I am in the process of laying out a call box system in the parking lot of a college. The phones we are putting in are Talk-A-Phone h.323 IP units.

I was looking at the Switchvox because i am running the free version at home, and it had some good features, like call recording and Google maps interface.

Do anybody here have any experience with these, or perhaps something else?

Jim:

You are implementing an emergency call box system that relies upon an IP "system"? Isn't that a bit risky? What if someone isn't there to reboot the system at the time that it is needed? Is there any reason why a more reliable (and tried and true) solution isn't being considered? Hey, I'm just asking what I consider to be a legitimate question.

I agree with Ed. In my opinion this would not be the proper application of VoIP. Can it be done? Sure. But I think the practical limitations of ethernet make it un-economical.

Not to mention I intentionally stay away from lifeline services just because of the potential liability.

If I were going to approach this job, I would do some creative CID naming conventions and use channel banks. That way looking at the CID automatically tells security where the call box is located at without having to use map's. Not to mention it would be so much easier to manage a multitude of single-pair cat-3 then cat-5.

Sometimes it's just best to not re-invent the wheel. I cant help but think the VoIP units were designed for companies that already had some large vestment in a VoIP PBX and not really for a stand-alone system.

I am not sure why the salesman sold this IP system, or had the manufacturer meet with the end-user and give a whole dog and pony show. I just got the task of making it work. They are also pushing some cctv back on IP. The only reason I can see going IP is if they deploy this campus wide, and there isn't the required cabling in place.

Well, if trixbox and switchvox are the two choices I would go with Switchvox. The lesser of two evils.

The Switchvox GUI is definitely nicer imo. There is something about the Trixbox gui that I just do not like.

So they sold a "system" without actually specifying what IP System is actually being installed??? What manufacturer did the show, the IP phone??

The manufacturer shows their IP call box and their very limited and expensive h/e. They recommend using a different system, both by their sales people and have it on their web site. Their switch really only routes the calls, no recording, call groups, or anything along those lines.