one of which is a Windows 10 VM. The only reason I really need the Windows VM is for Hyper-V manager access. So, the question is, are there any tools out there that will allow me to have access to Hyper-V manager via web access, or something similar? I run Hyper-V server, so RDPing into the desktop of the host server for VM management is not an option.

Any suggestions?

@scottalanmiller said in Drobo or Dobro:

This is just way too similar. All the same letters, only one letter out of place, same font...

$20 bucks says that dobro orange product never lost an entire RAID array like my old Drobo did.

@MattSpeller said:

Never heard of them. I'd start with some small purchases from any new vendor, you can learn a lot about a supplier by how they treat you when you call up for a handful of CAT5e and a mouse or two.

I'd also call em up and ask them exactly how these are tested. Exactly how, don't settle for "oh well we have Mr Wizard in the back who does that and he ASSURES us it's ok". It should be an informative experience. You're not necessarily interested in how they test as much as you are how open and transparent they are. How well dude buddy knows the procedures in the back end, etc.

I talked to them today and they said they assemble all the pieces, install an OS, and do lifecycle updates as part of the checking process.

@Jason

In some cases, for some phones, it's not an option. In FreePBX endpoint manager, it's also no an option for some phones unfortunately.

@Minion-Queen said:

Honestly I don't understand purchasing a new server at least 50% of the time when you can purchase a refurbished with the same warranty on it.

Oh I agree. Historically, that is all I've purchased, but that's just because the idea regarding anything refurbished was frowned upon by the powers that be. Now it's a different story however.

@Jason said:

Why does it need to be secure?

To be clear, I'm not talking about SIP traffic being secure. What I'm referring to is the provisioning files being downloaded from the server. The provisioning files have the username (typically the extension) and the password for the user/extension. If this is intercepted, you will have everything you need to connect and start making calls. We have international calling disabled via our SIP provider, but there is still the chance that fraudulent calls can be made.

So from skimming search results from the forum, I''ve concluded that Xbyte is awesome apparently.

Has anyone bought from OptioData or OrangeComputers.com ? OrangeComputers' pricing is outstanding, and they have an eBay presence as well with very high ratings. They sell used hard drives with their servers. I've always purchased new in the past, so i've always had new HDs as well. But at the price of the used hard drives, getting a few extra on the shelf seems like a good alternative, and is very cost effective.

Just curious if anyone h as any experience with either of these companies.

We are using Grandstream and Yealink. Sip usernames and password are already taken care of with very strong passwords autogenerated from the system. The question is regarding security when checking for/downloading configuration files from the server. Since most phones are set to check for configuration changes every so often, a secure method to connect to the provisioning server should exist. I know some phones have OpenVPN connectivity options, but most have either FTP, or HTTP options.

@aaronstuder

Correct, that's the plan. However, when the phones check for configuration/provisioning periodically, while remote, what method do you use to secure the communication? You can use http, ftp, etc, but this is inherently not secure. This could be secured through firewall rules on the PBX, but this becomes difficult when dealing with people who travel with their phones.

@aaronstuder said:

@fuznutz04 said:

What is everyone's method for provisioning phones remotely?

Do you have access to the phones before they are deployed? Do you have access to the network the phones will be on?

Yes, I would have access to phones before deployment, but not access to the destination network.

@JaredBusch

Good to know. I'm planning on starting this later this week. If I can get this working, I'm going to replace a PFSense firewall with an ERX or lite. Right now, this is the only thing that I dont have setup for ERX yet.

@aaronstuder said:

FreePBX includes a very good firewall built in

Agreed. The new responsive firewall in FreeBPX 13 is amazing for VoIP communications. It 's ability to intelligently allow and block traffic (especially SIP traffic) is a huge leap forward.

Now that we're on the subject again...What is everyone's method for provisioning phones remotely? In this case, all phones would be remote since the PBX is on a VPS.

@JaredBusch

Awesome, straightforward guide. Thanks! i've been playing with my ERX at home and am liking the interface and structure of the CLI. Next up will be attempting the OpenVPN server/client setup. If I can get that working consistently, I might switch my office to EdgeOS as well.

@Dashrender said:

Is there value in their support? I'm pretty sure you can hire the FreePBX guys to work on any install anywhere.

There is value with their support from what I've seen so far. They seem to be on top of their game with FreePBX issues. It's a factor in choosing a long term hosting provider, but certainly not the main factor that we're looking at. The good news with FreePBX is that the support community is huge.

@Dashrender

Correct, they are instantly provisioned and come with SysAdminPro and EndPoint Manager (commercial module) which is pretty nice, but not THAT great of a selling point. The benefit that I see so far with them is that they have the knowledge to support FreePBX if needed. Contrasted to other VPS providers that will only support the VPS, FreePBXHosting will help to solve problems with FreePBX and Asterisk.

Has anyone used Freepbxhosting.com? They are the approved host for FreePBX in the USA.

@JaredBusch said:

@fuznutz04 said:

@JaredBusch said:

@fuznutz04 what type of OpenVPN? Site to site? I have wrote up that process before back when I was learning EdgeOS originally. I can update it and make it clean.

No, I was looking to set it up as a server so I can remote in via the OpenVPN client. Basically, secure access to my home network when I need it. Right now, my experience with Open VPN is limited to the package available for PFSense. I'd like to do the same on my ERX.

I have that setup also. both as a certificate based and as a password based. at different sites. I really need to make new documentation anyway.

You would be hailed as "the man" if you produce that content and share it.

@JaredBusch said:

@fuznutz04 what type of OpenVPN? Site to site? I have wrote up that process before back when I was learning EdgeOS originally. I can update it and make it clean.

No, I was looking to set it up as a server so I can remote in via the OpenVPN client. Basically, secure access to my home network when I need it. Right now, my experience with Open VPN is limited to the package available for PFSense. I'd like to do the same on my ERX.

@scottalanmiller said:

voip.ms is good and we've had good luck with VoicePulse.

Thanks, I'll check those guys out.

@Minion-Queen said:

We have worked with both on behalf of clients. Honestly you will have issues with your provider at some point big guns included. So make sure your support channel is good.

Vitelity: Their support documentation isn't the greatest. However their Support themselves is very responsive and knowlegeable. We have been able to solve most problems very quickly.

NexVortex: Constant Outages on the East Coast. 2-3 hours before you can get someone to answer the phone for support call, 4 days was the average for emails. Once you finally did get support you got someone reading a script that couldn't think their way out of a paper bag.

I'd agree with your Vitelity comment. Their material is a bit lacking, but their support team is responsible and seems knowledgable.

The only problem I've had with NexVortex was choppy calls, but that always seemed to coincide with some sort of DOS attack at our COLO, which was evident on our firewall logs. I've never had to contact them for support, so I can't comment on that.