Learn the importance of delivering value to customers.  It's no longer enough to be trained and certified on the many technologies and services that our customers require - delivering value is an expectation.

You'll hear from a special guest speaker from the Institute for Partner Education and Development (IPED) with some practical steps.

This session is for VARs.  You may click to register, and hope to see you on the 29th.

Ann
http://www.interlinkweb.com
rss: http://feeds.feedburner.com/InterlinkBlog/

Interlink VARs will be happy to learn that the MRV LX Out-of-Band-Networking Trade-In Offer has been reinstated through the end of this year.  Login to see the details or contact your account manager for more information.

Ann
http://www.interlinkweb.com
rss: http://feeds.feedburner.com/InterlinkBlog/

We've assembled best-of-class vendors: ADTRAN, Digium, Infinity Security Solutions, snom and U4EA Technologies to create a comprehensive VoIP solution that delivers the benefits of VoIP at a price that finally makes sense.

The following cities are on the 2008 schedule, with others planned into 2009.  Interlink VARs - Please contact us today if you're interested in participating in one of these half day seminar series in your town.  Get more information.

August 20, 2008 - Orlando, Florida
September 10, 2008 - Schaumburg, Illinois
October 1, 2008 - Dallas, Texas
October 15, 2008 - Long Beach, California

Ann
http://www.interlinkweb.com
rss: http://feeds.feedburner.com/InterlinkBlog/

• What the PCI standards require
• Evaluate the level of risk that you face in your business
• Learn some steps you can take toward compliance right now and
• Understand what is appropriate for your business

This 90 minute webinar will include a Q&A and will be presented by Dr. David Taylor, CISSP: President, PCI Security Vendor Alliance.  Now that PCI compliance has been embraced by nearly all the larger (Level 1) merchants, the card brands are shifting focus to engage the SMB merchants for compliance.  Don't miss out on this informative session.

Date: July 30, 2008
Time:  11:30 a.m. Eastern
Duration: 90 Minutes including Q&A

Register Today.

Interlink VARs can contact Interlink for more information; Ask about sending a custom, ADTRAN co-branded eMail invitation to YOUR customers to take part!  View ADTRAN's Whitepaper entitled "Demystifying the Payment Card Industry - Data Security Standard".

Ann
http://www.interlinkweb.com
rss: http://feeds.feedburner.com/InterlinkBlog/

Switchvox has authored the Switchvox Fire Dialer Extension; it’s a Firefox Browser Plug-in that integrates the Browser with Switchvox to make VoIP calls directly from your computer.

I found this plug-in to be exceptionally simple to install and configure. Here are the steps I took.

Things You’ll Need

1. VoIP capability on your network.
2. Firefox Web Browser.
3. A microphone and speakers or a headset on your PC.
4. Inform your Network Administrator.

Regarding #3, you’ll definitely want to discuss this with your Network Administrator first because having phone conversations through your PC is going to put some voice traffic on your network.  Our VoIP implementation that we have in our offices today is segmented such that our Voice and Data are on separate network segments and so trying out the Fire Dialer meant that I’d be taking voice over the Data network. Not a huge deal for a single user but that might present some problems for our Data Applications if everyone in our office attempted to do this.

Step 1

Environment

Determine what version of Firefox you’re running by clicking the Help Menu and then selecting “About Mozilla Firefox.

You can locate the version number here.

Step 2

Download

Download (opens new window) the Fire Dialer plug-in that supports your Firefox Web Browser version. The download options will look like this.

After clicking the Download link the Firefox plug-in installer dialog will launch. Click the “Install” button.

Note: I have verified directly with Digium that this plug-in was created by Switchvox. I don't have any reason to believe that they should not be a trusted source.

Once the installation is complete you’ll be prompted to re-start Firefox.

Step 3

Configuration

After you’ve restarted the Firefox web browser you’ll need to configure Fire Dialer. To do so, go to the Tools --> Add-ons menu option.

This will launch Add-ons management console. Click the Options button for Fire Dialer.

You’ll need to add some information here.

1. The IP Address of the PBX (Switchvox box for me).
2. Your Phone extension.
3. Your Phone password.

Click Save. You’re now ready to go dialing!

Step 4

Kick the Tires 

Using your Firefox web browser, navigate to a web page that has a Phone Number displayed as text. I’ve navigated to our Home Page.

Over-score the Phone Number that you wish to call.

Place your mouse cursor over the over-scored phone number and right click on your mouse. This will launch the context menu. Choose the Dial option and get ready to call.

Oh, make sure that you either have your headset on or your mike and speakers ready :)

An often overlooked solution involves the use of VLANs (Virtual LANs).  A VLAN acts like an ordinary LAN, but connected devices don't have to be physically connected to the same segment.

Virtual LAN Technology allows IT managers some flexibility in setting up more efficient networks.  Department users and resources may be grouped to provide the most logical and fastest connections.  Physical ports are not the only way to separate traffic anymore!

MAC (moves/adds/changes) can now be performed via software instead of wiring closet visits.  Any size company with a large enough network that needs to be segmented may benefit from VLAN technology. 

For a great VLAN review with specific VLAN information, please visit this ADTRAN Website Link.

Carl Dinarello
System Engineer - Interlink
http://www.interlinkweb.com
rss: http://feeds.feedburner.com/InterlinkBlog/ 

First remove the two screws from the back of the AA-60 and open the top by sliding it toward the back of the AA-60.

Next, tilt the fan slightly to fit the card into the AA-60 chassis.  Plug in the +5 computer power connector to drive the power for the FXS ports.

Finally, replace the top of the AA-60 chassis and power back on.  Once up, Go to and Click on "System Setup" + Click on "Hardware Setup" + Click on the "Configure" box in order to configure your newly installed cardl.

Kevin Kelley
System Engineer - Interlink
http://www.interlinkweb.com
rss: http://feeds.feedburner.com/InterlinkBlog/ 

Interlink VARs will be pleased to learn that the newest addition to our Line Card includes the VegaStream VoIP Gateways.

Beyond the obvious reduction in 'per call' costs afforded by VoIP, there are other reasons which may be more subtle yet compelling with regard to the benefits of VoIP Gateways.

1. First, the existing phone system usually has proven to be a work horse for most businesses.  Retraining all the users on something completely different could prove to be a daunting task that could interfere with daily operations - that is - cost the company productivity.
   
2. Next, many workers are basically resistant to change and the way a new VoIP PBX handles tasks may require adaptation to strange new procedures.
   
3. Third, although most VoIP PBXs are truly feature rich, the basic idea for the business is cost reduction; so remapping an entire operation around a phone system may not be viable in every situation.

To a good number of existing companies, products like the VegaStream VoIP Gateways may truly be a better fit.  Get Some Product Info.  Press Release.

Paul Cooper
System Engineering - Interlink
http://www.interlinkweb.com
rss: http://feeds.feedburner.com/InterlinkBlog/ 

One of the remaining items was to determine how the configuration on a Snom 320 could be Backed Up and Restored.  Sounds easy right? And so I figured that it would be and volunteered to find it in the Documentation.  Tom looked at me like I was out of my tree and said… “Go for it!”

Oh, and so why are we interested in Backup and Restore? For starters it’s a Best Practice that can help an IT Administrator recover and naturally, last week one of our Phones, scheduled to be deployed to the Receptionist took a power surge that fried the phone. The replacement phone had to be programmed entirely from scratch. We want to avoid that situation going forward. Thus, the Back Up and Restore challenge was on!

To skip my personal adventure, click here to go straight to the Backup & Restore section of this post.

I like to figure out as many possibilities that I can when troubleshooting and this seemed similar… find something that doesn’t appear to exist.

My possibilities to succeed included the following.

• Installation Guide  – Probability (High)
• Product Manual – Probability (High)
• System Engineer – Probability (High)
• Online Support Documentation – Probability (High)
• Web Based Switchvox User Administrator Panel – Probability (Low)
• Web Based Switchvox Admin Administrator Panel – Probability (Low)

I started with the snom 320 Quick Installation manual. This is the out of the box manual that comes with the device and I would tell you that it is very clear to understand but it’s at 50k feet and does not cover administrative tasks such as backing up your configuration or restoring a configuration. If you’re an IT Administrator I would advise that you give this manual to your end users.

Next, I paid a visit to our Systems Engineers, they advised me to check out the Product Manual and so I borrowed their copy. The 108 page snom 320 product manual made for some dry reading over lunch and surprisingly, does not cover Backup and Restore.

Oh great! Now I’m thinking that Tom is having a good laugh at my expense at this point.

Determined to succeed, I headed out to the snom web site and thoroughly checked the following Support Resources:

• Knowledge Base
• Frequently Asked Questions
• WIKI
• Online Product Documentation
• Forum

The closest thing I found was an entry in the Forum regarding Contact Back Ups.

I’m getting worried now because I realize that the odds of finding a Backup and Restore option in the Switchvox Web Administrator for my snom phone were really slim. Why? That’s not really the role of Switchvox. I suspected that I might find a way to Back Up my Switchvox settings but not my actual Phone settings. It turns out that I could not Back Up my phone settings from my Switchvox Web Administrator or Switchboard.

At this point, Tom walks into my office and I asked him if I could manage the phone directly from its IP Address and the answer was “Yes!” Ah, perfect, I’m thinking that this has High Probability and it’s obviously something I missed in my original possibility list.

Sure enough, after logging into the Phone as an Administrator and going into the Settings Panel I was able to locate two Backup Options.

Back Up Section

The following file types can be saved as backups from the managed phone interface:

• .cfg Config File
• .xml XML File

Choose the Config File type if you want the smaller of the two.

Step 1

Determine the IP Address of the Phone by clicking the Help button on your phone. Then click the IPAdr soft key to get the IP Address of the Phone.

Step 2

Launch a web browser and enter that ip address into the Address bar and click enter.

Step 3

Click the Settings link, you’ll find it located under the Status Category in the Vertical navigation links section on the left side of the web page.

At the top of the Settings page you’ll have two options to save the Configuration File. Click the type you prefer to save and store it in a location that you can retrieve from.

That completes the steps necessary to Back Up a Snom phone configuration. I should add a disclaimer that this method was only tested on a snom 320. The possibility exists that the process is different on other models.  Please chime in on the comments if you have some knowledge of this.

Restore Section

Step 1

Repeat steps 1 and 2 from the Back Up Section and go to the managed interface for your snom 320 phone.

Step 2

Click the Advanced Link that is located in the Setup Category in the Vertical navigation links section on the left side of the web page.

Step 3

Click the Update Tab on the Advanced Settings Tab Menu options.

Step 4

Using the Browse button on the File Uploader segment of the page, locate your Back up Configuration File. Then click the Load button.  Watch the LED panel on your Phone and you’ll see the Restore going on.  This step will take a few minutes and when complete you’re done restoring the configuration from Back Up.

Important Behavior Anomoly

If your phone was set up with a Static IP Address it will get converted to DHCP during the restore process. This will make it appear as if the Web Page is going to time out. It’s not really timing out, rather… the IP Address used to manage the Phone no longer exists thus you get a timeout appearance.

At this point just watch the LED on the Phone. When the restore process reaches a point where you’re being asked to Select a Dial Tone pick up the Restore Process from the Phone and:

1. Select A Dial Tone
2. Select a Language
3. Choose Your Time Zone

At this point you have nearly fully restored the Backup Configuration File.

If you would like to revert back to your Static IP Address you’ll need to.

1. Go into the Phone Settings on the Phone.
2. Turn off DHCP.
3. Re-enter your Static IP Address.

Once that configuration is complete you have a couple of final steps.

1. Using your web browser, browse out to the Static IP Address.
2. Browse out to the Switchvox Admin Panel.
   o Go To >> Extensions >> Manage Extensions.
   o Locate your Phone and click the Modify Button.
   o Enter the default password and click the Save Extension Settings Button.

In Part 2, I can address the obvious issue with this Single Phone/Browser approach. If you’re an IT Administrator you need to have a way to back up all of the Phones on your VoIP Network. We will write a utility app that will back up the files on a scheduled basis and make it available to our Customers.

Update.  We now have the Meeting Room Informaton for the presentation noted below.  The presentation will be on Wednesday August 6, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. til 10:00 a.m. at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in the Tallahassee Room.

Don't Miss the 'Unified Communications' educational track at CompTIA Breakaway.  Our very own VoIP Business Development Director, Peter Weyant will be presenting on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 from 9 a.m.-10 a.m. Peter's presentation is entitled: Unified Communications and the Value of Web 2.0 Mash-Up Implementations for the SMB.

We will post the room location once it becomes available - and we'll also post any changes to the current (planned) schedule for this presentation. If you're planning to attend CompTIA Breakaway (August 5-7, Gaylord Palms in Orlando, Florida) - please stop by to say hello - Interlink will be in Booth 520 to talk about ADTRAN, BelAir Networks, Digium, Fluke Networks, Infinity Security Solutions, MRV, snom and U4EA Technologies. 

Also, Interlink VARs interested in a FREE VAR pass, can contact your Interlink Account Manager.  There are a limited number available on a first come/first served basis.

Ann
http://www.interlinkweb.com
rss: http://feeds.feedburner.com/InterlinkBlog/