Using AVVID Applications in IP
Telephony Single Site Solutions
In the world of corporate networks, nothing impacts the bottom line more than
the telephone. It is an instrument used by every employee every day of the week,
for one-on-one calls as well as conference calls.The cost of using this simple
instrument varies with the abilities of the phone, with the local and long distance
phone providers, and lastly, with the actual telephone and PBX to which the
telephones connect.
It’s no surprise that corporations are always looking for ways to save money
in their quest to improve stock value, but it’s really interesting that the phone
system is the last to get consideration as a place to save money. Corporations
always want a return on their investment, both in the design proposal and in the
actual usage of these new technologies—and VoIP is no exception.
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This chapter will focus upon the most critical part of a large VoIP solution—
how to design, implement, and work with the single site solutions.This criticality
stems from the fact that there are more sites of less than 25 users than there are
large enterprises where resources are not quite as difficult to obtain. Small sites usually
have only one Ethernet network, perhaps a simple router for internetwork
connectivity, or maybe a small network server, with very limited IT resources.
It is for those limited resources that VoIP must have the following positive
influences in order for it to be a cost-effective solution:
Require only small network upgrades instead of a full network
replacement.
Be capable of supporting similar, if not increased, telephone capabilities,
like that which the current telephone system uses.
Require minimal administrative overhead to manage and maintain the
VoIP system.
Be flexible for new VoIP and multimedia solutions.
This isn’t to say that large corporations have lots of money to burn, but rather
that an investment into VoIP solutions represents a long-term dedicated effort,
one that must provide significant value.This chapter will show how this level of
investment does indeed have that kind of payback, ease of maintenance, as well as
the freedom to accommodate change at a pace that would overwhelm traditional
PBX systems.
As you read this chapter, keep in mind that organizations desiring to use VoIP
and multimedia solutions must be willing to accept certain facts regarding the
solution, the most important of which is having a single vendor solution.The
hardware devices used to support the specialized software applications are very
specialized themselves because of the job they must do.Therefore, to create the
most cohesive and practical solution, the users of this new VoIP system will be
using all Cisco devices.
Before deciding that single vendor solutions are bad, read this chapter and
find out why the Cisco solutions presented here are not within the realm of
those single vendor issues. Customers have time and again used these solutions
without fear of being stranded by such specialized solutions. Instead, users and
business owners alike will benefit from reduced telephony charges, the decreased
time required to perform moves/adds/changes in the telephones, as well as a new
flexibility for multimedia solutions that heretofore was unavailable. So, sit back
and enjoy the technology review and learn how Cisco VoIP solutions work as
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338 Chapter 10 • Designing and Implementing Single Site Solutions
one part of the Cisco AVVID program. At the end of the chapter, you’ll learn
how to use this new AVVID system for multimedia presentations.