With Sonus SBC1000/2000 release 3.2 comes:
- Integration with the Sonus Element Management System (EMS),
- the normal handful of firmware fixes/tweaks
- perhaps most importantly Sonus now gives you PRI, FXS or FXO ports now and a simple license purchase enables them whenever you are ready.
So what does this mean for Lync implementers and ongoing support on the ground? Well, that discussion about whether the customer needs certain ports (FXS, FXO or PRI) and how many ports has just gotten a lot easier: Just order the Sonus SBC 1000 or 2000 model that includes the projected future port need and only pay for the license to use them when the need arises, with the added benefit of no need to physically install the ports at that time. If my memory is correct the devices can include up to 8 PRI that can be license activated later on.
Sonus is pretty much giving away FXS, FXO and PRI ports and you pay when you need them.
And for the ongoing support scenario this eliminates the potentially confusion of ordering the wrong parts, getting a field tech out to the site and opening the SBC1000/2000 device and upgrading it.
In my discussion with Christie Blake and David Sauerhaft it was noted that there will be ~16 port configurations for SBC1000. I suspect this move is to bring the obvious benefits to partner/customers and but also to shorten the somewhat long supply chain times we saw with Sonus SBC1000/2000 products in the past. This will really be welcome.
Another question that came to mind was how much you can “load up a device with ports” you are not going to initially pay for. Can I get a 16FXS + 8PRI and only initially pay for 1FXS and 1PRI?
In the Press Release Sonus notes “Sonus is the only SBC vendor enabling session and port capacity on branch office SBCs to be upgraded using software without the requirement of hardware upgrades…”.
The industry is used to buying hardware and enabling pure software functionality & ports, but this is the first I’ve seen buying hardware with physical ports and just paying for them when you need them. In my opinion Sonus SBC1000/2000 devices should be top of mind when considering a Lync SBC, gateway or SBA for branch offices.
