Avaya VPN Phones

5 components for a successful implementation.

Avaya VPN Phones – By the end of this post you will be able to implement and maintain the Avaya VPN Phones, as well as understand which components you must understand to help you succeed in the implementation process. Network Assessment, Gatekeepers, among other listed below.

As a telecom technician you will be ask to implement or service remote offices virtual (VO) or SOHO. Companies provide flexibility by implementing Avaya VPN Phones for those remote users, to eliminate cost and increase productivity.

A couple of months ago I go dispatched to help one of our clients to troubleshoot an Avaya VPN Phone. This particular customer was experiencing lost of issues with jitter and dropped packets causing the voice transmission to be chopped, to quick fix the problem the end-user was asked to reset the internet and phone.

This customer failed to follow the basic guidelines described below. We were able to fix the problem by tweaking the Firewall DMZ, and training the end-user in how and when to user the phone.

Here are the 5 components that you have to implement for a successful deployment=

1.- Network Assessment

2.- Gatekeepers

3.- VPN Appliances

4.- Home Internet considerations

5.- Endpoint requirements

Network Assessment (NA)

This is the first step for a success VoIP deployment, when getting ready to run a NA you have to take these considerations=

Network Site Survey

As part of the network site survey you are going to cover the following items=

Cabling – Depending on the standard that you are implementing the cabling has to meet those requirements. For the Ethernet standard CAT5E does the job.

IDF Rooms – For those bigger implementation, always check the Intermediate Distribution Frames or rooms. These rooms will connect the intermediate end-user to the central switch.

Network Topology – Mesh and star are the two most used. VLANs and Queuing are also very important to consider when implementing VoIP.

Hardware – Avoid future headaches and implement PoE switches. Always try to balance the traffic between switches and VLANs, this helps you troubleshoot and provide less network congestion.

Software – Visit the Switch manufacturer’s website to see if there are any critical updates. QoS has to be supported.

Network Maps – A layout of the network makes it easier to understand each component associated with the voice equipment.

IP Addresses – Consider having the VoIP segregated on its own address range, for troubleshooting and network optimization. Consider adding a different range for the Avaya VPN Phones.

Switch and Port-speed

Switch – Find out which switch type, firmware version, PoE or not, how many switches are part of the Core switch?, all of these elements are crucial to know.

Port-speed – Confirm that the Gatekeeper ETH0 is running at the same speed as the switch configuration.

Gatekeepers

Gatekeepers or Call-Servers, use the H.225 which is the media stream and call signaling protocol part of the H.323 that helps the Avaya VPN Phones register and establish call-signaling between the endpoint and Call-Server. Once the the signaling and registration is in place, H.245 is then use to negotiate the CODEC types working as the multimedia protocol. TCP and UDP over IP is use to complete the transmission.

VPN Appliances

VPN Policies work at L4 and normally are part of a Firewall appliance. When creating policies you have to configure source and destination IP Addresses or zones between the VoIP topology and VPN Network, service for UDP and TCP (depending which ports you want to allow). DMZ is supported, but in cases is required to be disabled.

Cisco, Juniper, and Sonicwall are the most common used VPN appliances. Refer to the white papers for further configurations.

Home Internet Considerations

When ready to use the Avaya VPN Phones, take into consideration any internet applications that you have running at the same time of making a phone call. Always run any OS updates, download files, etc, prior.

Endpoint requirements

Depending on the model or type of set that you are deploying, there are BIN files that need to be loaded before you can use the VPN Configuration Feature. Load these files before shipping the phone out to the remote worker.

Refer to the system matrix to assure that you have the latest software version loaded in both Gatekeeper and endpoint.

Files

9600

96xxupgrade.txt

46xxsettings txt

BACKUPAPPxxx

PHONEAPP.txt

hb96xxxx.bin

ha96xxxx.bin

Old 4600

46xxvpn.scr

46vpupgrade.src

46vpnsettings_readme.txt

46vpnsettings_Template.txt

a10bVPNxxxx.bin

a20bVPNxxxx.bin

i10aVPNxxxx.bin

i20aVPNxxxx.bin

Note that xxxx is related to the version of the VPN firmware to be loaded.

Download the Avaya VPN Phone Checklist

Question –

When implementing Avaya VPN Phones, which steps do you take?

Resources

46xxxSettings.txt

Cisco IP Address Best Practices

Avaya VPN Phones – 9600 Setup Guide