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Add SP3, 4, 5, ...

Started by BobTeatow, February 20, 2012, 08:31:14 AM

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BobTeatow

(I've moved this out of another thread which de-generatated into name calling)

SP3,4,5 makes sense to me.  If the OBI device runs "out of gas" handling more than n calls, just have it signal busy at that point.  The interest here is not so much simultaneous calls, but being able to handle calls to/from multiple VOIP providers, choosing whichever has the best rates, reliability, quality, DID, etc...

MichiganTelephone

Bob, I requested this quite some time back (see http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=141.0) and back then I received this reply from OBi-Guru:

QuoteAdding SP3 and SP4 would not be possible on the same OBi.

However, this can be done by adding another OBi (or more), and have it daisy-chained with the first one, connected via OBi numbers in the gateway slots.

To be honest, when I received that reply my thought was to wonder why that should be the case.  I assumed it was due to memory constraints and didn't press the issue, but since then they've added several new features, among them the ability to record and store custom prompts, which I'm sure takes up considerable memory.  So now I'm even a more skeptical that this couldn't be done if someone at Obihai really wanted to see it implemented.

In that particular thread, there were six other people (besides me) that also wanted that feature:

Fabri
biomesh
Telecomgeek
plugger2
Thunderbird1
GizmoChicken

In addition, plugger2 had started a thread about gateways, at http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=246.msg1138#msg1138 — in looking at that thread, it appears to me that what at least some of those folks might have really wanted was the ability to have more than two Service Providers.

Given that a fair amount of time has passed since the above threads were posted, my hope would be that perhaps the Obihai folks have figured out some new programming techniques, or how to use memory more efficiently, or something that might induce them to take another stab at this.

I don't know about anyone else, but at least in my case the goal would NOT be to be able to use all the SP providers simultaneously.  I would be fine with a limitation that there could only be two ACTIVE calls at a time (or whatever the Obihai currently supports).  The only thing I would want is the ability to register with more than two providers so that the additional providers could be selected for outgoing calls, and so that I could receive incoming calls from any of them.  If I have reached the limit for active calls, I'd be fine with the Obihai device sending congestion or busy if an additional call tries to come in (in fact, that would probably be exactly what I'd want it to do - juggling two calls at once is enough of an issue!).

Even if it absolutely can't be done on the OBi110, you'd think it could be done on the OBi100, since that doesn't have a line port to deal with.  At least maybe add an SP3 in place of the missing LINE port?

So this is my roundabout way of saying that I wholeheartedly support this request, and I hope that those who chimed in on those earlier threads will add their support to this one.  Please, Obihai, can't you figure out some way to make this work?
Inactive, no longer posting or responding to messages.  Goodbye and good luck.  Some of my old Obihai-related blog posts have been moved to http://tech.iprock.com - note this in NOT my blog; I have simply given the owner permission to repost some of my old stuff.

QBZappy

#2
MT,

They have already figured out how to implement at least 4 SP accounts into one OBi110/100 unit. You can read up on the OBiPLUS Beta Program Announcement ( http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=1741.0 ), you will see this mentioned as a feature highlight. To setup a master OBi requires a simple firmware upgrade. Since the OBi people are offering it, it is clear that the units have enough resources to accomplish this feature request. The OBi people are offering it (additional SP accounts+other capabilities) as a value added service requiring users to pay $360 annually. IMO the additional SP slots are not going to be added into the OBi 100/110 product line for marketing reasons. In addition to this, they have mentioned an upcoming new generation OBi with built in router. Having additional SP slots might be the motivation to buy the new OBiplus service or perhaps the new OBi 201/200. They need to make it compelling enough for people to buy the new units. Can you think of a better way to drive sales?

Perhaps if enough people show some interest in this thread they may reconsider.
Owner of the 1st OBi110/100 units in service in Canada & South America. 1st OBi202 on my street. 1st OBi1032 in Montreal.

Stewart

I also feel that this would be a valuable addition to the OBi's capabilities.

Perhaps, the SP3 service could replace the dedicated OBiTALK slot; one would set X_ServProvProfile to A, B, or OBiTALK, as desired.

Possibly, it would take fewer resources if you did not provide full configuration flexibility.  For example, each Voice Gateway would simply have a "Register" checkbox.

Many users who desire this feature have two or more GV accounts.  If a Voice Gateway worked for GV as well as SIP (and had the Register option), you could have multiple GV accounts on one SPx.

If none of these are feasible, could you please explain the constraints?

Thanks for your consideration.