What is an IP Address?

Everyone’s talking IP (Internet Protocol) so I tossed it out as a topic to consider, “ Why not have a discussion about IP Addresses, how business continues to change, and how everything requires an IP Address?”

Great idea, Amy. Put a few sentences together and it will all make sense to the general public, right? It really isn’t that simple.

What is an IP Address? An IP Address is a number used to identify all information technology hardware (printers, routers, etc) allowing that hardware to communicate with other hardware on a computer network.

Think of it as houses on a street. Who are the people in your neighborhood? Each house has a separate address and the correct mailing address is required in order for that house to accept mail. In the IP world, the “houses” are the hardware and the “neighborhood” is the network. IP Addresses are either Public (outside of your network) or Private (inside your network).

Now that we’ve established the neighborhood, let’s talk about Dynamic IP Addresses versus Static IP Addresses. A Static IP Address never changes. (This makes sense and works with my house and neighborhood example.) A Dynamic IP Address, however, could change at any time. This address is merely assigned from a pool of IP addresses allocated by your ISP (Internet Service Provider) or DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) Server. Think of it like we think of zip codes. One of our employees, Steve Dietterle said he remembered getting mail addressed to Steve Dietterle, Herscher Illinois. His postmaster acted as a DNS server to route the mail to him.

Look for future posts where we talk about classes, versions, and the other components that may be linked to your IP Addresses. Welcome to the neighborhood!

This was Amy Hershman’s last conversation with Bill Taylor and Steve Dietterle.

Technology and Workplace Wellness – Easing the Strain

Have you ever considered how technology can help improve office wellness? We recently invited a company into our office to complete an ergonomic assessment.  Initially, we braced ourselves for a hefty price tag of adjustments and a laundry list of purchases to help ease the discomfort some employees were experiencing. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that we had minimal adjustments to make and were reminded of how important it is to use technology to aid us in our workplace wellness.

One change for us was making sure that employees who are on the phone a lot use wireless telephone headsets.   I’m not talking about the headsets you might be thinking of…the big, clunky, over the head ones with cords that tangled and limited your mobility.  There was a day here at Taylored Systems when, prior to selling a telephone headset we’d ask , “Do you want an over the ear or over the head piece,” or “ Would you prefer a one-ear or two-ear piece headset”?  And don’t even think about those headsets being wireless…these had a limited radius of mobility!

 Today, thanks to blue tooth technology and the types of ear pieces prevalent with iPods and cell phones,  most people have come to expect and enjoy the small size and excellent quality that is also available with business phone compatible head and ear pieces.

You may recall a scene from the movie Black Sheep where Chris Farley’s character is making campaign calls and he straps the phone receiver to his head using a sweatband in order to have his hands free to work.  Now it’s easier – no sweat band (or sweat) required.  In fact, we’ve seen business telephones adapt by providing “blue tooth integration”.  This technology allows you to “pair” a standard Bluetooth headset with your office phone, so you can seamlessly answer, originate, and terminate phone calls directly from the headset. It provides the standard headset features with the mobility of Bluetooth.

We recently worked with a customer who decided to swap out their cordless telephones for cordless headsets because they wanted the mobility and convenience of a headset with the quality of a business telephone system.  It means increased productivity for employers and convenience for employees.

So what does this all mean for us and our ergonomic study?  We purchased a few foot rests, adjusted a few monitors, and encouraged everyone to utilize a headset…and things are working great.

This was Amy Hershman’s last conversation with Bill Taylor and Steve McDonald.

THANK GOODNESS FOR DISASTER RECOVERY PLANS

While talking to Bill at Taylored Systems the other day, he commented “Thank Goodness for Disaster Recovery Plans.” I asked him why, and Bill replied that on Friday, July 24^th at 3:30PM when he was out of the office, someone cut the AT&T fiber outside the building knocking out the Taylored Systems phone lines.  Of course, with our Disaster Recovery Plan, it didn’t matter if he was at the office or not because he has a strong team that knows how to execute the recovery plan.  We have multiple ways to reroute all the telephone traffic in this type of situation:

1] reroute our calls to SIP trunks that come in on separate circuits to the building,

2] forward our extensions to cell phones, or other phones outside the office building, or

3] forward our lines to the live answering service we use for after hours and weekends. 

So at 3:30PM that Friday we elected to send calls from our customers to the live answering service as the most convenient and efficient solution, since we would have forwarded our lines to them within the next hour and a half as usual. We could still call out using the SIP trunks( which are live all the time), so work went on for the rest of the day. Even our router for the internet according to Mark Sassman, an IT staff member, did its job correctly. It appears that when the main T1 internet connection drops for about one and one-half minutes it fails over to an alternate fiber internet connection on another carrier. This allowed for our SIP phone lines to keep on working even though our main phone lines had been cut, and email continued to flow in over the alternate connection to the server. This was a great example of disaster recovery technology at work compared to years ago when we might not have been able to continue helping our customers.

Bill checked to see that everything was up and working properly in the interim, and returned to the office at 7:00PM that night to let the AT&T repairman in to test the circuit, which came back up at 8:30PM. By Monday everything was back to normal as if it had never occurred. A Disaster Recovery Plan is something that we here at Taylored Systems use, as well as advocate for our customers.  Please feel free to comment on this posting with stories of how your plan has saved your organization or how not having a plan has made it difficult to continue. 

Mary Couch’s conversation with Bill Taylor

Fiber Optics and 10 Gigabit Technology

Wired vs. Wireless, Power over Ethernet (PoE), PoE Plus, what’s next?  Funny you should ask.  As we continue our conversations on connectivity, it only makes sense that the next topic we explore is fiber. 

You’ll notice we skipped the “copper” discussion.  There was a point in time that copper was commonly used.  The drawbacks to copper wiring were the distance limitations and the interference.  Consumers wanted a clean, clear signal and found the solution in fiber.

Just for fun, I asked a few people, “What comes to mind when you think of fiber/ fiber optics?” For one person, it was the way fiber optics are used to create the magic at Disney from the glistening lights in the cement to the amazing shows.  For another it was the little toy wands that you can get at a circus-like event that has strands of multi colored fiber optic lights.  For me, I have the image of the fiber optic snowman that Hallmark has sold over the Holidays that can change colors and add a festive glow to the room. 

In actuality, have you ever stopped to think about how fiber optics impacts your day to day activities?  Imagine the hundreds of thousands of miles of fiber beneath the ground you are standing on.  We use fiber to connect our buildings and communities.  It is a framework in our society, weaving together campuses, businesses, and residential areas so all people can share and access the technology.

You may have heard the terms “single mode” and “multi mode” fiber.

Single Mode (more expensive) is typically used for “long haul” scenarios.  This is considered the better choice for high precision needs.  Electronics needed to support this fiber cost more, however the bandwidth quality is exceptional.

Multi Mode (less expensive) is typically used for communication over shorter distances, often over a campus or within a building.  Electronics needed to support this fiber will cost less.

Technology will change. Business will evolve. People will adapt new methods to streamline processes. Files will continue to get larger, the cost of data storage will continue to decrease and we will rely on new technology to stay in the game. 

The current “hot topic” now is 10 Gigabit.  It warrants your attention.  As the need for bandwidth to support video, voice and data networks increases, 10 Gigabit Fiber will provide the pipe large enough to accommodate these growing bandwidth needs.  Be on the lookout for more to come on 10 Gigabit information and how it will impact your day to day activities and the very ground you are standing on today.

This was Amy Hershman’s last conversation with Bill Taylor and Dean Reskevich

PoE Plus

Last installment of the blog we talked about Power over Ethernet technology.  We discussed what it is, what is does, and how it works.  Today, as promised, we will discuss the future of PoE technology, PoE +.  PoE + is an improvement and more developed version of its predecessor, like the Playstation 3, Gen 3 iPhone, and Windows Vis…ehh Windows 7.  

PoE currently is capable to deliver up to 12.95 watts to the powered device at a safe nominal 48 volts direct current over Cat5 cabling or higher.  The IEEE recognized an opportunity to enhance the capabilities of PoE to deliver necessary power to devices that make sense to run on PoE but need more juice.  PoE+ will deliver up to 29.5 watts to the powered device at a safe nominal 53 volts DC over Cat5e or higher rated cabling.  But with PoE as with really any cabling you have done for a new install it should be Cat5e or higher.  

PoE + will be a huge benefit to energy consumption and costs as well as helping move people into the next realm of technology easier and more efficiently.  Here is a list of a few devices that will be able to be powered by PoE+: 

• Laptop Computers and Thin Clients
  • Imagine the savings of one cable to the desktop, using your phone as a switch to connect your phone and computer back to the main server room.  No more power bricks of any kind.  Also using an IP phone and a virtualized desktop or cloud computing for true inter-enterprise ease of mobility.
• Security cameras with pan/tilt/zoom capabilities
• IP television
• Factory Automation
• WiMax transceivers providing wireless data over long distances
• Biometric sensors
  • With the ever constant development in security these types of sensors that were once a part only of Sci-fi movies are now becoming common place.

Now don’t rush out and expect to purchase devices that are PoE+ compatible.  The technology is still in the development and testing stages however it is not as far off as one would believe.  There are many parts of the equation that will have to work together for the release of the technology.  The switch manufacturers need to make their devices send the power, the powered devices will need to make their equipment receive the power, and both will need to retro-fit existing equipment to accept the new technology.  There has already been one issue that has been solved; sending so much power through the cabling was heating the cables to an unsafe level.  Through their studies the IEEE has developed a standard to make sure the correct cables are used and installed properly for the specific devices being powered.  As you are ready to move forward with the new technology make sure you are working with a BICSI certified installer and someone who understands the technology and what needs to be done.  We would not want your cabling to burn down your business, but in the event it does…be proactive on how to recover. http://taylored.com/business-continuity

This was Michael Martin’s lastest conversation with Bill Taylor and Dean Reskevich

PoE / Power over Ethernet

Do you think Alexander Graham Bell thought his “vocal telegraph” invention would ever be the source of new technologies over the last 100 years?  Telephones have spurred numerous trends and inventions from voicemail to mobile devices to text messaging to voice documentation, just to name a few.  One technology that came out of the IP version of telephones was Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology. 

Traditional TDM or digital phones are connected back to a phone system using copper wiring.  This copper wiring is used to send the digital signal from the port card in the TDM telephone system. This signal powers the telephone set and it’s LED lights.  When using TCP/IP to send data and voice, as IP phones do,  those signals cannot use the same pairs as power.  When VoIP telephones, using TCP/IP to communicate, first came out there was a question of how do we power these new devices?  One solution was to add a power brick to each phone and plug it into an outlet.  This seemed a bit over-kill for power consumption as well as, “just one more thing to buy and worry about.”  This is where PoE took shape.  To solve the problem manufacturers began sending power over the unused wire pairs in the Ethernet cables. 

Today most common PoE set ups are comprised of a PoE switch(es), powered by a centralized power unit.  There is then an Ethernet cable running from the switch to the device that will be Powered over Ethernet.  This allows for a couple newer developments into the IT and telecom world.  We can now run one network for both voice and data using one cable, or run separate networks using one cable depending on your switch’s capability (there is then a patch cord from the phone to the computer connecting both back to the switch).  With IP phones working so well over PoE and the culmination of both networks using only one cable it lead to a thought.  If we can power these phones this way what else can we power this way and what benefits does it give? 

PoE can currently be used for:

• IP telephones
• IP security cameras
• Wireless access points
• Radio frequency identification (RFID) tag readers
• Building automation system; including thermostats, smoke detectors, alarm systems, security access, industrial clocks/timekeepers, and badge readers
• Print servers
• Bar code scanners

 Benefits of PoE:

• Lower install costs (those magic words again…lower costs)
• Space saver…consolidation of wiring saves precious space in ordinarily cramped and full data rooms
• Going Green…reduction of costs as well as a reduction of energy consumption

As with everything in the telecom and IT industry, PoE is going through an upgrade and change.  Soon there will be a new form of PoE that will have increased power allowing us to power even more devices using PoE and open up many more opportunities for PoE benefits.  Stay tuned, the next post will be on PoE+, the next generation of PoE.

This was Mike Martin’s latest conversation with Bill Taylor and Dean Reskevich

Wired vs Wireless Technology

At Taylored Systems the other morning, I had a discussion on Wired vs. Wireless technology with Bill and Dean Reskevich, our Vice President of Installations. Bill had thought that five to ten years ago wireless would have become more prevalent than wired, but he was wrong.  

Even though wireless is a convenient way of accessing a network, or “the Internet,” allowing you the freedom to work anywhere, sometimes the use of an Ethernet cable makes more sense. With wireless you still have cables at the access points, there is a limited range of signal and speed decreases depending on your distance from the main source. Your signal can also be intercepted (low security), and signals are affected by other signals and radio waves.

However with a wired network the signals can’t be intercepted down the wire (high security), and have immensely high speeds depending on the cable and hardware. You can plug and play without messing around with settings, and most people feel they are in a comfort zone with the use of a wired solution over a wireless.

Dean stated that structured wiring (cabling) has come a long way from the use of locations with (4) cables (quads) to single runs which can support data & voice with VoIP Technology and from the migration from Cat-5 to Cat-5e to Cat-6 all the  way to Augmented Cat-6 (Cat-6a) which gives you 10 Gig technology to your desktop. With the VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) technology, being wired is more cost effective than using wireless and a whole lot safer. Also with the PoE Switches (Power Over Ethernet) life just keeps getting better being wired instead of wireless.

Taylored Systems, a communications technology company based out of Noblesville, Indiana, uses a wired solution along with several wireless access points for laptop capability around the building. However , even though he uses a wireless laptop, Bill sometimes has to plug it in due to reliability issues.

Wireless can be indispensable when you need to locate a networked device in an area where running cable is not practical such as older homes, but a wired solution is still your best bet for more speed, reliability, security and less interference from other sources. Wireless Technology is being used more in Manufacturing and Warehousing as way to keep track of inventory and mobile employees. To me having an Ethernet cable to plug my computer into makes more sense especially if I am somewhere on vacation and the wireless keeps dropping my signal giving me a major headache, and not letting me get connected to my world.

Mary Couch’s conversation with Bill Taylor & Dean Reskevich

SIP here, SIP there, SIP everywhere

Last post we discussed a general overview of a newer technology that is taking our industry by storm, Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) trunks. Taylored Systems is using SIP trunks and we have found some great applications for the technology to be used. We have also found some applications where it might not be the best fit. Like any newer technology there are some great benefits, but on the other hand there are some issues that will need to be worked through. This is where your telecom and technology trusted advisor can step in and help sift through the acronyms and technical jargon to breakdown it down to a simple explanation to assist in making an educated decision.

 

Time for school….

 

Lesson 1- Advantages to SIP trunks over existing dial tone options

 

· Pay for what you use

o In a scenario where a company needs or wants Direct Inward Dial numbers (direct number rather than an being transferred to an extension), but does not need all 23 channels of a PRI (pronounced PRY) for dial tone they can use the number of SIP trunks they do need and still have the ability to give everyone a direct dial number in a more cost effective manner.

o There are some applications, depending on your SIP provider, where SIP trunks can be shared over multiple locations no matter where the locations are physically located. Also these trunks can be burstable, for instance if you have 40 SIP trunks for the entire company and someone needs a 41^st trunk to make a call, not a problem. If you go over your allotment the provider will give you the trunk for use at a per-minute rate. Very similar to cell phone minutes.

 

· Multi-device equipment or no added equipment

o When using a traditional TDM phone system with a PRI or Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS lines) the equipment within the phone system to make these types of dial tone lines work can only be used for those lines. When using SIP trunks on a TDM phone system there is still equipment that is needed, but it will be an IP card. So rather than buying a card that will only be used for your type of dial tone, with an IP card you can run more that just your dial tone. An IP card, normally 16 or 24 ports, can be used for SIP trunks, IP phones, networking, ACD voice assistant ports, and voicemail.

o When using a pure IP phone system with a PRI or POTS lines you will need to add a PRI card or a card for the POTS lines. However when using SIP on a pure IP system there is no need for extra equipment…

 

• SIP is native to the newer pure IP phone systems
  • A pure IP phone system is communicating within itself using SIP. When you bring in a SIP trunk and connect it to a SIP based system there are no conversions thus limited the chance of voice quality issues. When you connect a digital signal, such as a PRI, or an analog signal, such as POTS lines to a SIP based system you will have conversions from digital or analog to SIP, possibly causing some quality issues. I enlisted some help around our office when coming up with real world analogies and received two great ones which lead me to mine. I couldn’t pick from the 3 so here they all are…

1. When going SIP to SIP it is like taking a direct flight rather than a flight with stops and layovers. When you convert signals on the phone system the voice packets are like your luggage, the more stops and the more times it changes hands the more likely your luggage will not end up in its originally designed destination.

2. With Star Trek buzz in the air with this summer’s release you can imagine the SIP to SIP is like being “beamed up.” Obviously when you’re talking about matter being transported you wouldn’t want any conversions and would want the same quality as you would with voice packets being transported.

3. The prior example made me think of the comedy styling’s of Mel Brooks. There is a scene in Spaceballs when President Skroob is beamed from one room to another and when he reaches the destination his head facing one way and the rest of his body facing the other way….we wouldn’t want that to happen to your voice packets. They don’t have the option to just walk over to the next room like he does.

 

• Reduce Long Distance costs (Yes those magic words “reduce costs”)
  • When talking SIP to SIP you will eliminate long distance costs for internal communication without needing the phone systems to network or an MPLS or Point to Point connection.

 

Lesson 2- Issues to be aware of and talked about with your provider

 

• Bandwidth
  • Do you have enough bandwidth to handle both voice and data traffic?
  • Does your bandwidth have or have the ability to carry Quality of Service to the switch?
• Business essentials that do not work well with SIP
  • Fax Machines, Alarms, 911
    •  
      • Currently fax machines struggle with SIP services or any type of dynamic product. With faxing becoming less and less prevalent in today’s business world this might not be a huge deal. Due to email and scanners the fax machine could very well become the next answering machine.
      • Alarm companies will still require a direct POTs line for their systems
      • 911 can be come an issue. Talk with your provider to make sure you will be set up so your location that 911 will read is your actual location.

 

We understand all of the acronyms and the technical jargon can be overwhelming. Basically as an end user you should take away that there are options out there. When your dial tone contract comes up for renewal or expiration, what you have might not be the best fit, even if it was 3 years ago. The rate of change in the telecom, business telephones, and dial tone industry is amazing. Make sure your trusted advisor is on top of the new technology and can give you an accurate assessment of needs and what will be the best fit. Here in Indianapolis we have a whole plethora of options and providers, make sure you get what you need in the most cost effective manner.

 

This was Michael Martin’s latest conversation with Bill Taylor.

Beware of SIP Impersonaters!

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a buzz word in today’s technology circles.  SIP trunks work with your business phone system by utilizing your Ethernet or internet pipe. SIP rides on the same Internet Protocol (IP) that data does and allows both voice and data traffic to share the circuit.

The language can be a little confusing because you can have an IP phone system and not have SIP, yet you can have a TDM phone system and have SIP.

SIP is, however, important to research and consider. SIP trunks can present noteworthy cost-savings for businesses, reducing the need for local Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN) gateways, expensive Integrated Services Digital Network Basic Rate Interface (ISDN BRI’s) or Primary Rate Interfaces (PRIs). Sound too good to be true?  It could be. You could find yourself in a situation where you think you are buying the latest technology, but if that technology is not up to current standards you may not be able to achieve what you are hoping to.

There are some core questions you should ask if considering the use of SIP trunks:

1. (Imagine if your business telephone calls sounded like you were talking on a cell phone in an area with poor cell reception…)
2. Can the SIP trunks be connected directly into your phone system or is additional hardware required to convert it?  Anytime more hardware is concerned you should be asking about cost and if you are risking voice quality.
3. Does your business require faxing capabilities?  SIP faxing isn’t always reliable and it may mean you need to keep a Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) line for faxing.
4. What is your business environment like?  Do you have multiple sites?  For example, if your main office is located in Indianapolis and your secondary offices are located in Fort Wayne, Reno, and /or Biloxi, each location can utilize the same SIP trunks regardless of where the call is placed.
5. Seasonal Business? SIP trunks allow you to “burst” or expand during your seasonal times and only pay for what you need during those times instead of paying for costly terms on larger circuits.

What additional risks or considerations are important as you review Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and SIP? 

• Most SIP providers want you to keep a POTS line as a backup so you have a priority line for 911 calls, so don’t expect to cancel all your lines.
• If your internet goes down, you lose both voice and data.  However, if you purchase your SIP trunks through a major carrier, they will publish their commitment to your up time and what point they will reimburse you for lost business.

 

So, what does all of this mean?  It is OK to get “jiggy” about new technology, but be cautious to ensure you are asking the right questions and involving trusted resources to ensure you are protecting your business and your investment.

 This was Amy Hershman’s latest conversation with Bill Taylor.
Thank you and kind regards.

Spinning Our Web On The Internet

Recently Bill decided to take a walk down memory lane via the internet by checking out a link called http://www.archive.org/ and used the “Way Back Machine” to check out his website and see how it has changed through the years. Bill discovered that it was October of 1994 when he began the first Taylored Systems website, and it was a far cry from what technology is capable of at this time. Back then websites were just beginning to become popular on the internet for companies. In the following years Taylored Systems began to make some changes to the website starting in 1998 with the last major change in 2006.

Bill along with his Marketing Team recently decided to make some new changes to the website and depict not only who we are, but what we do in the community. They worked on making it more customer friendly and incorporated the knowledge from the minds of the Taylored Systems employees to provide helpful and pertinent information in a format that was easily understood. The final product was very professional and will be another avenue for customers to communicate with Taylored Systems.

Last week Taylored Systems launched this new and improved website complete with the capability for customers to now submit a service request, or ask for a quote online. In addition to a new “look”, the website has new features and functionality. We are able to make changes, add items, create new pages, and update information instead of having another company do it for us which is very cost effective. We have also increased the amount of information available to our customers – whether through the frequently asked questions and glossary, or just in general knowledge of our products and services. Our Taylored Systems glossary assists with the foreign language of telecommunications. If you know a term you hear often, you can search for it, and the search will identify where that term is used throughout the website. This increases the customer’s knowledge of what they are using, and what it is called which is always helpful on a service call.

Down the road Bill and the Taylored Systems Marketing Team is looking at perhaps incorporating an interactive telephone demonstration, or film clip taking the website to another level. With the constant change in technology, who knows what the future will bring us, or what our website will look like, or be capable of in the coming years.

We would like to thank Foundry Advertising Company for all their help and assistance in the website redevelopment. Foundry is an ad company headquartered here in Indianapolis, specializing in jargon-free advice and guidence in building your brand. Please contact Foundry – foundryadco.com

Mary Couch’s conversation with Bill Taylor.