Announcement

WOBURN, MA. – Oct. 22, 2013 – Today Vodia Networks Inc announced its cloud-based PBX solution for SMBs, that provides a highly robust and feature rich communications platform to cater to the ever growing needs of today’s distributed and mobile workforce. The cloud-based service called “Hosted I AM” or “hostedi.am” enables businesses to lower the total cost of ownership of their telephone systems by providing a managed phone system on the cloud along with a complete suite of business features. For businesses with multiple branch offices, hostedi.am provides a single system that will seamlessly connect all locations without the need for a complex infrastructure.

Tech

Troubleshooting a PBX can be challenging, but the goal is to minimize issues through smart design, like providing NAT traversal solutions for SIP endpoints. When issues arise, it’s essential to have the right tools, such as SIP registration reporting, which notifies administrators of registration issues caused by firewalls or unstable internet connections. Additional tools help with provisioning problems by logging generated files and their history. For call-related issues, the PBX now captures call PCAPs based on trunks or extensions, making it easier to isolate specific problems. TLS and SRTP encryption are also addressed by decoding traffic before sending it to the PCAP subsystem, ensuring accurate timestamps for troubleshooting.

Tech

Recording phone calls is essential for compliance, particularly in industries like brokerage, where proof of phone agreements is required. In the snom ONE PBX, recordings are categorized into automatic and manual types. While manual recordings are handled like voicemail messages, automatic recordings, often generated in bulk in busy call centers, present a challenge for archiving and access. The solution is organizing them in a file system by domain and date for easy retrieval and storage on remote services. The 5.1.3 release introduces HTML5 audio playback for seamless in-browser listening, allowing restricted access to specific recordings without altering file system permissions, though IE users face limitations due to unsupported WAV formats.

Tech

Network Address Translation (NAT) was a workaround for the limited IPv4 addresses, and SIP was designed to be NAT-unfriendly to encourage IPv6 adoption. As IPv6 remains far from mainstream, however, NAT is still a challenge. The Vodia PBX addresses this with a "mini-session border controller" that detects non-routable IPs and ignores SIP routing information. This solution works well with endpoints, but it faces issues with gateways behind NAT. The upcoming version, 5.1.3, introduces a trunk flag to prevent the PBX from updating the SIP route, allowing for better communication. This also simplifies gateway registration, offering a more stable NAT workaround until IPv6 becomes common.

Tech

The Vodia PBX offers a Windows-based CSTA browser notification tool that simplifies call handling for web-based CRM users. This lightweight program runs in the taskbar, listens for incoming calls, and opens a web page at a programmable location. To prevent excessive pop-ups, users can configure when the browser opens, such as for ACD or hunt group calls, or manually trigger it via a notification balloon. The tool has been improved to handle connection losses and network changes, ensuring reliable operation. It works with Vodia PBX and other CSTA-compatible systems, with a free trial available for those without a CSTA license.

Tech

The Vodia PBX has supported email notifications since the beginning, helping administrators and users stay informed about important events. In version 5.1.1 we introduced text messaging (SMS), initially for administrators, to enhance real-time notifications. The PBX uses HTTP-based messaging, which is simpler to set up and troubleshoot compared to SMPP. Multi-tenant environments benefit from domain-level configuration, allowing customers to manage their own SMS services. The system also includes retry mechanisms to improve reliability. Once it's stable, this feature will be extended to user events, further improving communication efficiency within the PBX.

Tech

Traditional PBXs mainly routed calls between PSTN lines and extensions, with trunk-to-trunk calls being rare. Snom ONE followed this model, binding outbound calls to extensions. However, modern businesses with multiple offices and VPN-linked networks require low-latency local call routing. Version 5.1 introduces “inter-office trunks,” allowing calls to be routed directly between PBXs, reducing delays and ensuring local PSTN termination for emergency calls. Calls can now be routed based on dial plans without extension involvement, creating a private telephone network within organizations. This enhances flexibility and efficiency in global enterprise communications.

Tech

Version 5.1 introduces a setting to disable RTCP-XR on trunks - not as a feature, but as a necessity. RTCP-XR provides detailed reports on call quality, including packet arrival times, jitter, and MOS scores, making it valuable for troubleshooting and service-level documentation. Many service providers, however, use equipment that rejects unknown SDP content, causing interoperability issues. Since most providers and devices don’t support RTCP-XR, the default setting now suppresses its advertisement, ensuring compatibility. If providers adopt it in the future, it can be selectively enabled. This change ensures smoother integration while maintaining call quality diagnostics where possible.

Tech

Previous versions of the PBX allowed calls from one trunk to be routed through another for cost-effective call termination - this was commonly used by international offices. Now, the new inter-office trunk feature enhances this by assigning a dial plan directly to the trunk, offering greater flexibility in caller ID presentation. This allows businesses to optimize call routing without linking to specific extensions. While prepaid accounts aren’t supported, the feature enables broader applications, such as acting as a session border controller (SBC), handling LAN-WAN traffic, and translating calls between IPv4 and IPv6. Available from version 5.0.10i, this expands the role of the PBX in networked environments.

Tech

Traditional PBX phones featured buttons with LED indicators for various functions, often labeled manually. In the SIP world, vendor-specific implementations and limited standards, like the "dialog" standard for BLF, dictate functionality. While BLF allows LED control, actual button behavior relies on provisioning. The Vodia PBX extends button provisioning beyond snom to Polycom and Yealink phones, simplifying setup while maintaining functionality. For Polycom, this even enables park orbits, allowing users to park and retrieve calls easily. Though not identical to legacy PBX experiences, these enhancements significantly improve usability and streamline operations for modern VoIP systems.

Tech

SIP's human-readable format, unlike H.323, allows easier understanding of the communication between clients and servers, though not everyone can interpret the details without understanding the specific RFCs. This clarity helps when troubleshooting issues, especially when reviewing SIP logs. In multi-domain environments, however, finding relevant messages can be challenging, especially when filtering by IP only works at the system level. The upcoming version 5.0.11 will address this by allowing domain administrators to access SIP logs, making it easier to diagnose issues in isolated environments independent of other system traffic. This update promises significant improvements.

Editorial

Passwords remain a crucial vulnerability despite the best security measures. Even with technologies like TLS, SRTP, and certificates securing phone calls, weak passwords still expose systems to attacks. Hackers use automated scanners to find open SIP ports and exploit weak passwords. To address this, snom ONE 5.0.9 now highlights accounts with weak passwords and shows what's vulnerable. While the system can generate secure passwords, administrators must avoid “No Security” settings to prevent exposure. Implementing strong password policies is a key defense against unauthorized access and potential system misuse.