Tech

In 2014, the hosted PBX industry gained more clarity on key technologies, with virtualization becoming crucial. Virtualization allows several servers to run on the same hardware, making the process faster and more efficient and offering robust failover mechanisms to maintain service, even during hardware failures. Unlike traditional services, PBX systems require real-time response times measured in milliseconds, which means virtual machines must have exclusive CPU control. Vodia’s multi-tenant solution enables the efficient use of resources, offering a scalable hosted PBX service with minimal disruption while keeping deployment costs low and allowing rapid expansion.

Announcement

Vodia Networks Inc announced today the adoption of JavaScript Object Notation or JSON for its IP-PBX solution and hostedi.am cloud phone service. The new JSON based interface of the Vodia IP-PBX solution will enable integration with Call reporting tools, Property Management System (PMS), Home Automation systems and HVAC remote control.

Announcement

Vodia Networks Inc a leading developer of IP-PBX and Call Center software announced today its commitment to further HTML5 support for its IP-PBX product line and hostedi.am cloud phone service.

Tech

In the latest version of the PBX, a warning sign has been added to the general settings page for domains to help manage international number formats. The system handles two primary number formats: the NANPA region (USA and Canada), with its predictable 10-digit format, and the rest of the world, where numbers can start with a country code, area code, or local number. To ensure proper routing, users can enter numbers starting with a plus sign (+), indicating a global format. It's crucial the PBX knows the country code to route calls accurately. The update also highlights the issue with the outdated practice of dialing a “9” to seize a line, which is no longer necessary in today’s digital and multi-trunk environments.

Tech

Absent for years, the G.726 codec has been reintroduced in version 5.1.3 of our PBX. This codec offers favorable characteristics, including a low data rate of around 56 kbit/s, which is ideal for bandwidth-limited environments. Its lower CPU overhead makes it particularly useful for PBX systems, which handle multiple calls simultaneously. While not ideal for music on hold, due to its simple compression, G.726 performs better than more compressed codecs like G.729. Widely supported by devices like snom, Yealink, Linksys, and Grandstream, the PBX now dynamically handles the codec, improving compatibility and performance.

Announcement

WOBURN, MA. – Nov. 19, 2013 – Vodia Networks Inc announced today a new diagnostics feature for its IP-PBX product line and hostedi.am cloud service. The new feature allows administrators to capture call and audio data directly on the PBX for diagnostics, without the need for any external packet capture tools.

Tech

IPv6 was designed to eliminate the need for network address translation (NAT) that became necessary with IPv4 due to the limited number of IP addresses. While IPv6 provides an abundance of addresses, NAT is still being considered by some firewall manufacturers as a necessary feature. For SIP clients, NAT behind IPv6 should work fine, as connection-oriented SIP packets like TCP or TLS handle responses naturally. The main issue with NAT and IPv6 arises when servers inside a network need to be accessed. The solution is simple: configure firewalls to forward packets to the PBX server, maintaining the security of internal devices while enabling remote connectivity.

Announcement

Vodia’s Click-to-call feature will allow businesses to do just that by harnessing each of their customer’s web site visits into a sales opportunity by enabling their potential customers to talk to them in real-time. This new cutting-edge feature will enable internet users to place calls to a business directly from the website of the business, without the need for a phone or the need to download any software. The feature will provide business owners with a “Click-to-Call” button that they would be able to place on their company home page. Website visitors of the business will be able to talk to a company representative using a WebRTC enabled web browser by simply clicking the “Click-to-call” button.

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.