I noticed over the weekend that the Windows phone system, 3CX, has achieved "Skype Connected Certified" status. This means that 3CX is joining an array of other PBX's in this program: Avaya, cisco, Grandstream, ShoreTel, SIPXECS among others. In the past the 3CX skype gateway was a separate installation--but using Skype Connect Skype appears to take care of the skype to SIP gateway.
It seems that Windows PBX vendors are aligning themselves with unified communication providers to ensure their relevancy into the future. snom has moved the direction of aligning with Microsoft's UC solution. snom has released How-To's on how to integrate their snom ONE Windows PBX (Linux & Mac as well) to OCS/Lync and desk phones can interop with Lync Server. (While they currently work with Lync as some level, they are currently only OCS 2007 R2 approved by Microsoft.)
FreeSwitch, an open source phone switch that also has a Windows port, has taken the route of integrating with everyone. Here is the document by prolific Lync blogger, Drago Totev, on how to integrate FreeSwitch to Lync. And, here is how to get Skype connectivity.
While Skype's SIP connectivity option is conceivably possible with any standard SIP PBX it appears some vendors have displayed more of an interest in developing a relation with Skype than others.
Read more from 3CX Blog:
http://www.3cx.com/blog/news/3cx-phone-system-gets-skype-connect-certified/
Matt,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the mention. BTW, as much as there's been a lot of hype about "Skype for SIP" we've found that to be kind of silly. Paying money for the same poor call quality offered by GSM and G.729 is just not very appealing to the FreeSWITCH crowd.
As clunky as it may sound, we actually prefer Giovanni Maruzzelli's skypopen module. (http://wiki.freeswitch.org/wiki/Skypopen) It uses the OSS Skype client and allows you to use the SILK codec. In essence, it is a *true* interface to the Skype network, not the kludge that is Skype for SIP. The best part of all is that you get higher call quality without paying a dime! You just need bandwidth (of course).
Thanks for the cool blog posts you've been putting up.
-Michael Collins
FreeSWITCH Community Liaison
http://www.freeswitch.org
http://www.cluecon.com
Michael,
ReplyDeleteI'm not that cracked about skype myself.;-)
And your tip there is good to see. Thanks!