Note: This is part II of a three-part blog series. See Part I here.

In the previous blog, you’ve learned why PoE, FXO and FXS matter to Grandstream UCM. Now let’s talk a little bit on Asterisk.

To be brief, Asterisk is a free open source telephony platform. What that means is that it can be used either by itself for no cost (install it on your own server, and you must manually edit config files), or can be built upon like a foundation by companies like Grandstream. Grandstream has added to Asterisk’s code and provided a graphical interface on the UCM series that makes deploying and managing a system a task that most people can accomplish easily. Granstream is not alone in using Asterisk to provide a cost-effective solution, but where they do stand out is how simplified they made the interface, in a good way. For many, VoIP is an obscure and somewhat alien subject, but the UCM makes basic setup very manageable.

Grandstream also makes some pretty great IP phones as well, which conveniently will auto-provision when paired with the UCM series IP PBX. If you’re not familiar, auto-provisioning is the process of configuring a phone centrally, via the system rather than having to configure each phone individually. This is particularly useful for when you are deploying a lot of phones, possibly in different geographic locations. However, you are not restricted to Grandstream phones. As mentioned before, the UCM is a SIP based system, meaning it built on the open SIP standard. In my years of using the Grandstream UCM, I have not run into a SIP IP phone yet that I could not get to work with it. Of course, you will need to manually provision (log into each phone and configure). That can be a big pain if you want to use Polycom phones and have 100 of them to configure. However, it can be a HUGE money saver if you just threw your old phone system in the trash, because it was terrible, but have 100 Polycom phones that you do not want to replace.

The current generation of the Grandstream UCM series is the 6200, and the 6510. You will still see some 6100 series (first generation), but they will eventually phase out. With that said, you can probably get a great deal on the first generation which is essentially identical to the new series, with older internal hardware. If you’re on an extreme budget, look for a 6100 series UCM in VoIP Supply’s Refresh department.

Let’s talk about features. You might expect a skimpy feature set in such a small package, but you’d be wrong. It does just about everything you need a phone system to do. But the best feature is that there is no licensing. Everything is included. You are not limited by concurrent calls, or how may extensions you are able to add. Here are just some of the features:

• Extensions
• Ring Groups
• Call Queues
• Conference Bridge
• Voicemail to Email
• Analog Trunks
• Multi-Level Auto Attendant
• Follow Me
• Dial by Name Directory
• Automated Callback
• Call Recording
• Call Monitoring
• Paging/Intercom
• Call Detail Records
• Automated Backups
• Integrated LDAP and XML Phonebooks
• SRTP/TLS Support

In the next blog: The Granstream UCM Product Review – Choose the right UCM, I will guide you to the right UCM you need for your system.

I am what you might call a “phone geek”.

I’ve developed, supported, and tinkered with just about every popular SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) based VoIP platform out there, and I’ve been in search of a system that every day IT Pro’s, business owners, and even homeowners can install and manage without any real training. I think the best systems are intuitive and un-restrictive. They should be feature-rich, and most of all, competitive in their price point.

I ran across the Grandstream UCM back in 2013, before I had an affiliation with VoIP Supply. I bought a UCM 6102 just because I thought it was interesting, and I was just starting to sink my teeth into the VoIP field. It was a small (similar in size to a consumer wireless router) PoE powered IP PBX with two FXO and two FXS ports. It was Asterisk powered (arguably the leader in open source IP telephony) and therefore SIP based. That meant I could use any SIP based IP phone with it.

So, why does any of that matter? A small form factor means you can put it just about anywhere. This is especially useful for small businesses, who might not have a server room, with a network rack. Something very unique is that you can power it with PoE. What’s PoE? It’s when a network switch delivers power to devices, like phones, wireless access points, or IP cameras over a standard network cabling. The UCM comes with a 12V DC power supply, but, of course, it’s optional since you can just plug it into your (PoE enabled) switch to run it. This gives you a lot of options when deciding where to place, or mount it in your building.

The FXO and FXS ports also add to the flexibility in that you can continue to use your analog service (FXO port), and also use analog devices such as a fax machine, wall phone, door phone, etc (FXS). For a detailed explanation of FXO and FXS be sure to watch VoIP Supply’s video:What is FXO/FXS? You are not restricted to using analog service on the system, as you can also use SIP trunks, but it allows you to transition for one to the other, or use a hybrid of both.

In the next blog of the Grandstream UCM IP PBX Product Review series, we will talk more about Asterisk and some important features.