onsip – Page 6 – Graves On SOHO Technology

Considering Hosted IP-PBX Offerings

February 7, 2008
Michael Graves
VoIP

Zeeek posed an interesting question earlier today : “What hosted service would you choose for a non-technical friend?”

Here’s my take on the subject:

Configuration Flexibility

The whole idea of hosted PBX is that you retain the flexibility of having your own PBX, but avoid the headache of its physical installation, maintenance and cost. There will be some configuration, maybe more than a little. There can still be a role for a consultant if the end users are truly non-technical.

Ultimately the ability to craft a dial plan that will adequately serve the end user will revolve around the configuration flexibility of the provider. Here are some features to look for:

February 2, 2008
Michael Graves
VoIP

Generally when I join the weekly VUC conference all I’m dialed in from a SIP hard phone over a Junction Networks OnSIP trunk. This has historically meant that I had to dial in using the PSTN number, not the SIP URI.

A couple of times I tried to create an extension in my OnSIP account mapping their VUC SIP URI to a local four digit extension. That simply doesn’t work. The OnSIP GUI doesn’t permit the use of SIP URIs where the domain is specified by an IP address. It only accepts domains when referenced by alpha means.