1 Cisco 7960 SIP Phone... what else do i need

Hi

I am going to buy a Cisco 7960 {Latest SIP Installed} phone, and wondering is there anything else i need to consider. I will only be using the 1 phone in the office.

Also wondering, has some troubles with the soft phone, wondering if you need a Static ip?

Thanks

Jardin

The Cisco is a good choice but make sure you get the full instructions on setting it up and some guidance on doing it.

It can be done from the phone itself but its easier to FTP the info into the phone from a PC on the same network, you need to put in the usernames and passwords for the (up to) six user accounts you plan to work with. Solar Winds is a good choice.

You don't need a static IP but you do need a good router/modem preferably one that allows you to set QOS for Voip traffic. The fact that you have had problems with a soft phone indicates you may need to either open ports in your router or set a STUN server. Lots more info on that and on this phone too if you do a forum search.

Reading up on it, I am using a Netgear DG834G and it doesn’t have QoS

Any alternative options I can do?

If you have a good level of service from your IP and some reasonable bandwidth then you really shouldn't find it too much of a problem.

Of course if you are a part of a large network that has a lot of traffic on it then you may experience problems but in normal domestic situations these days (bit torrent downloads and online gaming excluded) you should find that you can manage without QOS.

Try some speed tests and see what results you get.

Its for an office so Bit Torrent wont be used on the network. Only going to be 2 machines.

Speed Test Results :

6.87 Mbps Down / 0.37 Mbps Up

Would i face any problems using my DG834G Router?

Quote:

6.87 Mbps Down / 0.37 Mbps Up

Thats a rather low Up bandwidth. If the line is only used for phone then you should be OK for 2 concurrent high quality calls. Less Down would be OK and more Up would be very nice. (I only have 1.2 Mbps Down but about 512 Up and it generally gives better quality (with voip) than my PSTN phone).

dibsmft :

Quote: 6.87 Mbps Down / 0.37 Mbps Up Thats a rather low Up bandwidth. If the line is only used for phone then you should be OK for 2 concurrent high quality calls. Less Down would be OK and more Up would be very nice. (I only have 1.2 Mbps Down but about 512 Up and it generally gives better quality (with voip) than my PSTN phone).

Im from scotland ... Think thats why

I think that I may be in what you would consider a more remote place (Newfoundland) than yourself!
The trouble is that voip calls need both lots of Up and Down. With relatively little Up you will not what much usage for uploading of files (eg. to clients) to cause problems with phone calls.
Oh, and your router should have no problems at all with the load. You might meet a few problems with initial set up but there is plenty of help here. The Cisco 7960 SIP Phone is more likely to give a little grief but Gray can help there.

Thanks guys, just didnt want to buy the Cisco phone and find out it wont be any use.

Those speeds i tested are from my house which connects to an Exchange then to the Central Exchange.

Where my office is located the route connects straight to the Central Exchange, so i shouldnt have that low a upload rate.

hostod :

Thanks guys, just didnt want to buy the Cisco phone and find out it wont be any use.

Since you have not purchased the Cisco phone you might enjoy looking at alternatives. At least they might be more cost effective. Liksys (now part of Cisco) supply phones designed for SIP (most Cisco use their own system but can be converted to SIP) that are similar to Cisco, Aastra, Polycom, Grandstream etc all offer nice phones.

Quote:

Since you have not purchased the Cisco phone you might..

I bought a Cisco 7940G for a good price