OBiTALK DMP Field Notice
Device Management Best Practices & Pro Tips

For Partner Service Providers, System Integrators and Telephony Professionals
April 2017
Dear Partners,
 
Since 2011, Obihai has been providing service-provider grade VoIP endpoints, with industry-leading, cloud-based customization, provisioning and management functionality. There are several important OBiTALK Device Management Platform (DMP) portal updates and general device management best practices we believe will make your deployments more successful. From time-to-time, we will publish more best practices to add to the ones here below. 
 
If you are new to Obihai VoIP devices and the OBiTALK DMP, we recommend you use these best practices as a guide to leveraging the DMP to its fullest – in alignment with your own organization’s device management procedures and protocols. If you are familiar with the DMP, please read-over this document to ensure you are up-to-date with the latest enhancements – many of which came about because of your ideas and suggestions.
 
As the DMP evolves, Obihai implements new features and adapts existing functionality to work better with how partners buy, deploy and manage Obihai products.  Here are specific practices, utilized by Obihai service provider and system integration partners, where we see the need to highlight incorrect practices and suggest corrections or ‘best practices’ supported by Obihai Technology.
 
The following best practices have been suggested by the Obihai Technology service provider support staff.  
·       Contacting Support and Support Resources
·       Get Correct Firmware
·       Adding or 'Claiming' Devices to the OBiTALK DMP
·       Generating Device Configuration Files for Remote Provisioning

New Firmware for OBi1000 Series IP Phones

At April 12, 2017, we released a new firmware (version 5.0.6) for our OBi1000 Series IP Phones.
 
This includes new features such as support for the Jabra ENC010 USB headset, an on-screen notification if LLDP-MED discovery is in progress and many more (detailed information found under the respective firmware release notes)
 
This will be available in the Firmware page when you login to your OBiTALK DMP account.
Link to the DMP portal firmware page can be found here.

Contacting Support and Support Resources

Best Practice: Consult the OBiTALK Device Management Platform FAQ and/or send email to SP Support.
OBiTALK DMP FAQ document: http://www.obihai.com/docs/OBiTALK-DMP-FAQ.pdf.

For direct support for service providers and system integrators, contact the team through email at spsupport@obihai.com
The Obihai Service Provider Support team is located at Campbell, CA, USA.

Observed Incorrect Practice: Using the consumer-focused OBiTALK forum and FAQ.
 
Clarification: Though there is useful help on OBi devices via the OBiTALK forum and retail user support FAQ, please note these resources are targeted for our retail and “bring-your-own-device” (BYOD) users who use a 'retail' version of the OBiTALK portal designed for an individual and/or their family.

Get Correct Firmware

Best Practice: Use firmware version releases provided in the designated firmware area at DMP portal. To access, go to the “Firmware” page in the DMP portal menu.
 
Link: https://www1.obitalk.com/obinet/pg/itspportal/fwinfo

Observed Incorrect Practice: Using firmware downloaded from the OBiTALK consumer forum which is typically named “OBi-latest.fw” with OBi models targeted for service provider deployment. E.g. OBi3 series, OBi5vs series, OBi1000 and OBi2000 series IP phones.

Clarification: The 'latest' firmware is for retail BYOD consumer end users and is NOT SUPPORTED for service providers and system integrators who use the DMP or other means to remotely manage OBi devices.

Adding or 'Claiming' Devices to the OBiTALK DMP

Best Practice: Newly procured devices can be assigned to your OBiTALK DMP account for Zero-Touch customization, either by the Obihai SP Support team or an approved distributor. Alternatively, you may self-assign them to your DMP account - just sign-in to your OBiTALK DMP account and use the Claim Device function.
 
For new partners looking to create an account for the DMP, please apply for the Obihai partner program at http://www.obihai.com/partner/partnerapp. A representative from Obihai will respond and guide you through the account activation process.

Observed Incorrect Practice: Adding devices using the Add Device function in the OBiTALK 'retail' consumer portal (see right-side image above).
 
Clarification: The OBiTALK DMP provides management features tailored for the use of service providers or system integrators deploying OBi devices en masse. The 'retail' consumer OBiTALK portal is not designed for a service provder with many disseparate subscribers. It is targeted for bring-your-own-device (BYOD), users and provides features targeted to an individual and their family.

Generating Device Configuration Files for Remote Provisioning

Best Practice: Use the Configuration Template Generator tool instead of using a back-up of the OBiTALK cloud configuration, the OBiTALK 'local' configuration or the integral device UI to back-up a configuration from a device. Also make sure that ALL DEFAULT VALUES MUST BE EXCLUDED from the configuration file (go to Options – Exclude All With Default Checked to do so).
 
With literally over a thousand parameters, locating the parameter you wish to configure can be a daunting and time-consuming task. With the Configuration Template Generator, you can use the search bar to locate a specific parameter, apply BroadSoft or NetSapiens tags, and exclude parameter default values from the configuration file. To use the “Configuration Template Generator” tool, sign-in to the OBiTALK DMP, then go to the “Tools” section. Instructions on how to use the Configuration Template Generator tool can be found on this page.

Observed Incorrect Practice:  Using a device's Local Configuration to configure an OBi device, then exporting the profile using “Download Local Configuration” in the DMP portal or using the Back-Up Configuration function from the device's integral web page. Then, not excluding default values from the configuration file, and then using this in a provisioning server or as a Base Profile for other devices to adopt during initial provisioning and subsequent profile updates.

Clarification: Typically, when designing and implementing a process to bootstrap and update device configurations with a remote provisioning server and/or OBiTALK DMP Base Profile(s), a system engineer / administrator would work with a single OBi device to get it successfully working, and then apply the configuration of this device as the template for configurations of all subsequent devices configured via remote provisioning or the OBiTALK DMP Base Profile(s).
 
Using this method to export (or back-up) configurations, the resulting file would contain the intended parameter values as intended by the administrator, but it would also include the provisioning of default values. Problems result when the parameter default values are pushed to the device via ITSP provisioning or the OBiTALK DMP Base Profile(s) overwriting either user derived changes in the configuration.  E.g. User made changes to volume, screen saver, DND (do not disturb) settings, This can also inhibit mechanisms that allow the administrator to properly manage the devices and will cause unexpected and confusing troubleshooting scenarios.
 
Remember that ITSP Provisioning takes precedence over OBiTALK derived configurations, local configuration, and configuration via the device's local UI.
Obihai would like to thank you for all your input and suggestions to help make the OBiTALK DMP better and better.  Please do not hesitate to send us more feedback and ideas.  Send email to spsupport@obihai.com or feel free to call the SP Support team at +1 (408) 890-6000 x150.  Finally, watch your email for the next installment of OBiTALK Device Management Best Practices and Pro Tips.
Published in April 19, 2017
Copyright © 2017 by Obihai Technology, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Obihai Technology
51 E Campbell Ave, Suite 160
Campbell, CA 95008