@scottalanmiller said:

Windows on OS?

LOL! I meant Windows on USB. My head and hands sometime desync from each other.

@iroal said:

@LAH3385 said:

@iroal said:

Same problem with the Dell R630...

After fighting it for a week, I gave up. Right now OS is on the same RAID. hoping Server NANO will have an answer for this.

I'll try this week, If I get it I'll let you know.

For my R430 server, I disable SD Card slots as it does seem to be compatible. Windows on OS [EDIT: Windows on USB] also doesn't seem to be compatible. I created RAID10 on Raid Controller and partition it out in Windows. So I only have (1) RAID10 and (2) partitions.

@iroal said:

Same problem with the Dell R630...

After fighting it for a week, I gave up. Right now OS is on the same RAID. hoping Server NANO will have an answer for this.

I am doing some troubleshooting and wonder if there is a way to alert when a device went offline. Currently I am using CMD script where it will log when IP address is unreachable. But I want a way to alert me as well.

What happens is our phone system stop responding 3 days in a roll. I am not sure if it is our switch, which also shown sign of issue with connectivity, or the phone system itself. By pinging the phone system I will know what time it went down which might come in handy.

Anyway to make it alert when a device went offline or unreachable?

@scottalanmiller said:

@LAH3385 said:

It is not hurting. Just a burden. We paid in full not lease. It does hurt the more people we add to the company.

There is no support cost?

There is support cost but only if we request. Other than that it is no cost. It is more like extended service labor cost

This is what I got from NEC tech.

Your system is compatible with SIP trunks. You would have to buy licenses though, one time charge.

In general, PRI is more reliable and has guaranteed call quality. You can get a PRI from any carrier that services your address and use it with the card you already have.

If you get SIP trunks from anyone other than your ISP you give up the ability to hold anyone accountable for call quality. Your ISP will blame the SIP trunk provider. The SIP trunk provider will blame the ISP. If you have a high level of bandwidth it may not be an issue, but no one will guarantee anything. NEC has certified the 9100 to work with several SIP trunk providers. You can get SIP trunks from an uncertified provider but NEC will not guarantee compatibility and troubleshooting won't be covered under warranty.

@JaredBusch said:

Desk phones are not culturally optional, even if they are technically optional. Even then, soft phones may be free, but you still have to buy headsets. Any decent USB headset will be nearly $50

I am dealing with users who have issue unable to open a document because it is unsupported (.page) and thought restart will solve the issue. Or when a folder takes couple seconds to load due to thousands of files in that folder and say she needs a new monitor. Softphone would be witchcraft to them.

@MattSpeller Thanks!

@coliver said:

Do you have a model number for one of your phones? Generally if they can do SIP they can do any SIP.

There are 2 models listed. Not sure which one exactly

• DT-800 series - ITZ-12DG-3
• ZV (XDG) W-3Y (BK) << this one has Model: right next to it.

@scottalanmiller said:

Things that I am assuming:

• That the NEC has negative value and is actively hurting you (e.g. the sooner you remove it, the better.)

It is not hurting. Just a burden. We paid in full not lease. It does hurt the more people we add to the company.

• That a replacement system is likely free (because some of the best ones are, definitely way better than an NEC or a legacy system, since the NEC is "good enough", a free PBX is going to be worlds beyond what you have today.)

I will have to look more into it but I do not think NEC phones capable of going full VOIP with SIP. I will have to call around to a workable solution.

• Moving from Logix to someone like voip.ms will cost negative money (e.g. you pay less, not more and therefore make money.)
  So the tighter you are on money, the more you want to overhaul right away, right?

Yes it will be MUCH MUCH MUCH cheaper. Maybe about half or more than what we are paying right now. Still... Since NEC phone isn't support we will have to provide our own phone system.

@scottalanmiller

@MattSpeller

If you are opening a new thread can you link me to it. I would love to get involve

@scottalanmiller said:

@LAH3385 said:

Even if it is sunk cost we just do not have the resource to overhaul right away.

But an overhaul would likely be free, right? Why are you assuming that there would be a cost other than the savings potential from not paying for the NEC support?

Because, when I checked with VOIP.ms we need a complete different phone system as they do not support NEC. So at the very least we will need a Phone to begin with.

@scottalanmiller said:

@LAH3385 said:

No. That last last year.

Oh

I was a series of bad timing. Everything was falling apart and we need to act fast.

@scottalanmiller said:

@LAH3385 said:

This will be a great talk with my boss. Maybe I should start preparing to jump ship in worst case scenario.
We just spent 40K on the whole system.

Just explain sunk cost fallacy to him ahead of time to make sure his head is in the right place.

"Just spent" six years ago, right?

No. That last last year.
We moved to our new office back in the end of 2010. That is when we got into Logix and 3COM phone system. However, before Logix contract is over our 3COM system was dying. So we have to switch over to different system which also accommodate Logix PRI. The decision for new phone system was made in around mid of last year. So we had the phone system for less than a year per se.
Even if it is sunk cost we just do not have the resource to overhaul right away.

It os a mistake that must be fix. But doing so I might prepare my resume and ready to move on at the same time.

@scottalanmiller said:

@LAH3385 said:

Since we already paid for NEC terminal, what should I do?

This is sunk cost fallacy causing an emotional reaction - basically your brain is hoping that you can justify the money already lost on the NEC. But that is bad business thinking.

Whether the NEC was free or cost a billion dollars doesn't matter now. What matters today is that you have an NEC that you own (I assume) outright and you need to make decisions based on that.

The sad part is that the NEC is worth nothing, literally, nothing. It has no value for your business. So keeping it because you "spent money on it" doesn't make sense. It is hurting you today, actively. It's not that it cost too much six years ago, that's a different issue and that would be addressed in a port mortem, but right now we are only looking at making the right decision for the future.

Since the NEC is hurting you, you want to remove it. Think of it like cancer. When the doctor tells you that you have lung cancer you don't say "but I've put so much effort into this lung, let's just keep it", no, you say "cut that thing out and try to save me right now!!!!"

This will be a great talk with my boss. Maybe I should start preparing to jump ship in worst case scenario.
We just spent 40K on the whole system. Also, I spoke with VOPS.ms and to go that route means overhaul the whole system.

@scottalanmiller said:

@LAH3385 said:

@scottalanmiller
For searching for new phone provider, what should I be on the lookout for?
Internet I guess we might stick with Verizon in month-to-month after contract expired. They seem reliable so far. We have 150/150 Fiber.

How much are you paying for the SIP portion (that's what you are getting, it's physically impossible to have PRI over fiber) of that? How much do you save by removing it? And what services are you getting for that price?

Likely what you are getting is a SIP line with a PRI converter on the end to fool your management into thinking you have an old fashioned 1960s PRIs line so that you can hook it up to your expensive 1990s legacy PBX appliance. This is a common thing to do because managers often demand PRI without understanding it (because no one would want it if they did) and PRI isn't possible with any modern infrastructure and it is completely useless, so they use SIP under the hood and at the last second make a local PRI inside of your facility to trick everyone into thinking that have something worse than they actually do.

@scottalanmiller
Are you suggesting we ditch NEC altogether?

We had 3COM VCX (OLD!) before. My boss want something in-house. My predecessor was talking to NEC prior to me taking over (he got a position closer to his house). I had 2 months after I joined to make the decision because the 3COM VCX was dying. I could say it was hasty decision with little to no consultant.

How much are you paying for the SIP portion (that's what you are getting, it's physically impossible to have PRI over fiber) of that? How much do you save by removing it? And what services are you getting for that price?

I really have no idea how to answer that. I have too few information on my hand. SIP trunking is internet or IP-based phone line right? Since we already paid for NEC terminal, what should I do?
From my crappy information I understand that the Phone itself use SIP and translate to PRI at the terminal. Is that sound about right?

@scottalanmiller
For searching for new phone provider, what should I be on the lookout for?
Internet I guess we might stick with Verizon in month-to-month after contract expired. They seem reliable so far. We have 150/150 Fiber.

@scottalanmiller said:

@LAH3385 said:

@scottalanmiller
Adding more information here.. Our phone system is NEC SV9100. It is said to be IP-PBX. I may not use the right term and causing confusion. But it is a terminal with Pri cards. Hope that clear the confusion

Yes, as far as I know, NEC is a legacy only PBX vendor. No one talks about them in terms of modern telephony, only for supporting old stuff.

Modern PBX vendors are typically the Asterisk family (Elastix, FreePBX, PIAF, etc.), 3CX, Avaya, Cisco, Mitel, and similar. But if you go with any vendor that has a physical device you are stuck, at least partially, in an old mindset and model.

I really wish we know about the downfall on NEC earlier. The next plan for upgrade is 4 years (we upgrade major appliance every 5 years or if budget allows)
But So far everything is working fine. Nothing bad to talk about.. nothing worth praising either.

@scottalanmiller
Adding more information here.. Our phone system is NEC SV9100. It is said to be IP-PBX. I may not use the right term and causing confusion. But it is a terminal with Pri cards. Hope that clear the confusion

Yes. If possible we will be looking into a better redundancy.

@scottalanmiller said:

@LAH3385 said:

@scottalanmiller
At the time of upgrading we didn't have an option due to contract with Logix on PRIs.

A contract with a physical carrier? This is what I was warning about. Never get the line and the phone service from the same company. You have already, apparently, been caught by them leveraging a contract to screw you for a long time. Was this a contract going back like a decade? What is keeping you from moving to something modern now?

It was 6 years contract and it is going to end this November.

@scottalanmiller
At the time of upgrading we didn't have an option due to contract with Logix on PRIs.

@scottalanmiller
The phone is SIP capable. We just didn't opt-in for SIP card. We still use PRIs.
We were locked in contract for PRIs with Logix. That ends on November.