As integrators install more VoIP-based solutions, inevitably they will need to interact with their customer’s IT or telecom team during the installation process. To help integrators with the questions to ask, we’ve created a list of relevant questions and information that will be required.

MAC Address of the VoIP interface

The integrator should provide the MAC address of the VoIP interface to the IT team.  See the documentation for the VoIP interface to see where the MAC address is. The graphic above shows an example of a MAC address that would have been found on the back of a VoIP interface.

IP Addressing

Questions the Integrator should ask of the IT team:

• Should DHCP be used to get an IP address for the VoIP Interface?
• Is there a Voice VLAN the device should be on? If so which one?
• Will the VoIP interface get the VLAN information directly from the DHCP server via LLDP?
• What is expected IP address range of the device (so you can confirm you’re on the right network)?
• Do you have a digit map associated with your dial plan? In other words, what are the valid sets of digits that make up valid calls (i.e., 4-digit extensions, dialing 9 for an outside line, etc).

Registration

Questions the Integrator should ask of the IT team for registering to the call manager:

• What is the server/proxy address for registration?
• What are the login credentials (username and password)?
• What is the phone number/extension of this room?

SIP Operation

Questions the integrator should ask of the IT team for which codecs are typically used in the calls.

• Is there an audio codec that is preferred/required for audio calls? (i.e., G.711 u-law, G.711 A-law, G.722, G.729, G.723.1, etc.)

What do you do with this information?

While it’s great to have answers to these questions, this information should be entered into the appropriate software tool for the products that you are using.  Take a look at the documentation available for your particular product and follow the instructions.  That’s right, the shrink-wrap will have to come off the manual!  In today’s virtual documentation world, this means look at the help file or tech support files for examples of where to enter this information.  While the information is basically the same across all manufacturer’s VoIP interfaces, where to enter it will vary by product.