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The following are answers to some frequently asked general questions about the CrystalBlue Voice Service. For answers to additional questions, download a PDF of all FAQs or click through and read the following FAQs: Whose IP network are you using?
There are two components to this question. At the local level, Whaleback uses a variety of vendors nationwide depending on reliability and Quality of Service (QoS) to the customer premises. At the carrier level, Whaleback is co-located at two carrier partner sites. We run our own Sonus network equipment, which enables us to monitor all calls and network activity, as well as route calls between partners to maintain defined QoS parameters. How do you guarantee quality when you don't know the volume of bandwidth?
Whaleback Systems provisions customer bandwidth as part of the CrystalBlue Voice Service. Based on the broadband connection and throughput, we set parameters that define the number of concurrent calls and denial of service parameters when thresholds are exceeded. What happens if the file server goes down?
Calls will be redirected to a pre-defined “fail-over” number that the customer establishes – typically a cell phone, a remote office phone or even a home phone number. What happens if the server goes down entirely? Is any redundancy built into the server?
Currently the SMB 1500 is not configured with disk-mirroring. All customer configurations are centrally maintained at the Whaleback Network Operations Center. In the event a server is completely out of service, calls will be redirected to the pre-defined “fail-over” number designated by the customer. The customer also has an option to maintain a “cold standby” server on site. In this case Whaleback would download the customer’s configuration and service would be restored. What reports are provided to the customer?
Currently, we do not provide pre-defined Call Detail Record (CDR) reports. However, a variety of calls statistics are collected in the server that are available for exporting and can be processed by an external report generation utility. What happens to inbound calls when there is a power failure or DSL failure?
In the event of a power failure, the system will remain running as long as a UPS is in place. Whaleback is the only managed voice service provider that maintains call quality 24X7 from the IP phone to the edge or our network for every customer site. To maximize reliability we have a redundant Sonus gateway backbone to enable alternate call paths over the same physical broadband circuit from your site into our network. If the broadband should fail (e.g. looses power) we automatically reroute your main number and DIDs to predefined “fail-over” numbers and revert when service is restored. Does the customer get an actual T1, or what level of "dedicated" service do they receive?
Whaleback provisions a “dedicated” broadband voice connection. We maintain and monitor the connection for throughput speeds (up and down), traffic usage, and QoS level.
Are there any remote geographical limitations?
The only geographical limitation for a Whaleback implementation is broadband (DSL, cable) availability. Whose broadband network are you using to connect to the end customer?
Whaleback Systems works with most broadband providers across the country. We have established relationships with them for customer engineering and support. Are there any feature limitations… call waiting, operator assisted calls?
Call Waiting, Consultative Transfers (operator assisted), Blind Transfer, Voice Announce, Music-On-Hold, Group Paging, Conference Calls, Transfer (both internal and external) and typical Key System features are available. Does Whaleback support E911?
Yes, the Whaleback solution is E911 compliant. We provide every customer with a copper line for E911 purposes. The line is connected to the system through an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA) to enable any user from the main location to pick-up the phone and dial “911.” This is included with the service. Do Polycom phones support VLAN and priority (i.e., IEEE 802.1p/q)?
The Polycom phones support a 802.1Q VLAN header as set in the manual phone screen entry via Cisco Discovery Protocol on a connected Ethernet switch, when set from DHCP. The 802.1p/Q priority field is supported by the phone and future release of ORCA OS will support management of these settings. These settings will be independently set for voice payloads, call signaling and all other data traffic from devices plugged into the Ethernet pass through port on the phone. Do Polycom phones support IEEE or Cisco Power Over Ethernet (POE) protocol?
Models 650, 601 and 430 all auto sense and support either PoE implementation. Models 500, 501, 300, 301 require a different adapter cable for IEEE vs Cisco. Whaleback provides phones with IEEE cables. Is your system compatible with a telemarketing application using a predictive dialer?
Currently, the Whaleback system supports OrcaDial, our click-to-dial feature for heavy outbound dialing. We do not support predictive dialers at this time but have a solution in the planning stages that is expected to be released soon. What are the capabilities or limitations of RoadWarrior phones with regard to voice paging on intercom, hands free answer back, voice page send and voice page receive?
Regarding these specific features, RoadWarrior phones provide the following capabilities: - Voice Paging on Intercom – Polycom Road Warriors can originate and receive intercom calls (Intercom buttons).
- Hands Free Answer Back – Polycom Road Warriors can originate and receive hands free answer back calls (7xxx dialing).
- Voice Page Send – Polycom Road Warriors can originate paging calls.
- Voice Page Receive – Road Warriors cannot participate in any paging groups.
Are there any features that are not available with RoadWarrior?
RoadWarrior does NOT support the following features:Receiving group voice paging is not available.Distinctive ringing settings are not available. - Some phone settings such as forwarding are not maintained across a reboot.
- OrcaDial works, but the user’s PC must be connected to the company’s network.
- Road Warriors use twice the bandwidth for outbound calls, so a customer with all Road Warriors would require twice the broadband capacity when the site is installed.
Have more questions? We've got the answers. Read our other FAQs or download a PDF of all FAQs, and if you have any questions that we haven't answered than contact Whaleback and we'll answer them for you.
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