Well, to do an upgrade on a traditional system you have the same issues, perhaps
even worse as everything is physically wired to one system. To develop for
production you must have a dev environment, a beta test and a scheduled release
right?
Todd
Jonathan Moore <moorejon@usd465.com> wrote:
__________>These are good issues, but I am even thinking of something simpler and more
>common than crises. Such as this scenerio.
>
>I need to update my Asterisk server that runs all my phones inorder to
install a
> kernel update that fixes a security bug. This is something I would consider
>happening on a regular basis with a voip enable system, whereas the
traditional
>system might sit in a closet for 10 years never being touched. Let's say
I don't
>want to stay at work until 2 am to reload the system when noone is there.
How
>would you configure and * system(s so that you could take a system offline
>during working hours without taking out all or parts of the system?
>
>I have read everything I can find on * in regards to this and I am still not
>really sure how to deal with the situation. I think the "standard"
answer is to
>use multiple * servers with tdmoe (hope I got that right), but it seems like
for
>this to work redundantly you have to have all your IP phones be multi-server
>aware. I have tested a lot of phones both hard and soft and it seems like
few
>models do this. For instance, I would really like to use some Grandstreams
for
>some areas, but I don't see how to put in any redundancy at the server
level
>with them as the clients.
>
>Any ideas?
>--
>Jonathan Moore
>Director of Technology
>Winfield Public Schools
>Office 620.221.5100
>Fax 620.221.0508
>
>
>Quoting Adthrawn <adthrawn@adthrawn.freeserve.co.uk>:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Most companies we work with, have 'designated' crisis
management teams.
>> These vary from the insignificant crisis', through to
life-threatening
>> crisis'. There is always an assigned emergency services contact,
whose
>> job it is in an emergency, to maintain communication with the emergency
>> services.
>>
>> One of our corporate functions is crisis management - so we have to
>> consider the global repercussions and the ultra-fine detail at the same
>> time. From considering overall redundancy of the phone system, down to
>> the tiny, but significant detail - like "the phone system caused
the
>> fire"... Basically, taking the worse case scenario, and making it
>> worse.
>>
>> At the very least, we always ensure that there is at least one PSTN
>> line that is run through armored trunking to an analogue phone in a
>> fire-proof cabinet. Simply put, a classic Hollywood style "red
phone"
>> with one button and a giant red flashing light. (Okay, full keypad and
>> no flashing light, but you get the idea).
>>
>> The reality is, that 999 or 911 redundancy has nothing to do with the
>> phone system per-say, it's down to the crisis procedures of the
>> company. Think of it this way; what happens if a fire breaks out on a
>> large plant? First, you'd have the staff who found it phoning
emergency
>> services. Next, you'll have the security office phoning the
emergency
>> services... Next, staff in the nearest office are likely to phone the
>> emergency services, not to mention lorry drivers or forklift drivers on
>> their mobiles!
>>
>> On top of this, in most places that a crisis would occur, there is
>> little possibility of installing phones - period. Most plants rely on
>> mobiles, walkie-talkie or DECT phones. The number of armored cables
>> I've seen ripped in half, or optical spurs that have been cut by
>> diggers - VoIP and traditional PBX's have no coverage of these
areas -
>> forget redundancy!
>>
>> So at this point, the emergency services have been contact about the
>> crisis three or four times... Possibly three or four addresses,
>> depending on the registration of the phone itself. What if the fire
>> brigade need to know what special equipment to bring? Chemicals to deal
>> with? They'll phone the company, and will probably get a confused
>> receptionist... She's been answering calls all day - she
doesn't know
>> there's a fire on a production line on the other side of the plant.
>>
>> Now, with a crisis plan, the following would happen. In an emergency,
>> the person discovering it would contact the crisis manager, or one of
>> his/her subordinates. If it's a major emergency, then the person
>> discovering this may have had to call the emergency services first.
>> Nonetheless, this is all reported to the crisis manager. The crisis
>> manager does a number of things, one of which is to be the crisis
>> manager. Sound bizarre? Well, no. Their job, is partly to be a central
>> point of communication. Any calls coming in regarding emergencies will
>> be patched directly to this person. In the event of phone system
>> failures or major disasters, then the person will have an emergency
>> phone on which to call out on.
>>
>> It's actually more dangerous to empower people in an emergency,
then it
>> is to reduce the number of people involved, and to tightly control the
>> situation.
>>
>> If anybody is interested in crisis management, or looking at ways of
>> legally solving this problem, then let me know
>>
>> Best,
>> Ad.
>>
>>
>> On 6 Jan 2004, at 6:35 pm, asterisk-users-request@lists.digium.com
>> wrote:
>>
>> > Message: 7
>> > From: "Jim Flagg" <flaggj@comcast.net>
>> > To: <asterisk-users@lists.digium.com>
>> > Subject: Re: [Asterisk-Users] 911 and lawsuits and redundancy
>> > Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2004 13:06:34 -0500
>> > Reply-To: asterisk-users@lists.digium.com
>> >
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: "Jonathan Moore" <moorejon@usd465.com>
>> > To: <asterisk-users@lists.digium.com>
>> > Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 12:34 PM
>> > Subject: Re: [Asterisk-Users] 911 and lawsuits and redundancy
>> >
>> >
>> >> This is esp true of any VoIP PBX system. In fact I think many
of them
>> >> run Windows.
>> >>
>> >
>> > Or VOIP in general. This is what Vonage makes you agree to in
their
>> > Terms of Service.
>> >
>> > "2.4 Requires Activation:
>> > You acknowledge and understand that 911 dialing does not function
>> > unless you have successfully activated the 911dialing feature by
>> > following the instructions from the "Dial 911" link on
your dashboard,
>> > and until such later date that such activation has been
>> > confirmed to you through a confirming email. You acknowledge and
>> > understand that you cannot dial 911 from this line unless and
>> > until you have received a confirming email.
>> >
>> > 2.5 Failure to Designate the Correct Physical Address When
Activating
>> > 911 Dialing:
>> > Failure to provide the current and correct physical address and
>> > location of your Vonage equipment will result in any 911
>> > communication you may make being routed to the incorrect local
>> > emergency service provider.
>> >
>> > 2.6 Requires Re-Activation if You Change Your Number:
>> > You acknowledge and understand that 911 dialing does not function
if
>> > you change your phone number unless and until you have
>> > successfully activated the 911 dialing feature following the
>> > instructions from the "Dial 911" link on your dashboard,
and until
>> > such
>> > later date that such activation has been confirmed to you through
a
>> > confirming email. 911 dialing must be re-activated. Although
>> > you may have activated 911 dialing with your former Vonage phone
>> > number, you must separately activate 911 dialing for any new
>> > number.
>> >
>> > 2.7 Change of Physical Location of Vonage Equipment:
>> > You acknowledge and understand that 911dialing does not function
>> > properly or may not function at all if you take your equipment
with
>> > you away from the address or physical location that you have
>> > designated.
>> >
>> > 2.8 Requires Re-Activation if You Move:
>> > You acknowledge and understand that 911 dialing does not function
>> > properly or at all if you move or change the physical location of
>> > your Vonage equipment to a different street address, unless and
until
>> > you have successfully activated the 911 dialing feature
>> > following the instructions from the "Dial 911" link on
your dashboard,
>> > and until such later date that such activation has been
>> > confirmed to you through a confirming email. 911dialing must be
>> > re-activated although you may have activated 911 dialing using
your
>> > former address, and you must separately activate 911 dialing for
any
>> > new physical address. Failure to provide the current and
>> > correct physical address and location of your Vonage equipment
will
>> > result in any 911 dialing you may make being routed to the
>
>--- message truncated ---
