How Redundancy Works
March 6th, 2013 by admin
The rapid development of phone and communication systems over the years has likely been addressed by your enterprise. Is an old-fashioned analog system just fine or does a SIP phone system spur productivity? What it really comes down to is reliability. Being connected to the Internet has some drawbacks, mainly being that if a communications link goes down, the result is downtime.
Redundancy is the answer to ensuring that the system is up and running all of the time. It means you have duplicate systems and components for the same purpose. While great in case the primary system goes down, the extra overhead does add to the overall cost. On the other hand, a resilient communications system is designed so your business can function without downtime. Depending on your enterprise, the investment may guarantee viability in additional revenue generating activities.
Multiple Circuits with Multiple Applications
While the temptation of technology has led many organizations to move to digital telephone systems, analog still plays a vital role. Hybrid systems are deployed in many cases. This is beneficial when it comes to redundancy, because if an analog line does go down, it can switch to the SIP. The reverse is also true. A digital wonder of technology can experience an outage, and you can go back to the analog setup without any loss in communications.
Another popular means for communications, Wi-Fi, is in play when it comes to utilizing multiple circuits for redundancy. On some SIP phones, you can dial out using Wi-Fi if all other systems fail. Instant connections to a local Wi-Fi network gives you access to any connected phone in the world. A Wi-Fi SIP phone is a hardware option that takes full advantage of the protocol. If you have a VoIP system in place, then it can establish sessions with other connected phones and devices, making it a very efficient, cost-effective solution for redundancy.
Guaranteed Performance
Redundancy is available only if you have the right equipment and service. There are numerous Wi-Fi SIP phones to choose from. One thing to consider is whether the device supports the bandwidth your organization needs. The same goes for any redundant component. Saving on costs by getting less functional equipment for the same job will do no good if your primary fails.The idea is to keep your business going in case of an outage. Only
100% uptime will ensure everything works all the time, and this is rarely the case. The only way to achieve it is to have potentially costly redundant systems. To identify whether multiple components with multiple functions is right for you, it is important to understand how tolerant your enterprise is to phone system outages. If an outage is acceptable, calculate how the length of time and frequency of downtime affects the organization financially.
Redundancy is beneficial only if what you pay for it truly offsets the risks and costs of outages. Remember phone bills will be approximately twice as much as otherwise. It is, however, the only way to guarantee 100% uptime to bypass the occasional communications outage.
Posted in: Information