UC540 Questions

[LonnieBear]

We're looking at the UC500 series, and I was wanting to verify availability of features that are important to us.

1. Our existing phone system allows us to transfer PSTN calls to a mobile phone via the "transfer and clear" service from the phone company. At locations where this service is not available, we can setup the system to use 3-way calling or as a last resort, a second PSTN trunk. Does the UC540 have a similar feature?

2. We would like to setup direct extension dialing between the branch offices and our corporate office over the VPN. We have 5 locations now and plan to add more in the future.

3. Reliability - We purchased another brand IP phone system a few years ago, but it seems glitchy. I get calls at least monthly from each location about their system being down, requiring a power cycle to bring the phones back up.

Our branch offices only require 4 to 8 lines, with 6 to 12 user extensions, so we'd like to keep the cost down by using the UC540. We could spring for a larger system at our corporate office if it would allow direct extension dialing to all of the locations.

Alternatively, if another system would be more appropriate, perhaps someone could point us in the right direction.

[johschaf]

Hello Lonnie,

1. Yes and no. The UC does offer some features similar to this, but I don't think they offer the same exact feature. You do have the ability to transfer a call to a mobile phone, but you need to do that manually by entering the destination number. In addition, that will utilize another PSTN line to transfer the call back out.

2. The UC can only connect to 4 other UCs in a multisite configuration.

3. I work in tech-support, so I'm kinda biased in that I only see the issues and not any of the successful deployments. Maybe a Cisco integrator could chime in here with their experiences. The UC is IOS based and when configured correctly, and updated when updates are available, I would believe the reliability would be better than your current solution.

You will need an FXO expansion card on the 540 to do 8 analog lines, which is the max the 540 can support. If you need additional lines you would need to utilize a SIP trunk or PRI. The multisite configuration can be a blend of 540s and 560s depending on your requirements.

Let me know what additional questions you have regarding this.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,

-john

[LonnieBear]

Our current system has desktop PC console software that allows us to drag and drop phone calls to transfer to other extensions or cell phones. Does the Cisco Smart Call Connector client offer similar functionality?

I had thought the "Single Number Reach" feature would allow us to transfer to mobile phones?

If the UC series only supports 5 sites total, what would be the next model up that would support up to 12 sites? We really only need direct extension dialing between our corporate office and branch office sites (not between branch offices).

[pierrescotland]

Single number reach allows a number to ring a deskphone and cell simultaneously, I'm not sure this is what you're looking for.  The Smart call Connector software is fairly basic as well, I don't generally recommend it to customers and I doubt it will compare favorably to what you are using.

What you do get with the UC5xx when configured correctly is very good reliability, it should be the end of the phone-system reboots you describe.

The multisite capabilities quoted earlier are a bit misleading, that is when the UC is acting as the VPN concentrator etc.   If your sites have existing VPN or other connectivity then you or an experienced partner can configure as many dial-peers as you would require, just make sure you have an appropriate dialplan to make things easy!   For the number of sites you suggest, I recommend 4 digits for each site which will give you plenty scope for expansion

e.g

Site One - ext 3100 to 3099 (I always stick voicemail on the same range)

Site Two - ext 3200 to 3199

Site Three - ext 3300 to 3299

[johschaf]

Hello Lonnie,

If you have an existing VPN you can do multisite to more sites, but if the UC is terminating the VPNs there is a limit of 5 total UCs in a multisite configuration. In addition, the multisite configuration using an existing VPN isn't supported within a CCA environment, so you would need to engage a Cisco UC specialized partner to perform and support that configuration. If you need the UCs to terminate the VPNs, and you need more than 5 sites you would need an Integrated Services Router("ISR") running Call Manager Express. This subforum can provide you more information about the ISRs:

https://supportforums.cisco.com/community/netpro/collaboration-voice-video/ip-telephony

Thanks,

-john