nexvortex VOIP DISASTER RECOVERY BUSINESS SOLUTION Terry Prime Chief Technology Officer February 2007 Copyright 2007
Introduction The telephone service is a strategic component of any business or government department. Having the peace of mind that your calls will still be delivered even in the event of a catastrophic failure, a natural disaster or a site emergency is a key element of a Continuity Of Operations (COOP) strategy that business users need and demand. nexvortex s Business Grade VoIP service has been specifically designed for business users and supports our unique. This white paper explains how nexvortex s operates and it provides configuration examples for different COOP strategies. Description Single Site Multi-Homed to Two Different s NexVortex Switch B Internet A Copyright 2007 Page 2
This first example shows a site with the telephone system configured as a multi-homed system with two separate s and two separate IP addresses. The telephone system is configured with the nexvortex proxy IP address through A as the primary route. All outbound and inbound calls are routed through A. In this scenario a problem occurs with the access to A, the telephone system has been configured to route all outbound calls to B and all inbound calls will be automatically delivered through B by nexvortex. There is complete continuity of operations and no interruption in the voice service. nexvortex will deliver an alert to a configurable group of addresses informing the recipients that there is a problem with the line and that Disaster Recovery routing is in progress. The alerts can be sent to email addresses or to cellular phones using a text message (if the cellular operator service supports the messaging interfaces). In this example 911 calling will operate seamlessly without modification. Multi Site IP Routing nexvortex Switch Site 1 Internet Site 2 Copyright 2007 Page 3
In this second example we see a multi-site business with each system configured for single access. Each site s telephone system is configured with the nexvortex proxy IP address through their respective. Each site operates independently but managed under the same nexvortex corporate account. In this scenario a problem occurs with the telephone system at site 1 or there is a site problem such as a power outage, fire or flood. Multi-Homing from the previous example would not help. Outbound calls from site 1 are not possible but home or temporary office calling using the same nexvortex corporate account can be established extremely quickly as authentication credentials enable connectivity and the change in IP address is managed by the nexvortex service. In this example inbound calls are automatically delivered to site 2 by the nexvortex service. Site 2 can be anywhere in the United States OR Overseas enabling geographic redundancy for large natural disaster s. Calls can be delivered uniquely identified so they can be routed to an emergency help desk at site 2 if required. There is complete continuity of operations for inbound calling with no interruption in the voice service. As in the above example, nexvortex will deliver an alert to a configurable group of addresses informing the recipients that calls are being re-routed to site 2 (for example the management at site 2 whose staff are now receiving the calls for site 1). Once site 1 is back in service calls are automatically delivered back to the preferred location. Copyright 2007 Page 4
Single Site PSTN Backup nexvortex Switch Internet Cell Phone PSTN Home Phone In this third example we see a site with the telephone system configured for single access. The site s telephone system is configured with the nexvortex proxy IP address. In this scenario a problem occurs with the Internet access, telephone phone system or at the site and there is no second site to route calls to. As described in the second example, calls from the site are not possible but home or temporary office calling using the same nexvortex corporate account can be established extremely quickly with nexvortex automatically managing the IP address. In this example calls are automatically delivered to cell phones or home phones again providing complete continuity of operations for inbound calling. As described above, nexvortex will deliver an alert to a configurable group of addresses. In this example, the call is being made back to the PSTN and therefore the usage associated with the forwarded calls will be charged according to the user s plan. Copyright 2007 Page 5
Single Site Integrated VoIP/PSTN Backup nexvortex Switch Internet PSTN In this last example we see a site with the system configured to have VoIP service and PSTN service. Either can be used for the primary route with the other operating as backup. The nexvortex service can be configured to deliver the same caller ID as is being delivered on the PSTN so that outbound calls are presented consistently. If the PSTN is the primary route and the line fails outbound calls can be automatically routed to the nexvortex service and if nexvortex is primary route and the access fails outbound calls will be automatically routed through the PSTN. For inbound calls being delivered over a primary route of VoIP, if the access fails as shown in the diagram above, nexvortex will automatically re-route calls to the PSTN, alerting the user of the issue. If the PSTN is the primary route and fails there may have Copyright 2007 Page 6
to be a manual operation at the PSTN carrier to enable calls to be forwarded to the nexvortex service and no alerts will be sent of the PSTN failure to the user. This is a limitation of the PSTN service. Why use this configuration of integrated VoIP/PSTN backup? After some of the recent disasters including Hurricane Katrina it was found that data lines were often back in service earlier than legacy PSTN lines. Users that have access to both VoIP and PSTN can be back in service as soon as the first access is back in operation, whether data or PSTN. Up to 3 alternate IP or PSTN routes can be specified using nexvortex s VoIP Disaster Recovery. The feature is triggered as soon as the nexvortex service receives an error response from the end system or times-out on call delivery. An example configuration using these alternate routes could be that a businesses main number routes to the home phone of employee 1 and if that fails or is busy to the cell phone of employee 2 and if that fails to the cell phone of employee 3. Additionally the direct number of each employee s extension routes directly to their cell phone. Please note that any new locations will require 911 location data to be updated. For more information on nexvortex s please email us at info@nexvortex.com or call 703-579-0200 Copyright 2007 Page 7