Posts made by GaryP

@dashrender said in Looking for virtualization advice:

@scottalanmiller said in Looking for virtualization advice:

@dashrender said in Looking for virtualization advice:

@scottalanmiller said in Looking for virtualization advice:

@garyp said in Looking for virtualization advice:

We have equipment in 5 NA locations and over 500 phones, so management is not looking to move to anything else at this time.

Why would management be involved? IT should be like "we can save money, improve systems" and that's the end of it. Why would management have any say other than verifying cost savings and such? The bigger the network, the more money there is to be saved, right?

He's in the same situation as me. The hardware is already in place. Moving to FreePBX would likely require purchasing all new phones, or moving users to softphones on their computers, which would require purchasing headsets most likely.

In either case, there would be a substantial hardware outlay likely if they changed.

But they are looking at significant outlay to keep using what they have. They have to invest specifically in a VMware solution instead of what meets the needs of the business, they have to pay to keep the Avaya running and they have to take on the risks of using a solution from a non-viable or marginally viable vendor. That's all real costs that they are facing to NOT switch.

I'm not saying you're wrong - but 500 phones, even Yealink aren't cheap, not to mention the training to the staff, the IT time, etc.

If it really boils down to it, they can just leave it on the server it's currently on, and change nothing else about that one server. We assume there is already a backup solution in place - so that shouldn't be that bad to maintain.

Then the business can plan for this change over down the road.

We also have a few call centers, which accounts for a significant amount of revenue. So, aside from all the hardware expenses to rip and replace, we would need to reprogram all the routing (and the ability needs to be there, in whatever new system gets installed) along with retraining the call center staff. It would probably take an amazing ROI, before management would even begin to consider approving a project like this. I do appreciate the comments regarding the on-going expenses to manage Avaya.

I must be doing something wrong. How do you all work and have time for such (great!) in depth discussions, here and in other threads. I'm trying to be an active participant in this conversation but I'm not doing a great job at it. For that, I apologize.

We are mostly a Windows shop, but we (and I'm sure this will open up another stream of discussion) also use Avaya, managed by a service provider. We are looking to add SIP and an IVR solution. I just was told Avaya will not support (at this time) anything other than VMware. It looks like this takes Scale out of the running. We have equipment in 5 NA locations and over 500 phones, so management is not looking to move to anything else at this time.

@JaredBusch - I have some questions regarding your earlier comments on our "a bit abnormal" file server size. Should I start a separate thread for this?

@tim_g said in Looking for virtualization advice:

@dustinb3403 said in Looking for virtualization advice:

@tim_g said in Looking for virtualization advice:

How this is done best is decided via the expertise of IT, not stakeholders.

He could be speaking with other members of the IT department.

Maybe, maybe not.

Yes, I am talking about IT. I don't always agree with how decisions are made or what they are based on. Yes, it is usually money but also redundancy/DR are a consideration and who is going to support it.

A lot to consider here. Thank you for everyone's input. I need to run all these suggestions by a few other people in my office to get a better idea of what is important to stakeholders. I can then ask more specific questions.

We are looking to virtualize the servers in the data center in our office. Since most of our applications run in two co-lo data centers, managed by a service provider, the data center in our office could almost be considered a remote office.
Currently we have mostly physical Windows servers (yes, I know it is 2017) in this data center consisting of:
Two file servers for a total of 7 TB
Security system server
HVAC system server
Warehouse conveyor control server
We need to add about 6 Linux servers for SIP and a telecom specific application.

Ideally, we can move VMs to another host if one fails, but it doesn’t have to be instantaneous.
Current storage need is ~8 TB with room to grow to ~15 TB in the next 3-4 years. DAS, NAS, etc., whatever might work best for this situation.
Dell suggested a 3-2-1 architecture for over $100,000, which does not seem at all practical.
Another vendor suggested Dell’s VTRX with 3 M630 blades plus the storage.
We have started looking at HCI solutions, including Scale. StarWind and HPE SimpliVity as we do not the expertise in managing a hypervisor nor the time to manage it. Too many other projects and distractions.

We will need some sort of DR solution. We will want an on-site backup and a copy going off-site to Azure, AWS or similar.
Suggestions?

Greetings all! I have been on Spiceworks for a while and I finally found ML. Thanks for all the great information everyone is sharing. - GP