VIOP providers?
- Thread starter JimS
- Start date
pete_c said:
WHere is your server now?
I called and asked, and the customer service moved it, but I am now communicating with a Kansas City server, pretty far from the east coast. Not audibly different from California. The IP's it uses are 162.253.220.93, 38.114.143.204, 162.253.220.64, 208.83.246.21 primarily.
batwater said:
I had not seen them before, their a la carte aspect is attractive. Or scary, I can't decide which. It was not all that easy to figure out how things would end up charging, e.g. setup fees for calls, multiple devices ringing in ring groups, etc.
Will remember them, each year when my ooma yearly fee comes around I look around a bit.
What device do you use (if you do not mind my asking)?
With difficulty. I put a sniffer on my router (I use OpenWRT so I installed TCPDUMP and saved a PCAP file and downloaded and viewed it in wireshark). Filter on the internal IP of the ooma (assuming it is inside your router) and then look up the IP's online to geo-locate them.pete_c said:
Mine originally said sunneyvale and now say kansas city, so they did move me.
I realize the above is not practical for many people; I have no good idea if you don't have access to a sniffer. I poked around alot in the ooma web page and did not see a way to tell what server IP it uses (on purpose I am sure, like most companies they want to make customers into mushrooms -- keep them in the dark and feed them... well, you know).
pete_c
Guru
Thank you Linwood.
Yes here too use OpenWRT but internally to my network. I use it today to watch the in and out traffic on the OmniPro 2 and for my band aid fix to the network port on the device.
Still utilize / have Sniffer Pro for windows (old stuff). Rather do this in Linux these days...
I do have PFSense running and it does have a packet capture option which I am looking at while typing here.
I see it now....
192.168.244.133.57960 > 162.253.220.121.1194: [udp sum ok] UDP, length 49
10:02:31.025141 fc:aa:14:9e:d7:cf > 00:18:61:04:b6:97, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 91: (tos 0x20, ttl 54, id 0, offset 0, flags [DF], proto UDP (17), length 77)
Who is on IP shows:
IP Address 162.253.220.119
Host in2-eqix-dc3.ooma.com
Country United States
Latitude 37°45'03" N
Longitude 97°49'19" W
which is in Kansas
Yes here too use OpenWRT but internally to my network. I use it today to watch the in and out traffic on the OmniPro 2 and for my band aid fix to the network port on the device.
Still utilize / have Sniffer Pro for windows (old stuff). Rather do this in Linux these days...
I do have PFSense running and it does have a packet capture option which I am looking at while typing here.
I see it now....
192.168.244.133.57960 > 162.253.220.121.1194: [udp sum ok] UDP, length 49
10:02:31.025141 fc:aa:14:9e:d7:cf > 00:18:61:04:b6:97, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 91: (tos 0x20, ttl 54, id 0, offset 0, flags [DF], proto UDP (17), length 77)
Who is on IP shows:
IP Address 162.253.220.119
Host in2-eqix-dc3.ooma.com
Country United States
Latitude 37°45'03" N
Longitude 97°49'19" W
which is in Kansas
tmbrown97
Senior Member
I'm a little late to the game, but here's another vote for Voip.ms. I have a bunch of lines and accounts through them (I used them at work sometimes too for a temporary connection) - and I've done it both ways, with a local PBX, or using them as the PBX - both work great. You can set up mailboxes, extensions, automatic attendants, etc. I even have a forwarder to Lenny and any blocked numbers I have get sent to him instead of being blocked.
They also have recently added a fax option, so I have one of those for my wife since she has to fax paperwork to/from doctors and hospitals on occasion...
And one of the cooler features of late - I can send/receive text messages from my desk phone (Yealink T48G is an awesome VOIP phone). I get them forwarded to email and my cell phone too, but I can reply right back from this desk phone which is pretty handy.
I had Ooma before too and if someone came to me today asking for a 100% non-technical plug and play option to get rid of their landline, it's what I'd recommend... but if you can handle a little tech, you can do a lot more for less.
They also have recently added a fax option, so I have one of those for my wife since she has to fax paperwork to/from doctors and hospitals on occasion...
And one of the cooler features of late - I can send/receive text messages from my desk phone (Yealink T48G is an awesome VOIP phone). I get them forwarded to email and my cell phone too, but I can reply right back from this desk phone which is pretty handy.
I had Ooma before too and if someone came to me today asking for a 100% non-technical plug and play option to get rid of their landline, it's what I'd recommend... but if you can handle a little tech, you can do a lot more for less.
Work2Play said:
My biggest complaint with ooma (and will be with any provider today if true) is that they cannot do SMS. People just ASSUME that if you give them a phone number you can text them. I almost missed dinner with a college friend, despite giving him a separate cell number, when he kept texting my ooma line, which silently disappears.
My biggest problem switching from ooma is actually pretty minor, but I really like their handset - regular AA batteries (i.e. quick swap if needed), long life on the batteries, good range, excellent sound, and pretty easy menus. I really like a walk-around VoIP(like) phone, that I can use with a standard wired headset (battery free, good sound, cheap).
Which begs the question -- what are people doing for phones, notably walk-around?
pete_c
Guru
Here I am on my 3rd generation Pansonic wireless business style phones (larger handsets) and also using two GV lines.
I was able to pair up some Openpeak / Verizon / Cisco DECT phones with the Ooma base but they are a bit smaller than the Panasonic phones and low on the WAF.
Many times just provide one of the GV telephone numbers.
I was able to pair up some Openpeak / Verizon / Cisco DECT phones with the Ooma base but they are a bit smaller than the Panasonic phones and low on the WAF.
Many times just provide one of the GV telephone numbers.
tmbrown97
Senior Member
Hi Linwood,
With voip.ms, you really just pay for the DID - either for per minute or unlimited usage. If you do the unlimited, it's around $5/month. I have a bunch of lines and don't use any of them much, so I keep them all on per minute and pay the negligible fee. If you have a number come in and then ring out to your cell, you'll be paying per minute each direction... but if you have them ring to a pbx or to several SIP phones, that doesn't cost anything. It also doesn't cost anything to use their ring groups, auto attendant, etc - aside from the per-minute while with the caller.
I've done them both ways - both with my own PBX, or with multiple SIP phones connecting directly to them. Right now I'm actually using a hybrid - I have one number that trunks into my PBX, rings my standalone SIP phone that'd directly connected to them, and rings my cell phone. For <5 phones in a home, you can very easily just directly connect them to voip.ms and use their features to create even a pretty fully-featured PBX if you really wanted to. My big reason for the on-site PBX is 1) I already had it, and 2) I can do some more advanced things, like use the built in FXS port to connect to my fax (my wife is in the medical field which is tragically behind the times). I've also done PBXs for years, using PlugPBX, Raspberry Pi PBX's, 3CX on Windows, FreePBX VM's, etc. Today I have a grandstream one that's meant to plug into a PRI or SIP Trunk and is way overkill - it'd support > 200 extensions, conference bridges, fax over IP, etc... but it's a nice 1U form factor that's powered by POE so it's very simple. I even have a spare on the shelf too that I need to sell (they go for about $800).
For phones, I really love my T48G Yealink phone... but for walk-around style phones, the grandstream DECT phones are very affordable and just like any cordless - one base will support I think 5 phones, plus they have a DECT extender if you need to extend range. If you want to spend a little more, you can get into Wifi phones as well - I just haven't taken the leap for wifi because they sometimes struggle with switching AP's and doing the handoff while on a call, and depending on where I am in my house, I'll be between at least 3 different APs. I've used SNOM M3's and they're terrible... or the Yealink cordless isn't bad. You can also use like a linksys ATA or grandstream handytone ATA to use any old analog cordless phone if you want - and/or even throw a handitone ATA into a ring group and use it to plug into your TV receiver for the old Caller ID on TV features many cable/satellite boxes have.
I'm not a big tinkerer, but I like the flexibility... and being able to have the free voicemail and all the fancy ringing patterns I like is pretty handy - and without any special fees other than that basic per-minute cost. In fact, if you had 5 SIP phones around your house hooked to Voip.MS's PBX and you made internal calls, you'd never get charged for them.
With voip.ms, you really just pay for the DID - either for per minute or unlimited usage. If you do the unlimited, it's around $5/month. I have a bunch of lines and don't use any of them much, so I keep them all on per minute and pay the negligible fee. If you have a number come in and then ring out to your cell, you'll be paying per minute each direction... but if you have them ring to a pbx or to several SIP phones, that doesn't cost anything. It also doesn't cost anything to use their ring groups, auto attendant, etc - aside from the per-minute while with the caller.
I've done them both ways - both with my own PBX, or with multiple SIP phones connecting directly to them. Right now I'm actually using a hybrid - I have one number that trunks into my PBX, rings my standalone SIP phone that'd directly connected to them, and rings my cell phone. For <5 phones in a home, you can very easily just directly connect them to voip.ms and use their features to create even a pretty fully-featured PBX if you really wanted to. My big reason for the on-site PBX is 1) I already had it, and 2) I can do some more advanced things, like use the built in FXS port to connect to my fax (my wife is in the medical field which is tragically behind the times). I've also done PBXs for years, using PlugPBX, Raspberry Pi PBX's, 3CX on Windows, FreePBX VM's, etc. Today I have a grandstream one that's meant to plug into a PRI or SIP Trunk and is way overkill - it'd support > 200 extensions, conference bridges, fax over IP, etc... but it's a nice 1U form factor that's powered by POE so it's very simple. I even have a spare on the shelf too that I need to sell (they go for about $800).
For phones, I really love my T48G Yealink phone... but for walk-around style phones, the grandstream DECT phones are very affordable and just like any cordless - one base will support I think 5 phones, plus they have a DECT extender if you need to extend range. If you want to spend a little more, you can get into Wifi phones as well - I just haven't taken the leap for wifi because they sometimes struggle with switching AP's and doing the handoff while on a call, and depending on where I am in my house, I'll be between at least 3 different APs. I've used SNOM M3's and they're terrible... or the Yealink cordless isn't bad. You can also use like a linksys ATA or grandstream handytone ATA to use any old analog cordless phone if you want - and/or even throw a handitone ATA into a ring group and use it to plug into your TV receiver for the old Caller ID on TV features many cable/satellite boxes have.
I'm not a big tinkerer, but I like the flexibility... and being able to have the free voicemail and all the fancy ringing patterns I like is pretty handy - and without any special fees other than that basic per-minute cost. In fact, if you had 5 SIP phones around your house hooked to Voip.MS's PBX and you made internal calls, you'd never get charged for them.
wuench
Senior Member
Linwood said:
That IP is an Equinix data center which a lot of companies are using to hub into the cloud providers via their private backbone. The whole East/West coast thing sounds like they are running on AWS. So even though your connection may be terminating there, your server may still be on the East coast.
Yeah, but what matters for latency is (mostly) how far the packets have to go, and if it goes (for me) from Florida west to Kansas, then to the east cost and back, it's actually worse than if the server is in Kansas.wuench said:
One would hope (but probably not expect given Ooma is as much marketing as technology) that they would understand this.