SIP and the 5000

[akuhn]

My association is most likely going to move from DC to Virginia.  My Mitel rep suggested converting to SIP if we wish to keep our phone numbers as is - which would be very cool.  We have a staff of about 65 employees.  He said this is much less expensive than setting up any kind of forwarding plan.  Otherwise, he said, we'd probably need to get all new phone numbers.

We have a 5000 and it's not too far out of date.  It's due for some upgrades which are free under our maintenance plan direct with Mitel.

I'm vaguely aware of SIP Trunking, but not an expert in it.  My feeling is that you can degrade the quality of your voice unless you design and install it correctly - and provide enough bandwidth to it.  However, keeping our numbers would be nice.

I know that the nice thing about the 5000 is that it supports this technology. 

Does anyone have any experience with this kind of installation?  Cautionary tales?  Go for it?

Thanks.

Adam in DC

[Tech Electronics]

Akuhn,

This shouldn't be a problem with the system be capable of doing it. Depending on your current software load I do suggest upgrading to the latest software if not the latest PR when you make the move.

As far as QoS and QoE that depends on your Vendor installing the 5000 in the new location as well as the Vendor of the SIP trunks. I suggest vetting them both out to make sure they can support your site and needs; ask a lot of questions of previous installations that they have done that are similar to what you are doing. Also get some references so you can ask about service and support as well from some of their customers.

Thanks,

TE

[bhackbarth]

In terms of cautionary tales, it comes down to which SIP provider you choose.  There are many, many providers out there and a handful of them have vanished overnight, leaving customer's phone numbers disconnected and in limbo.   The level of expertise varies wildly among SIP providers (some have little clue what they are doing). Others are quite reputable and excellent.

I often point people to Mike Sandman's voip article here:  http://www.sandman.com/VoIPresearch.html

With that said, do good research and you can purchase reliable SIP trunks. You will need a SIP Trunk License on the 5000 for each trunk you intend to use.

I encourage you to also read this  Mike Sandman article: http://www.sandman.com/VoIPChecklist.html

[akuhn]

Thanks for the cautionary tales.  They sound like true nightmares.  Mitel is pitching its own subsidary of Mitel Net Solutions.  They claim it is Tier One, but I have no idea whether I can verify that or whether it even means anything.

However, I would hope that they are likely to handle the transition well.

I believe they are marketing themselves is Mitel MiCloud.

Anyone use them?

Adam in DC.

[mem5449]

Go with Intermedia (formerly AccessLine). Their SIP trunks work great on the 5000. More importantly, they're the ONLY SIP provider we (as a reseller) have worked with that provides a SIP tester (software) that you can run (BEFORE YOU BUY or PORT numbers) to MAKE SURE it will work with your network equipment (router/friewall) AND show what the call quality WILL be. Bottom line, no ugly SIP surprises for you.

[Heritage02Rider]

I just turned up my new SIP trunk with Windstream (f. Paetec) with Enterprise trunking enabled. Enterprise trunking is a must if you plan on doing call forwarding/find-me-follow-me. So far only one minor issue and it appears to be MITEL related. The call quality has not diminished and we are using a converged network both internally and externally. Windstream is sending SIP and data over an Ethernet connection and an Adtran router is separating the SIP traffic and data traffic at my end. The SIP goes directly to my 5000 and the data to my external router/firewall. The SIP is actually coming in as an MPLS network.

The SIP turn-up went smooth and was functional in a few minutes. The porting of number from one carrier to another (as in my case) was a bit of a hassle, but the Windstream tech was excellent and resolved some of our issues in a short period of time. Total migration from T1 to SIP from turn-up to port was about 1 1/2 hours, not including the installation and other nonsense not involved with the carrier change.

[dwayneg]

I've used Mitel NetSolutions several places and the best part was that it was plug-and-play.  They give you instructions on how to program the 5000 and if you do it just that way it works.  Also used Bandwidth.com and it took an entire day of tweaking.  Also NetSolutions will provide a gateway such as InGate which sits in front of router/firewall and will insure voice quality by setting QOS etc.