atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems ESI Telephones & Systems Backing up an IVX 72e class

Hello,

We have an ESI IVX 72e class system that we used for about 8 years. The system works great and we have no complaint about it.
Lately, we decided to switch to VoIP and therefore we added a PRI card on the system. During that project, we had ESI technicians logging our phone system at night to upgrade it with the latest software version for our box (our phone system never had been upgraded since its first installation).
Prior these upgrades, we were able to successfully backup of phone system thanks to ESI-ACCESS that the original installer had left us (The version we have is 2.8.1).
Since the ESI upgrade, it seems that the backup operation of the phone system is no longer error free (for a few of the backup files (PMT files), we receive an "Error receiving file" message. The other PMT files are received OK.
I suspect that the outdated version of the ESI-Access software that we have is the culprit.
By reading through this forum, it seems that I am not the only one asking for a copy of the ESI-ACCESS software. I understand that this software is technically for ESI resellers which I am not. My primary goal here, is to be able to regularly backup our phone system and hopefully never have to restore it....
I am not interested in stealing business out of ESI resellers!!!
Can someone help me or give me suggestions on how to perform backup and restore operations on our phone system.
Should I simply disregard the error messages that I get during backups and consider my Backups OK?

Is ESI-ACCESS version 2.8.1 OK to backup our box or should I not use it any longer?

Our system is working fine as of now, but I feel that I have no safeguard should something happen to it. It is a fairly old system and I would rather be on the safe side.
The installer who took care of the PRI card installation promised to send me the backup of our system, but after about two months of me requesting the backup, the only answer I get is "your backup is in the mail".... This is no joke....

Can someone help?

Thanks in advance

CentralPark

I can't explain why the previous individual is not sending you a recent version of ESIaccess. It might be because he/she can't get it since they broke some proprietary obligations by giving you the first copy.

How about we find you a legitimate local ESI reseller to help you?

Hi John,

Maybe I have not written my previous email clearly enough. The company which we used to originally install our phone system is not the one that we used to install the PRI card. As far as I know, both of these companies (the first one we used and the second one) are legit ESI resellers. However, the first one was more interested to sell me a brand new system ( which we were not prepared to do in this economy) and the second one does not seem to want to give us the backup they said they would provide us with. So, it feels that I am stuck.

Is there any utility that I could use that could help me backup and restore my system? It does not have to be ESI-ACCESS.

Thanks for your help

Neither of the 2 ESI resellers are supposed to give you proprietary software. It is possible that the first reseller did this by accident and the second won't because they know better.

Since any ESI reseller can backup your system for you on your schedule remotely you might choose between the 2 and request this to be done. Yes, there is probably a charge for this service but that is just business. Carbonite.com does basically the same thing for PC's but there is a charge.

You might get some offers from members here to do this for you but then you have only added a 3rd ESI reseller to the mix.

I suggest you select 1 of the 2 current ESI resellers and have and have them back your system up regularly.

Thanks for your reply John,

Great to know that the backup can be done remotely. None of my 2 resellers did offer me that option. As I said, the first one is not interested in doing small jobs and so far, the second one has failed to send me a copy of our backup.

Therefore, If anyone out there is willing to offer that service, I am definitely open to receive a formal offer.

Of course, it would make more sense to get an offer from a dealer in the NY area, should anything happen to our system, it would make things easier. But as far as the backup service is concerned, I guess anyone reading this post is welcome to send me email or reply to this post.

Thanks again for your help

Email sent :thumb:

Remeber John he said he upgraded to a PRI , most systems we have done with a PRI, we have had problems staying connected to for long periods and the system will need to be idle , Im sure there are some dealers in the NY area on here , if you can't get it remotely.

CentralPark, after a new install I would hand my Installer Programming Worksheets to the customer and let them know that, aside from any on-disk backups, this hardcopy was their true backup. I also let them know that, for that reason, it was in their best interest to make sure anyone working on their system kept their worksheets up to date. I would feel much more comfortable knowing that I had a hardcopy of how the system was programmed than having an actual backup taken from Esi-Access. Not to say that the backup isn't a good idea or useable, but the hardcopy worksheets are sometimes more valuable for both day-to-day programming changes and updates, as well as restoration of programming in case of disaster.

Justin

Remeber John he said he upgraded to a PRI , most systems we have done with a PRI, we have had problems staying connected

First attempt failed through the PRI but system still has 3 analog lines in use. I did program backup with analog first try.

System has NSP, we will set up network access for all future backups.

Thanks to all of you to post your ideas.

I have connected with John and it seems that he succeeded to backup our system. I will keep in mind the idea of having hardcopies of our system settings though.

Stay tuned

Xavier