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how hard is it to add voicemail?

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jp61616

Technical User
Jun 16, 2005
83
US
People at my school always ask me about voicemail, which we don't have. We have a nortel meridian opt 11 that runs in 2 cabinets. One cabinet with cards is a IPE shelf. The older cabinet runs the "Q" style cards and handles older SL1 phones and some analog. The tech from Verizon said we could add a "call pilot" system. How hard is it to add voicemail? Would this be something we could just plug in and configure or is it more complex than that?
 
not a plug and play, but with the config wizard and the included program manual for the switch changes it's not that bad. it will take about 4 hours to get the complete box setup.. then add mailboxes and menus if you need them. each set then needs to be changed to give it mail

john poole
bellsouth business
columbia,sc
 
Call Pilot can be easy or complicated depending on features and applications you want.

One thing for sure you will need your check book

$$$$$
 
...IPE Shelf...Q style cards...SL1 sets...

You've got a older Option 51,61,51C, or 61C system and not an Option 11.

CallPilot voice mail can still be added. That is after the PBX software and CPU are upgraded. Which will require that the Q style cards and SL1 sets be changed out to newer equipment.

Somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000 should get the job done. Some money can be saved with used equipment. Or buy a complete, used Option 11C with Meridian Mail to replace the existing system. Figure $10,000 to $20,000 depending upon the cost of the Option 11C.
 
Another thought.

The CallPilot Mini may be an option here. It will go up to 8 ports and plenty of voice mail storage hours. Can even do unified messaging. Overall not as fully featured as CallPilot but it is priced much lower.

Officialy CP Mini is only capatible with the Option 11C PBX back to release 22 (?) so I do know if it would work with a larger Option PBX.

There are also 3rd party options with voice mail systems such as Octel and Centigram but they have their own cost, capatibility, and support issues.
 
Opps, you are right it's a 61c. So before we can do anything we have to add another IPE shelf and get rid of the Q cards and SL-1 phones, right? Then update the PBX software and CPU and then add voicemail - correct?
 
correct, even better then an 11, but it's going to cost a buck or two

john poole
bellsouth business
columbia,sc
 
but your at a school, money shouldn't be a problem. ... i work at a hospital that sells asprin for 8 bucks a pop and i can't get a box of pens the same month as the request.. of course the data side can buy spare (50K) blades because they don't remember what they did with there 2 spares... ?

john poole
bellsouth business
columbia,sc
 
JP why is that its the same here I cant by a new telephone ,but the network side has a lab with spare servers in it
 
i think it's the same way everwhere. we have at least two servers a week go down, let the switch require a reboot and i have to write a 10 page manifesto.. welcome to telcom

john poole
bellsouth business
columbia,sc
 
If by chance your 61C is currently running on release 25.40B or higher you may be able to just add CallPilot and leave the PBX software and hardware unchanged.

With all earlier releases being in end-of-life status Nortel will require a software upgrade the current release of 4.5. There are two hardware engineering issues with release 4.5:

EPE hardware: As 4.5 does not support the old EPE equipment your Q style cards, Sl-1 sets, and any M2009 and M2018 digital telephones will changed out to IPE equipment and newer telephones.

CPU hardware: Release 4.5 requires either the motorola 68060 or 688060E CPUs or one of the Pentium CPUs. So if your system is currently running on a 68030 or 68040 cpu an CPU and storage unit upgrade will be required.

Also, check to see how your 61C/IPE column is being powered. If it is DC powered by the same rectifier (power supply) located in the old EPE SL-1 cabinet you'll either need to purchase a new DC power system or leave the SL-1 cabinet in place. And that rectifier has likely been humming the same tune now for over 15 years so it may be getting a little tired.

Converting the IPE column to AC is an option. Using used hardware would keep the cost down.

Each of these elements keeps adding to the cost. However, I'm sure that your school's business manager has been storing all the money saved by not upgrading the telephone system over the years in a special account to be spent only on telecom systems. That is unless it was spent elsewhere.




 
Thanks - that's kind of what I thought. I'll have to work on getting rid of the Q cards, cabinet, and sl-1 phones and then worry about voicemail. One thing at a time around here!
 
Another option is a third pary mail that will work off of analog ports and a voice bridge. With this set up you should only be in the 10K range.
 
I checked our software and it says:
version 25.11
release 23
issue 55

How do I tell if this software is at end of life or not? I checked the nortel site and could not find the info. Also, as I understand it if the software is too old nortel makes you jump up a few versions - is this correct?
 
It is & yes they will want to upgrade your system to the latest level. Which really if the price tag is not to high might not be a bad idea.
 
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