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Can you make the Auto Provisioning switches on the OBi work as expected?

Started by QBZappy, May 10, 2012, 10:48:15 PM

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QBZappy

System Management -> Auto Provisioning -> Auto Firmware Update -> Method : Disabled
System Management -> Auto Provisioning -> ITSP Provisioning -> Method : Disabled
System Management -> Auto Provisioning -> OBiTALK Provisioning -> Method : Disabled
Voice Services -> OBiTALK Service -> Enable : Unchecked

Perhaps user expectations of the above mentioned on/off switches on the OBi are not clear to me. It is understood that "Disabled" means that the feature it controls should not be functional. However it would be difficult to accept that these controls are working in the manner in which users intend to use them.

Can we agree in the near future to accept the following definition of the meaning of these switches.
Disabled means  NO
Enabled means  YES

Enforcing this behavior on the units enhances the value of the units as it makes it more predictable, stable, and usable. Discussions on this topic are happening on the major voip forums at the moment. It is no longer possible to avoid it. A reply would be very much appreciated by your supporters.
Owner of the 1st OBi110/100 units in service in Canada & South America. 1st OBi202 on my street. 1st OBi1032 in Montreal.

QBZappy

System Management -> Auto Provisioning -> Auto Firmware Update -> Method : Disabled
System Management -> Auto Provisioning -> ITSP Provisioning -> Method : Disabled
System Management -> Auto Provisioning -> OBiTALK Provisioning -> Method : Disabled
Voice Services -> OBiTALK Service -> Enable : Unchecked

It has since been explained by OBihai that some of these settings are intended for use with 3rd party voice service providers (VSP). All this confusion is largely a result of
1) poor design
2) lack of clear explanations
3) managing user concerns in a timely manner

All of the above is under the direct control of OBihai. There is a lesson in this for the OBihai management. I hope it is not lost on you.

If the OBi units are targeted at different markets, then the management of these units should be designed in a way that each class of user should be offered  controls of interest to them. At the moment it seems many of these management controls are lumped together. It is up to us to figure it out. Even "expert users" could not understand your design methodology. That is a recipe for confusion and bad user experience. Hindsight is 20/20. If you needed any proof, the flurry of voip chatter on the various voip forums and here on this forum should be convincing enough.
Owner of the 1st OBi110/100 units in service in Canada & South America. 1st OBi202 on my street. 1st OBi1032 in Montreal.

JohnBowler

QBZappy: could you post an explanation of what the two settings (enabled/disabled) on each of those switches does?  A definition of the word "provisioning" would probably help too - I'm not a telecomite, I'm a software geek, I know it means something weird but I don't know what it is.  (I am a native English speaker, but that doesn't help.)

I've noticed that the Obitalk and the Obi202 have different opinions about what the current settings on a 202 are, yet clearly there can only be one setting.  I've also noticed that obitalk can't change some settings possibly as a result, and it can't change other settings because "apply" simply doesn't make a change.  I've also noticed that my "provisioning" options got "disabled".

A logical assumption would be that the 202 auto-disables feeding from some source (provision == food, right?) when an option is changed via the LAN web interface and that option does not auto-update back to the potential provisioner/feeder, however I can believe that logic is an erroneous assumption in this case.

John Bowler <jbowler@acm.org>

QBZappy

JohnBowler,


This is the best thread to get the official explanation of what you are asking about. Basically if you leave the OBitalk service enabled, OBihai can ignore your settings for firmware update and impose one on the unit if they judge it to be appropriate for any reason. This is one of the two liveliest threads on the forum. Unfortuenately the other thread has been deleted, hence the follow up thread.

Straight from the horses mouth (sorry Sherman, just an expression)

Sherman
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=3229.msg21575#msg21575
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=3229.msg21585#msg21585
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=3229.msg21592#msg21592
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=3229.msg21621#msg21621

Dan_voip
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=3229.msg21613#msg21613
Owner of the 1st OBi110/100 units in service in Canada & South America. 1st OBi202 on my street. 1st OBi1032 in Montreal.

JohnBowler

Yeah, right.  Ok, I've turned all that stuff off.

The Obi dashboard now says that my 202 is online, but since it definately doesn't report the same QoS settings in the router menu as the LAN web page does (well, I did disable Obitalk as the above threads suggested, but it was wrong before too) I'm giving up on that interface.

Pity.  Nice idea; I quite like the idea of the configuration being stored in the cloud, but give that it doesn't work it's not ready for prime time.

John Bowler <jbowler@acm.org>