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Extreme Networks Automates IP Handset Provisioning

Posted by Amy Larsen DeCarlo on March 7, 2007

Automatic port provisioning should reduce operation costs by reducing manual configuration and the potential problems with fat-fingering a configuration. A single policy can be defined and tested before rolling it out enterprise-wide. Further, Extreme Networks' Universal Port supports multiple device policies on a single port. For example, an Avaya IP Phone and a desktop connected to the Ethernet port on the phone will receive their own port policies, independent of one another. Extreme also is trying to build a community similar to the open-source model where organizations develop their own profiles and share them. Extreme will, from time to time, test and redistribute some or all of the user-submitted policies under a royalty-free license. Building community is a difficult task and Extreme must develop the tools--like a Wiki--around which a community can develop and grow. Mike Fratto NWC Technology Editor

Extreme Networks launched new software this week at VoiceCon 2007 that it says will eliminate much of the manual labor associated with provisioning new IP phones.

Extreme's new Handset Provisioning Module automatically finds newly activated IP handsets, configures the new phones and provisions the appropriate network resources to support the new devices. It is used along with Extreme's Universal Port software, which provides a connection-management framework to configure switches in response to changing network conditions.

The software can identify handsets from Cisco Systems, Mitel Networks, Nortel Networks and ShoreTel, which account for 65 percent of the IP phones sold today, Extreme said.

The handset-provisioning software helps network managers avoid the tedious and often error-prone task of provisioning new devices at the edge by distributing an edge-port profile to each new phone on the network. If network devices are moved or added, the software can set network parameters to comply with policies in the areas of access control, network topology, power and bandwidth allocation, and QoS (quality of service). The software module can also configure IP handsets if they support the LLDP (Link-Layer Discovery Protocol).

Extreme is publishing the Handset Provisioning Module source code in the public domain. It will support developers with a guide on testing and by releasing customer-created advances made to the software, the vendor said.