I need an analog FXO port from a Cisco VOIP telephone system to integrate with a paging system. Some research indicates that a Cisco VG200 analog trunk gateway is just the thing...but it is discontinued. The other models in that series (VG202, VG204, VG224) provide FXS, which is not what I need.

What do I need to get an FXO port from the system?

How is the existing system connected to the telco? Depending on the type of system in place, you probably have a Cisco router with voice expansion cards. Find the router model number and whether there is an empty card slot available.

Best guess is that you would want a VIC2-2FXO card, but that is going to depend on what hardware you already have in place.

It looks like you are the paging / sound guy and not the phone system installer?

I know i have heard in the past that a separate server was needed in order to page from a Cisco system ... that is why many locations with new Cisco systems still have the old phones sitting on the desk ... just so they can page.

If i were in your shoes i would throw it back on the installer of the phone system and let them figure it out.

You could always call Valcom or Bogen .. their support is very good .. there aren't many Cisco people here.

Yup, paging and sound guy, not the Cisco installer. For this project, the specification called out the EC supplying the additional equipment to connect their Cisco to us. The EC has asked what they need to do it...

I don't think we need a separate server as we are not doing IP paging or paging through the Cisco phones. The idea is they will dial an access code to reach our system via this FXO trunk, and then dial the sequences to do a page, etc...

Do they make something like an ATA that has an FXO port on it, so I can just put it near the paging system rack and plug it in?

Have you asked the Cisco installers?? ... they really need to be the ones to spec out what you need.

As i mentioned there just aren't many of us who deal with Cisco.

I talked to one of the Cisco people we work with, and he recommended the same thing. I passed the information on to the EC...let's hope for the best!

Thanks for helping point me in the right direction.

You say you will dial a code once you access the FXO port. Are you connecting to a page controller?

Setting up the FXO port is somewhat straight-forward. You basically route the call to the FXO port then strip off the digits you dialed, so it doesn't outpulse those digits on the port.

Justin

Lack of in depth knowledge of the industry is one of the big problems when people swallow the Kool aid and buy cisco. Paging has been a basic function of a phone system for years and years.... It should be a piece of cake.

I just replaced a Cisco ... the installer did not know how to program it to work with the PRI the customer was getting. My customer told me the salesman promised him 5 or 6 special features / integration with computers etc.

NOT ONE worked!

The right way to handle it is to make the Cisco installers make all of the ancillary stuff work.... if they can.

we put our overhead onto an FXO port, basic programming of the router for *35 to access that port and page. Really not much to it and works great.
You can make them do anything traditional systems will do.

Set a * code to send a call to the FXO Port - it should then ring the paging equipment.

you can get the 2 port fxo card

We have a 2911 router as our gateway. T1 card for the PRI and FXO card for paging, connected to a Viking unit and then out paging amp. We use the same 620 page code as we did with our 3Com NBX.