Equipment selection

Selecting the proper equipment can make or break your project. Phones and network equipment are usually the two largest-ticket items. However, cutting corners too much on either of these components can result in a poor user experience.

Network equipment

The network equipment selection and configuration is critically important. The network is the foundation on which the entire system will be built. It must be reliable, fast, and robust if the voice system is to follow suit. Several important design considerations drive equipment selection, such as network switch connectivity, Quality of Service support, Virtual Local Area Network support, how to power the phones, whether Gigabit network connectivity is required to each desk, and whether any existing network equipment be utilized.

Network switch connectivity

Some good rules of thumb to follow when determining where and how many network switches may be required for the project are:

• Minimize network closets: By minimizing...