VoIP Insider

Patton Smartnode High Port Count FXO Gateways

The Patton Smartnode 4300 series gateway and Smartnode 4400 series gateway-router have been useful to the VoIP world for many years as a high port count FXS gateway, or IP Channel Bank. Now, with the addition of 8 new models, the SN4300 and SN4400 offer FXO connectivity as well.

The Patton Smartnode 4300 series is a VoIP Gateway offering 12, 16, 24, or 32 FXS or FXO ports. Similar to the SN4300, the 4400 is an enhanced package including a router. The Smartnode 4400 offers complete access routing with 2 10/100 Ethernet ports, NAT, Firewall, PPPoE, DHCP, DynDNS, multiple VLANs & VPN with IPsec.

High port count FXO gateways allow for some key features in SMEs. First, they allow for PSTN connectivity for local calls. Using SIP trunks is great, but if a high volume of your calls are local, why not use the PSTN? Two and 4 port FXO gateways are readily available, but larger businesses may need more, and stacking gateways is no fun. If the SME has multiple locations in different geographic regions, adding high port count FXO gateways at each location and linking them via the Internet allows the business to take advantage of low cost local PSTN calling in each remote region.

In large organizations who rely on SIP trunking for their voice communications, the Smartnode 4400 and 4300 can provide PSTN fallback in the event of an Internet outage. The SN4300 is a fantastic addition to the server closet for call centers where voice connectivity is the absolute heart of the business and downtime cannot be tolerated.

The Smartnode 4300 and 4400 is also a great appliance for businesses who want to move to VoIP in a gradual series of steps and not all in one weekend. You can start by implementing a VoIP PBX and using an FXS gateway to give your users the ability to continue to use their analog phones. Or you can connect your IP PBX to the PSTN so you can learn how to best use the features in your VoIP PBX while still relying on the trustworthy service of your PSTN for access.

High port count FXO gateways allow for some key features in SMEs. First, they allow for PSTN connectivity for local calls. Using SIP trunks is great, but if a high volume of your calls are local, why not use the PSTN? Two and 4 port FXO gateways are readily available, but larger businesses may need more, and stacking gateways is no fun. If the SME has multiple locations in different geographic regions, adding high port count FXO gateways at each location and linking them via the Internet allows the business to take advantage of low cost local PSTN calling in each remote region.

In large organizations who rely on SIP trunking for their voice communications, the Smartnode 4400 and 4300 VoIP gateways can provide PSTN fallback in the event of an Internet outage. The SN4300 is a fantastic addition to the server closet for call centers where voice connectivity is the absolute heart of the business and downtime cannot be tolerated.

The 4300 and 4400 Patton Gateways are also great appliances for businesses who want to move to VoIP in a gradual series of steps and not all in one weekend. A gradual migration to VoIP is achieved by implementing a VoIP PBX and using an FXS gateway to give your users the ability to continue to use their analog phones. Or you can connect your IP PBX to the PSTN so you can learn how to best use the features in your VoIP PBX while still relying on the trustworthy service of your PSTN for access.

Christina Smith

Christina is a former VoIP Supply Product Manager.

I have been working in a product standards position since 1999 when I began my days at Ingram Micro. In the past 10 years I have worked closely with hundreds of tier one manufacturer partners including Samsung, Citrix, Panasonic, PowerDsine, HP, and NEC.

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Free Encrypted Voip says:

October 3, 2012 at 8:45 AM

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