Fixing a Small Business Network

[coxhaus]

Yes I need instructions for them. So much had changed recently with the layer 3 switch. They were trying to use it as a regular switch and messed some things up. I told them not to mess with the layer 3 switch because it was programed and all ports were not the same like the old dumb switch.

I think it was more of a timing thing than anything. If it would have been a day later I would tried to trouble shoot the problem over the phone but the day after I changed the network and first thing in the morning it seemed like it was my fault.

 

[coxhaus]

I have a new project. My daughter decided she wanted callerID and the old phone guy said not on our old PBX phone switch. So it looks like we are going with Nextiva and 19 phones. We have grown to 18 PCs which we need 1 more. I need to figure out how to setup the Cisco small business switch for IP phones. I guess I will be busy the next 2 weeks.

Is anybody using a Cisco small business switch for IP phones?

 

[coxhaus]

I finally finished the voice VLAN on my daughter's Cisco SG500X-24 switch. I have been working on and off for over a week. We are trying to go with Nextiva for 19 IP phones using Polycom WVX250s. There are multiple ways to define voice VLANs using IP phones. What worked for me was simple auto voice VLAN and CDP. I turned off LLDP. Seems like you can use Telephony OUI or auto voice VLAN. One of my hold ups was adding Telephony OUI hex bits as the Polycom defined on the switch was old and I had to add the new ones. This kept me held for several days. Once I got hold of Nextiva enterprise they explained how it should work and it only took about a day to get it all working.

 

[sfx2000]

My daughter decided she wanted callerID and the old phone guy said not on our old PBX phone switch.

What _was_ the old PBX?

Just curious...

Nextiva sounds interesting - cloud based solution, and seems turn-key and easy to deploy, and decent pricing per seat.

I've been using Signalwire for a VOIP aspects of a project I'm working on - been very happy with them, but my project is not a small/medium based product.

 

[sfx2000]

I have a new project. My daughter decided she wanted callerID and the old phone guy said not on our old PBX phone switch. So it looks like we are going with Nextiva and 19 phones. We have grown to 18 PCs which we need 1 more. I need to figure out how to setup the Cisco small business switch for IP phones. I guess I will be busy the next 2 weeks.

Couple of comments.

1) Very happy for your daughter - sounds like her business endeavor is doing very well and growing - it's been fun to follow this ongoing thread.

2) Might want to sit down and sketch out projects over a timeline so that some planning can occur - at the moment, seems like organic growth in a somewhat reactive mode as the business grows.

3) This is more for folks watching this thread that may be in similar circumstances, and I'm reasonably sure that @coxhaus is doing this, but keeping accurate docs about network configurations is an absolute must, as things will grow more complex over time.​

Nice to see that things have progressed from a small office (less than 10) to a small business (10 to 50), but as the business grows, so does the network, and demands to support the business.

The last two additions - the PBX replacement, and the CellPhone access item - this is a good sign of the increasing scale of the network, and the need to keep things documented, and start planning next steps for growth.

 

[coxhaus]

What _was_ the old PBX?

Just curious...

Panasonic. They were built well.

 

[coxhaus]

I was so worried about the voice VLAN and QoS that I forgot to open a hole in the firewall. I was just thinking switch. I fixed it today.

I had a video cable go bad. If you jiggle it then it works for a while and then not. I bought a new one. I had a lot more Windows 10 1903 updates to apply. It kept me busy while I went around testing phones. Some of the phones were not programed the last time around so we have about 6 phones which didn't work. There seems to be 1 phone in the back that I don't believe was programed at all and it does nothing. These IP phones are going to be some work to keep up with. I am going to pass it off and just do the switches and PCs.

 

[MichaelCG]

At some point, the number of PCs is going to really push the need for a domain to help with management. Trying to patch 20+ systems manually in your spare time is going to get time consuming. Getting GPO setup to automatically force patching, enforce screensavers, enforce password management.....all those goodies, will be needed as a business grows. Then again, no idea which flavor of Windows these PCs have and if they even can be joined to a domain.

 

[coxhaus]

Yes I hope it does not grow much more as I don't want to do this full time for no pay. I do have a server rack available complete with 15 amp rack mount APC as I turned my servers off because I am trying to get out of the biz.

I did only buy home editions of Windows 10 because they were cheaper and nobody could setup remote control into their PC. We want people physically to be there if they are using their PC.

It is no problem to upgrade to the PRO version of Windows 10. I just don't see a need for it yet plus it is more work for me which I am trying to avoid.

My daughter wants her own domain and mail server like I ran in the past. I ran Exchange with iPhones and Androids early on when they first were supported many years ago. She ran her Real Estate agent business through it back then. I drew a line in the sand and said no. I told her she will need to hire someone as I don't want to work that hard and it will required constant attention.

I tried to talk my daughter out of the IP phones because the old analog phone switch runs without any problems. She convinced me she needs call forwarding to cell phones which the old switch will not do. So I gave in but I told her she will need a phone support person as I won't do it.

I should add I have an USB stick with Windows 10 on it. If there is anything wrong or the PC becomes slow I just reinstall Windows as it only takes 15 minutes. I keep an updated USB stick that has the latest Windows version on it so I don't have to apply all the updates. Windows is fairly painless and easy to maintain this way.

 

[MichaelCG]

Exchange....no...no....no....push them to O365 or Google. Will save you soooooo many headaches.

As for the IP phones....I would suggest trying to get them off to a SaaS offering that offers PC and mobile based apps so you don't have to deal with hardphones anymore.

There is very little reason for a small business to host any of their own Infrastructure these days. Get them on the network, maintain the client system, and secure their Internet connection. Push everything else to the cloud. Truthfully....there is very little reason for a large business either.

 

[coxhaus]

Exchange....no...no....no....push them to O365 or Google. Will save you soooooo many headaches.

As for the IP phones....I would suggest trying to get them off to a SaaS offering that offers PC and mobile based apps so you don't have to deal with hardphones anymore.

There is very little reason for a small business to host any of their own Infrastructure these days. Get them on the network, maintain the client system, and secure their Internet connection. Push everything else to the cloud. Truthfully....there is very little reason for a large business either.

Yes I agree most everything is done in the cloud these days. That is why I used Windows Home edition. My daughter does not really need a server as everything is in the cloud. All she needs is good fast networking since everything is in the cloud. The Cisco SG500X-24 is a good fast core 10gig L3 switch for a small business.

 

[PolarBear]

Yes I agree most everything is done in the cloud these days. My daughter does not really need a server as everything is in the cloud. All she needs is good fast networking since everything is in the cloud.

Looking at this from a Corporate Governance viewpoint, business continuity is also a very important topic.

One of the cloud suppliers could suddenly go bankrupt or lose all the data entrusted to them.

In this case it's important that your daughter would be able to find a replacement solution, and reload backups from an *independent* source, before her business folds.

 

[coxhaus]

Looking at this from a Corporate Governance viewpoint, business continuity is also a very important topic.

One of the cloud suppliers could suddenly go bankrupt or lose all the data entrusted to them.

In this case it's important that your daughter would be able to find a replacement solution, and reload backups from an *independent* source, before her business folds.

Good point PolarBear. But I am not sure how to deal with this new cloud computing. My daughter pays money monthly for all these cloud apps which we have no access to. So there is no reloading for us. I guess she moves on to a different vendor.

 

[PolarBear]

I guess it all depends on what sort of information she has in the cloud.

Would her business survive if it got lost through vendor bankruptcy or foul up ?

For example, if her only copy of her accounts receivable ledger is in the cloud, she might never recover the money owed to her by her customers. Most businesses do not recover from such a situation.

 

[coxhaus]

Her accounts receivable are in Quick Books local. She has a dedicated PC for Quick Books. She backs up to flash. At some point she plans to look at Quick Books Online in the cloud but not yet.

I bought a Cisco RV340 router for her. It has become hard to take down the whole system for any extended period of time. I decided 2 routers would make it easier. As firmware updates come up then I can just switch routers. It is taking too long to take the router down do a firmware upgrade and factory reset so 2 routers is my solution. I have 1 router ready to swap out and the other I can work on later.

 

[MichaelCG]

Cloud requires good contracts and good vendor vetting. Very few of the big boys "suddenly" go out of business without some notice. Some of the smaller specialty ones...very possible.

 

[sfx2000]

Would her business survive if it got lost through vendor bankruptcy or foul up ?

@PolarBear makes a good point - as her business grows - sustainability crosses lines - from vendor to internal support.

Since at the moment, the IT support is one person, what happens if that IT support person can no longer support that role - don't be a single point of failure in a successful growing business.

Don't be that guy, don't be that business...

What happens if there is a health issue, or something else that would prohibit being there to take action when things go very bad - case in point, I've got a 45 mile commute to the office, so I have a backup plans if I get into an auto accident and die, everything is documented to the extreme, so the business can continue, as a co-founder in two startups, and a member of a third, that is a lesson learned.

 

[sfx2000]

Exchange....no...no....no....push them to O365 or Google. Will save you soooooo many headaches.

I would agree - setting up Exchange as a local server is pretty easy, but keeping one up over time, well... that's a problem.

Office365, exchange as a service, is a good option, esp if one is using Outlook on Mac/Windows, as the email and calendar stuff generally works.

Google - ok for email over IMAP, but Scheduling across clients generally sucks with GCal unless everyone is using G-Suite in the browser directly.

G-Suite - living in browser land - it's actually not that bad, once folks get over the curve of learning the quirks of Google Docs, G-Drive, etc - but I'm not sure if it's compelling offering against Office365 online (the Web based services), as Office365 online is a more consistent experience for the folks sitting at desks.

 

[MichaelCG]

Google - ok for email over IMAP, but Scheduling across clients generally sucks with GCal unless everyone is using G-Suite in the browser directly.

G-Suite - living in browser land - it's actually not that bad, once folks get over the curve of learning the quirks of Google Docs, G-Drive, etc - but I'm not sure if it's compelling offering against Office365 online (the Web based services), as Office365 online is a more consistent experience for the folks sitting at desks.

I have worked in a Google shop for the past 5-6 years now. For sure prefer it over O365 at this point from a collaborative perspective. Google is way more polished on the collab features....but maybe not on some other specific features.
As for scheduling? Not sure what issues you are referring to? Then again you are specifically mentioning in a browser....but that is the only way you "should" ever use the GSuite. If you really want to use Outlook still....don't use GSuite. It will just be painful and far from optimal.