Obi 202: disable auto-provisioning permanently or??

[Lafong]

I just opened an account at CallCentric and have it working for incoming, outgoing, and 911.

I followed their online guide, which asks you to disable auto-provisioning before making any changes in the configuration, unless you are going to use Obitalk. I'd rather not use Obitalk.

So, I disabled all 3 subcategories of auto-provisioning: firmware, ITSP, and Obitalk.

I continued with CallCentric's guide and succeeded. CallCentric is up and running.

I don't want to foul things up and am wondering which, if any, of the auto-provisioning categories should be re-enabled??

On the one hand, I'm concerned that possibly some things SHOULD be kept up to date. On the other hand, I'm concerned that allowing auto-provisioning could over-ride a known good config and cause problems.

As a general rule, I prefer manual control to automated stuff---particularly for firmware.

Any guidance from CallCentric users? Have you left all 3 of those settings disabled?

[giqcass]

I have all auto provisioning turned off.  I update firmware manually.  If you don't use ObiTalk then there is no need for auto provisioning.  If ObiTalk is not disabled completely it may auto provision anyway but it won't mess up Callcentric.
This is a useful post.
Managing Your OBi Device Configuration: OBiTALK or OBi Web Page but NOT Both
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=61.0

[carl]

There has been a lot of controversy about this issue in the past. If you are on expert level, you are probably better off without Obitalk and auto provisioning. If not, I would not touch that.

[Lafong]

Thanks for the comments.

Carl: I'm nowhere near an expert. I'm a newbie and have owned the device less than a month.

Giqcass: Re that thread you linked to. The first post in it from Sherman seems to be illogical and poorly worded. I noticed it, as did 2 other posters in that thread. An ordinary reading of a particular passage says to me that DISABLING auto-provisioning WILL overwrite manual settings. I'm going to assume that is not true at least until someone verifies it. The post is over 2  years old.

For what it's worth, I contacted CallCentric support and their recommendation is to leave auto-provisioning off permanently or face the possibility of overwriting a good configuration.

I guess I'll leave it off and see if I eventually crash and burn. If I do, I'll come back here for a fix.

I know what firmware is, but I'm not clear at all on "ITSP provisioning", so I have no idea what that might affect in my configuration.

My primary concern is to not foul up something that's working now. I have a very simple setup and don't anticipate making any changes to it as long as it works.

Has anyone ever had an issue that can be attributed to NOT using auto-provisioning of any type?

[giqcass]

Auto provisioning is a way to provide auto updates for settings. Things like user names, passwords, and servers can be changed.  On the Obi auto provisioning can be used to change thousands of settings on the device remotely.  It could even be used to lock you out of the device completely.  Auto provisioning is good when the company that provides your service is controlling the device setup for you.  Callcentric does not do auto provisioning for the OBi so having it turned on is of no use to the functions of Callcentric. It could even cause a problem if there was some kind of error in the auto provisioning file.  ObiTalk uses auto provisioning so if you use that service auto provisioning should be on.   You can always turn it back on if you need to.

This will explain more if you really want an in depth lesson on OBi auto provisioning.
http://www.obihai.com/docs/OBiProvisioningGuide.pdf

[carl]

I use Callcentric and never had a problem with Obi overwriting anything. I never had any problems with firmware updates either. As a matter of fact, some people who disabled Obitalk and auto provisioning still have issues with SIP scanners, something Obihai took care of in on of the firmware updates.

[sdb-]

ITSP - Internet Telephony Service Provider (or something like that)

Provisioning - performing the necessary setup to utilize a service.  For the OBi, that means setting up the device (customer premise equipment (CPE), the service provider also does provisioning on their end).

The OBi checks for ITSP provisioning and for Obitalk provisioning, and for firmware updates. (or not if you disable them)

Any of those can change anything about your configuration so if you want to manage your own device directly yourself, leave them off.  But be aware that you may miss out on important changes also, so pay attention.

[Lafong]

so if you want to manage your own device directly yourself, leave them off.  But be aware that you may miss out on important changes also, so pay attention.

I'd much prefer NOT to manage my own device and would do so only if that were preferable for some reason---such as stability, uptime and freedom from issues. Apparently self-management can be preferable, although users such as Carl state no issues with auto-provisioning.

"Pay attention". To what specifically? Do you mean stay in regular touch with this forum or just to be on the lookout for performance issues with my phone service?

I gather there is little to no official participation by OBihai support in these forums and that we are all pretty much supporting each other based on personal experience in an attempt to develop "best practices"?

I have a very simple setup (one wired phone, one Obi 202, no call treatments, no extensions, etc) and have made a Word document detailing my individual settings. I recall a post or two on this forum about issues with the built-in configuration backup feature, so I'm wary of that also.

[sdb-]

Pay attention to this forum, watch out for security issues, firmware updates, provider config changes, etc.  With a self-managed devices, you are the manager.

I'm no expert, having only been using an OBi for a few weeks, but it seems to me that choosing to disable Obitalk is a choice.  It's your device, it's your choice and your responsibility.  I originally set mine up entirely locally.  A week or so later I factory reset and set it up again using Obitalk.  So far they seem equally powerful.  My only concern is that I really like control and as I pointed out before, using Obitalk means I give up some of that control to the whim of Obihai (hopefully a well considered whim, but they do not consult with nor explain their actions to me so it does appear whimsical.)

Your word doc of settings is a good plan.  I keep complete notes of what I've changed, from what, to what and why.

[Lafong]

A week or so later I factory reset and set it up again using Obitalk.  So far they seem equally powerful.  My only concern is that I really like control and........ I give up some of that control to the whim of Obihai

Well-stated and pretty much my concern also--Obihai whim and what that might lead to over time.

I manage my PCs as manually as possible by choice and like it that way---but I'm out of my league when it comes to telephony.

I have no idea if using auto-provisioning means Obitalk would change one setting a year or one a day. They may push stuff out hourly for all I know and I don't know how much of that might be significant for my purposes.

I'll keep my ear to ground particularly for firmware issues. My PC training and experience tells me to leave well enough alone on firmware unless I have specific issues and KNOW that a firmware upgrade is specifically intended to resolve those issues---as opposed to speculation that it might help.

[giqcass]

I have all automatic updates off.  Firmware and provisioning.  I have had no issues.

[QBZappy]

It may not be obvious, but keep in mind that the local web units provide configuration settings for 100% of the OBi features, while the portal does not. I don't know if it has been fixed but making backups and restoring OBi configs was broken even though they showed the control button on the portal. It may have been fixed. Someone else who uses this feature can confirm this. One of the biggest criticisms using the portal is that the call history is missing. The call history is useful for troubleshooting.  If there is a config missing on the portal that you need to access it may force you to use the local unit web page approach. Also something to note. New features to the firmware are not always implemented immediately on the portal. Personally I use the local unit whenever I can. Who wants to use a crippled portal when the unit provides all the features.The portal is useful for setting up units far away.

I wish there was a way to point directly to the far away OBi unit without using the OBI portal, port forwarding, or using a VPN. I set up the url DDNS method as explained by gigcass, however as expected I hit the router since it is the gateway. The only way to achieve the end goal of configuring a far away OBi is to point to your own computer and become your own ITSP Provisioning server. This can be done with some effort. RonR has a utility for such an approach which helps to simplify it. I find it too much of a hassle to set up for just one unit.

[sdb-]

I use ssh.  Basically it gives me a quick and easy way to establish a temporary port forward that I can use to reach whatever I want on the remote network.  Of course, that requires a fully functional ssh server on the remote network (in the router firmware or some other box on that network).

But I'm a software engineer specialized in network devices...