Re. Paul's item.
We use open-source servers *and* a mixed desktop environment (open source and MacOSX, as well as the necessary Windows for running the PBX programming tool) and are working on open-source PBXs. For the last couple of years I've been promoting open source in the most important application in all of these United States: the voting machine infrastructure.
Many are those who think that because they've muscled their way through installing their computer network, they have the skills to program a PBX. But it just ain't so. These are two different skill sets and they are not interchangeable. Neither is better or smarter or more-this-or-that than the other. They are just different, and just different enough to lead to all kinds of amusing (or tragic) fiascoes.
In my organization it's even become a cliche, of the IT guy who says "Hey, I've managed to make Windows NT work, and I can fix infected Windows boxes as well as the next guy. Look, the phone system doesn't even have a mouse, and it doesn't catch viruses! This can't be *that* hard...!"
Also, those guys (such as the caricatured case above) really do tend to make terribly messy cross-connect fields. I even saw one with 66-blocks mounted sideways.
The fact that a few really bright people manage to get it right on all counts, does not diminish the fact that the vast majority don't, nor does it mean that anyone can go out and install these things for paying clients. The smart ones might deserve exceptions to the usual rules. The www.ScrewMe.coms of the world who engage in fraudulent selling practices, deserve to be prosecuted. The end-users who pay five figures expecting to have a PBX that works, should be able to count on what they're getting for their money.
-George PBX geek since 1980 "Phone phreak" in highschool in the 70s
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On 19 Jan, 2005, at 11:43 PM, Paul H. Gusciora wrote:
Certifications are neither necessary nor sufficient to assure a good installation or configuration.
If I buy a Cisco (or other high-end) switch, used or new, I am free to configure or not any way I want. I might have to pay Cisco if I wanted the latest software image for the switch, but I do not need certification of any kind. However, if I were hiring someone to configure my switch I might want them to be certified in the basics.
It is my responsibility to inform myself about the workings of the product so that I can assure that it is installed properly. If I screw things up (or my contractor does) it is my fault. No one blames Cisco for bad product.
I have found that by the time I figure out what I need to know to ask for what I need, I have the knowledge to configure the thing myself.
I think that most of this thread is about dealers railing about how to protect their monopoly access to the product, the configuration tool, and the software updates. Enjoy it while you have it. Asterisk and OpenPBX (and others) are coming.
Paul H. Gusciora San Rafael, CA
BTW: networking since 1982 (first DecNet, then others).
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