Sangoma Technologies Corporation (TSX VENTURE:STC), a leading provider of hardware and software components that enable or enhance IP Communications Systems for both voice and data, announced the release of its B500 Basic Rate Interface (BRI) Telephony Interface Board. Designed for simple integration with open source projects, including Asterisk and FreeSWITCH, as well as other open source and proprietary PBX, Switch, IVR and VoIP Gateway applications, the Sangoma B500 provides solution provides developers with an efficient and cost-effective connectivity solution.

Many small- and medium-businesses worldwide use ISDN BRI for PSTN connectivity. For developers looking to create innovative products for this significant market, ease of integration, flexibility, and reliability of interface boards are critical to success, Sangoma’s B500 BRI Telephony Interface board issoftware-configurable, providing developers with a broad palette of connectivity choices that make it easy to create powerful and compelling telecom products and services.” said Julien Nephtali, Sangoma product manager.

The PCI Express-compliant Sangoma B500 features two or four individually configurable BRI interfaces that support mixed NT or TE modes. Compatible with Windows and Linux operating systems, and with API and design resources to support integration with multiple telephony platforms, the boards simplify the connectivity elements of a solution, freeing developers to focus on innovative feature and function creation. The board also offers optional Telco-grade echo cancellation implemented in hardware to minimize the potential impact that this CPU-intensive function can have on the Server.

The models are Sangoma B500 1 Module – 2 BRI Ports – 4 B-Channel PCIe, Sangoma B500 1 Module – 2 BRI Ports – 4 B-Channel PCIe + Echo Cancellation, Sangoma B500 2 Modules – 4 BRI Ports – 8 B-Channel PCI  and Sangoma B500 2 Modules – 4 BRI Ports – 8 B-Channel PCIe + Echo Cancellation.

Sangoma have announced the release of its Sangoma Vega 400 SBC stand-alone Session Border Controller (SBC) appliance. The solution is designed to provide seamless connectivity between Voice over IP (VoIP) networks and SIP Trunking connections, while delivering security and policy enforcement to ensure call quality and reliability.

“Businesses of every size rely on VoIP  communications, and there is a growing demand among customers for cost-effective solutions that address the potential exposure of network vulnerabilities at inter-network junctures, such as connections to SIP trunking services,  The field-proven reliability and ease-of-use inherent in the Sangoma Vega Series extends to this new SBC device. It not only seamlessly and securely connects the business to the SIP trunking network, but also uses Vega’s popular “quick-config” feature, which greatly simplifies the entire installation process. said Simon Horton, director of product management for Sangoma. 

The market for enterprise session border controllers jumped 60% in 2011 and will grow significantly over the coming years as the adoption of SIP trunking continues to expand, “SBCs represent a sweet spot within the enterprise market because they fill a growing need for security, interoperability, and network border traversal.  expects Diane Myers, principal analyst for VoIP and IMS at Infonetics Research.

Located between disparate IP networks or systems, the SBC helps customers contain and control vulnerabilities that can be exploited in SIP-based networks to misappropriate or misuse VoIP resources and systems. The Vega 400 SBC provides encryption of media and signaling, as well as call access control, secure network logon and secure management interfaces. In addition to the security functions, the SBC provides a broad range of intermediation and core VoIP capabilities necessary to ensure proper call handling and call quality.

Supporting a wide range of audio codecs, the Sangoma Vega 400 SBC performs transcoding when necessary to facilitate call media handling. Key VoIP call quality measures and features enable the device to provide many VoIP gateway functions, such as adaptive jitter removal, comfort noise generation and silence suppression, QoS statistics reporting, and hardware-based echo cancellation.

The models which can be ordered include the Sangoma Vega 400 SBC: Session Border Controller – 12 Call Sessions, Sangoma Vega 400 SBC: Session Border Controller – 24 Call Sessions (VEGA-VS0156-024) ,  Sangoma Vega 400 SBC: Session Border Controller – 48 Call sessions (VEGA-VS0156-048) and the Sangoma Vega 400 SBC: Session Border Controller – 60 Call sessions (VEGA-VS0156-060).

Sangoma provides an industry-leading solution portfolio that enables the interworking of a wide variety of disparate TDM and IP networks, clouds, protocols, services, devices, and applications. Its portfolio includes award-winning voice and data boards, transcoding cards and gateway software, and standalone gateway appliances, designed for simple integration with open source and closed source IP PBX applications, Contact Centers, Unified Communications Systems and Service Provider Networks

The new Sangoma NetBorder Transcoding Gateway provides bandwidth savings in interoffice VoIP and SIP trunking deployments with support for narrowband G.723.1 and G.729 codecs. Additionally, the appliance enables seamless connections between various SIP implementations such as those using different RTP packet sizes. The models include: Sangoma NetBorder Transcoding Gateway Appliance 400 Sessions NTG-AP0400 ,  Sangoma NetBorder Transcoding Gateway Appliance – 800 Sessions NTG-AP0800, Sangoma NetBorder Transcoding Gateway Appliance – 1200 Sessions NTG-AP1200, Sangoma NetBorder Transcoding Gateway Appliance – 1600 Sessions NTG-AP1600, Sangoma NetBorder Transcoding Gateway Appliance – 2000 Sessions NTG-AP2000 and the Sangoma NetBorder Transcoding Gateway Appliance – 4000 Sessions NTG-AP4000.

Beyond delivering bandwidth efficiency, the Transcoding Gateway offers many options for consistently high voice quality. In addition to the wide variety of narrowband codecs, support for HD voice codecs such as G.722 and G.722.1 makes it possible for HD and non-HD compliant devices to interoperate. On networks that are susceptible to packet loss, and the attending degradation of voice quality, more resilient codecs such as iLBC can be used to improve the performance and deliver solid call quality.

Sangoma have also released Sangoma Transcoding Gateway Appliance software. The option of an ISO software package can be installed on any server with a Sangoma D500.

Available as a 1U appliance, the NetBorder Transcoding Gateway allows transcoding between any supported codec from a wide range including, iLBC, GSM-FR and as well as all common SIP and HD voice formats. These can be selected on a per call basis allowing for complete flexibility and the gateway can support up to 4000 simultaneous SIP sessions. The appliance provides very low latency processing to ensure low-jitter and excellent call quality.

Transcoding operations are very processor intensive and can completely cripple other functionalities in typical server based systems, The use of a dedicated appliance mitigates these potential impacts and efficiently delivers the transcoding that is becoming ever more necessary as users take advantage of the benefits offered by the latest codec technology today and going forward.” said Julien Nephtali, product manager for Sangoma.

While the Vega gateways have yet to be certified with 3CX, and are therefore “Officially” unsupported by 3CX support.

The biggest concern for a 3CX Reseller is the provisioning process. As the unit is not certified, 3CX does not provide Auto Provisioning Templates for these units. Luckily, Sangoma support has generated these templates and made them available via their public Wiki. You can download these templates here:

Sangoma Vega 50 4 Port and 8 Port FXO Gateway Templates
Note: Currently ONLY the 4 Port FXO and 8 Port FXO models of the Vega 50 have had their templates created.

Using these templates, you can follow the steps below to adding and provision these units to your 3CX system.

• To configure the 3CX Phone System for interaction with your Sangoma Vega 50 Gateway:
• Download the Sangoma Vega 50 template files here.
• Extract the ZIP file and copy the Sangoma Vega 50 template files into the gateway template folder
  • For Windows XP/2003:
    • “C:/Documents and Settings/All Users/Application Data/3CX/Data/Http/Templates/gateway”
• For Windows Vista/7/2008:
  • “C:/ProgramData/3CX/Data/Http/Templates/gateway”
• Go to “Add PSTN Gateway”
• In the “Add Gateway Wizard” screen:
  • Set the “Name” field to a name for the device, such as “Vega 50 4-port FXO″
  • Set the “Brand” field to “Sangoma”
  • Set the “Model” field to match the model number of the Sangoma Vega device you are configuring, such as “Sangoma Vega 50 4-Port FXO”
  • Click the “Next” button
• In the “Specify VoIP Gateway” screen:
  • Set the “Gateway Hostname or IP” field to the IP Address to which you configured the Sangoma Vega Gateway in the previous section.
  • Set the “Gateway Port” field to 5060. There is normally no need to change this value.
  • Click the “Next” button
• In the “Create ports” page, you will be presented with a grid, with each line representing one of the FXO ports.
  • For each line, you can configure to which extension incoming calls should be routed based on whether they are inside or outside office hours.
  • Click the “Next” button
• In the “Gateway Created” screen:
  • Click the “Generate config file” button
  • Click the “OK” button
• The 3CX Management Console will now open a dialog for you to save the Configuration File for your device. Select a location and save it.
• All that remains to be done is to import the configuration file into your Sangoma Vega Gateway.

Importing the Vega Config file in the Vega Gateway

• Open your web browser and go to the Vega Web Management page.
• Under the Expert Config Menu, select the System option.
• Click on the choose file button under the configuration section in the “send file to gateway” row to upload your configuration file generated by 3CX, such as “Sangoma_Vega50_4FXO_cfg.txt”
• Click on the upload button to import the config file and you will see a result page for the upload.
  
• Save the configuration changes and reboot the system to have them take effect.

I have demoed these systems in my Tech Lab for about a week now. Using these templates I was able to set up both units without any issues. The quality on these units are very good, and I have yet to see any glitches or issues arise.

Once again, these units are NOT certified with 3CX, but do provision easily and work very well. This simply gives 3CX resellers another tool in their belt to take advantage of Sangoma’s quality.

For those not using 3CX, see Sangoma’s Wiki for guides to use these Gateways withAsterisk/trixbox, as well as using FXS models for use with any system. If you are looking for a FXS interface for t.38 Faxing, the Vega Gateways are an ideal solution.

Sangoma Vega 100

The Sangoma Vega 100 and Vega 200 Media Gateways are now available for order. These VoIP Gateways deliver the core features of our highly regarded Vega 400, but at a price point and density that are better suited for the small-to-medium business or when an enterprise needs basic gateway functionality for satellite or remote offices. These price competitive Sangoma Vega Media Gateways still include the important failover features that many of our competitors have chosen not to provide on similarly priced gateways. 

The Vega 100 and Vega 200 provide the core feature set supported throughout the highly-regarded Vega Series to small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB) that require only one or two spans of digital telephony (PRI/T1/E1) access.

Deployable as a customer premises gateway for SIP trunking termination or PSTN access from an IP-PBX, the rack-mountable 1u Vega 100 and 200 chassis deliver up to 30 and 60 simultaneous calls or SIP sessions respectively. In addition, the devices support a broad range of audio codecs, T.38 fax, integrated call routing and dial-plan administration, as well as a variety of maintenance and survivability features that deliver easy-to-use resilience in a system sized for the SMB market.

Sangoma Vega 200

Bypass configurability of the digital spans enables dual-chassis redundant operation if desired, and an option to connect directly to PSTN trunks for emergency calling in the event of an IP network failure are just some of the key features that set the entire Vega series apart from other devices marketed to SMB operators.

The operational needs of our customers in the SMB space are very similar to those of larger enterprises, These new models deliver the full resiliency, reliability, and quality that customers have come to rely upon from the larger capacity units in the Vega Series, in packages that are aligned with the capacity and budgetary requirements of the SMB market. Said Simon Horton, director of product management for Sangoma.

Sangoma is pleased to announce a special rebate offer on Vega Gateways for Sangoma resellers! Purchase any of the qualifying Sangoma Vega Gateways from your authorized “Empowered by Sangoma” Distributor before June 30, 2012, and receive a rebate of up to $250 per unit!

The claim process is quick and easy:

1. Contact your authorized Sangoma Distributor and purchase a Sangoma Vega Gateway.

2. After completing your purchase, complete the online form to claim your rebate.

For each Vega properly purchased and submitted, Sangoma will rebate you up to $250. For the exact rebate amount for each Vega, please see the chart attached.

At the conclusion of each week of the promotion until June 30, 2012, Sangoma will validate your purchases and rebate form submission and authorize payment for the rebate amount. **Note: All rebates are in USD.

Qualifying Sangoma Products

Vega50: Analog or BRI Gateway Vega100 E1/T1: E1/T1 Digital Gateway Rebate: $50 USD Rebate: $25 USD     Vega200 E1/T1: E1/T1 Digital Gateway Vega400 E1/T1: E1/T1 Digital Gateway Rebate: $50 USD Rebate: $250 USD

Vega5000: Analog Gateway         Rebate: $75 USD

Terms and Conditions

By providing the information requested and submitting this rebate form, you acknowledge and agree to the terms and conditions set forth by Sangoma Technologies Inc. and Distributor.

• Valid only on eligible Vega purchases made from April 1, 2012 – June 30, 2012.
• There is no limit on the number of rebate submissions per person. While supplies last, no substitutions or rainchecks allowed.
• Rebate offer may not be combined with other offers or discounts from Sangoma Technologies.
• All rebate request forms must be completed and submitted by June 30, 2012 (12:00 AM EST).
• Rebates will only be issued to the original purchaser name as a cheque in US dollars. Sangoma Technologies reserves the right reject incomplete submissions.
• Rebates cannot be redeemed after the June 30, 2012 date and/or if rebate promotion terms and conditions are not met. For all approved purchases, Sangoma will issue payment by the end of the July 2012. Rebate cheques will be void if not cashed within 90 days of issuance and will not be reissued. Only actual original purchaser of the qualifying products may participate in this rebate offer.

Availability and terms of offer may change without notice by Sangoma Technologies Inc.

Are you still looking for a better phone system? Then you’ll want to hear this week’s news from Digium. Not only have we released a new version of our award-winning Switchvox UC solution, but we are also now offering Digium IP phones for a complete phone system solution, the  Digium D40 IP Phone, Digium D50 IP Phone and the Digium D70 IP Phone.

This week marks the start of the general availability of our new family of VoIP phones. The Digium phones are the first that are specifically engineered to fully leverage the power of Switchvox.With no-touch installation and intuitive built-in apps you caneasily manage and customize your caller’s experience directly on your desktop phone.

That’s because the newly released Switchvox 5.5 provides integration with Digium IP  Phones, making many of the popular Switchvox features available on the desktop phone. By extending many features of the Switchboard to the phone, you get simplified access queue monitoring, presence management, searchable contact directory, recording, and voicemail control, all at your fingertips.

Ready to see how to put the power of Switchvox on your desktop?Join us for this 30-minute webinar by our VoIP expert, Angie Reed, as she shows you how easy and affordable it is to use Digium phones with Switchvox.

The Xorcom XP Series of IP phones the Xorcom XP0100 HD IP Phone and the Xorcom XP0120 HD IP Phone  provides high definition (HD) sound quality and a comprehensive range of traditional business and VoIP features to the enterprise desktop.

The series consists of two models of VoIP Phones, and an expansion module the  Xorcom XP0020 IP Phone Expansion Module.

Starting with S/N X1054148, all Xorcom XE3000 and  Xorcom TS3000 (TwinStar configuration) IP-PBX will feature an upgraded motherboard. The new motherboard, an Intel S1200KP, uses the Intel i3 2120 CPU.

The performance levels for the new board and CPU combination are identical or 5-10% higher than those of the previous version, while providing greater reliability. Load test results for the new motherboard will be published shortly