Qovia updates VoIP management appliances

Qovia this week is scheduled to release new versions of its IP PBX management appliances with improved monitoring and remote features it says will help users with 3Com, Cisco, Nortel or NEC IP PBXs run their converged networks more smoothly.

The Qovia 5000 appliance adds management and VoIP network monitoring features not typically supported on IP PBXs. The 5000 and lower-end 3000 are set to launch this week at the Internet Telephony Expo in Los Angeles.

The Qovia 5000 and 3000 appliances follow Qovia's previous ION appliance for monitoring and managing VoIP networks. The ION lets users perform live backups on IP PBXs without taking down the devices (some products, such as 3Com's NBX, require the box to be offline for backups). Another use of the ION product is to schedule software upgrades to IP PBX operating systems during off-hours, so phone service is not interrupted. The ION also supports VoIP call quality and traffic monitoring, which lets users receive alerts if IP phone traffic suffers delay or jitter.

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Qovia this week is scheduled to release new versions of its IP PBX management appliances with improved monitoring and remote features it says will help users with 3Com, Cisco, Nortel or NEC IP PBXs run their converged networks more smoothly.

The Qovia 5000 appliance adds management and VoIP network monitoring features not typically supported on IP PBXs. The 5000 and lower-end 3000 are set to launch this week at the Internet Telephony Expo in Los Angeles.

The Qovia 5000 and 3000 appliances follow Qovia's previous ION appliance for monitoring and managing VoIP networks. The ION lets users perform live backups on IP PBXs without taking down the devices (some products, such as 3Com's NBX, require the box to be offline for backups). Another use of the ION product is to schedule software upgrades to IP PBX operating systems during off-hours, so phone service is not interrupted. The ION also supports VoIP call quality and traffic monitoring, which lets users receive alerts if IP phone traffic suffers delay or jitter.

The 5000 and 3000 series run the same software with all the same features as the ION, but faster than the previous appliance, Qovia says. The ION is based on Linux running on an Intel-based server hardware, Qovia says. But the new appliances use three dedicated network processors for various management tasks, such as traffic monitoring, call quality analysis and network encryption, for securing call management traffic on the box.

The 5000 series includes a 40G-byte hard disk, which can be used to store software patches and operating system updates for an IP PBX. Targeted at networks with more than 10,000 users, the 5000's storage also can be used to back up IP PBX configuration files and other data. The 3000 series, for smaller networks, performs the same monitoring and management functions as the 5000, but does not include storage for storing backups and software updates.

The 5000, 3000 and ION series boxes connect to a corporate LAN for monitoring IP telephony traffic. If IP voice runs in a specific virtual LAN or subnet, the appliances would be connected to that segment. Software updates and configuration file backups for IP PBXs also are done over a LAN.

The devices include serial port connections, which lets them plug into a port of an IP PBX for off-LAN management. This lets the appliances power down IP PBXs and gives access to the IP PBX command-line interface through the serial port.

Qovia ION boxes are installed on the network at the Ventura County Unified School District in California. The school uses more than 20 3Com NBX IP PBXs to support more than 1,200 IP phones in 26 schools, which are connected via a Gigabit Ethernet metropolitan-area network.

"The Qovia [appliances] give us features that just aren't available on the 3Com" IP PBXs, says Ted Malos, IT director for the school district. Malos uses the Qovia appliances to automatically power his 3Com NBXs on and off for scheduled maintenance.

The ION appliance (and the new 3000 and 5000 series) also have terminal server features. This lets NBXs be plugged into a serial port on the Qovia box and gives users remote access to the IP PBX command line via an IP link.