Strange effects ........

Is this normal:
I have 2 PBXes, 1 for site (a) and 1 for site (b).
If I sit at site (a) and login to site (b) PBX setup/status screen then incoming calls to site (a) become unstable (ringing and/or audio), with some ATAs even becoming unregistered. I have to restart PBX (a) and the ATAs before things calm down again.
Both sites are normal ADSL with NAT routers.
I am aware that 'sharing' extensions between sites and PBXes could cause problems, but does the same go for accessing PBX admin screens ?
Or is it just coincidence ...

Ron

RE: Strange effects ........

Hey Ron,

We are not aware of any such issues. I control daily about 4 accounts across a few servers without any of the issues you describe.

I have a few questions though, to help you narrow down the issue:

• Are you running any soft-phone at the PC you login with to the PBXes accounts?
• What kind of ATAs have you used in the two sites?

RE: Strange effects ........

Hi,
site (a) is all Linksys ATAs, site (b) is all Express Talk softphones.
last week I did run a softphone on my PC at site (a) connected to site (b) PBX. I immediately got this problem with the site (a) extensions, so disconnected and read the forums and haven't done it again.

However I just noticed the same symptoms occur when I tried to admin the other PBX (I also made several calls from site (a) outgoing trunk to site (b) incoming trunk).

Both PBXes use sipgate incoming trunks (seperate accounts) and Voicetrading outgoing trunk (same account with different caller IDs, not registered, outgoing only).

The first PBX has been operating well, with all previous issues sorted (ghost calls and dropped registrations). The 2nd PBX is new, up for 2 weeks with no reported problems.

Ron

RE: Strange effects ........

Hey Ron,

I suspect this is caused by port conflicts in these two networks. You should setup a packet capture utility, on a PC and connect all the SIP UAs on a hub, not a switch.

WireShark is very good at that, and you can save its' traces for later debugging. It would be advisable to set the packet capture utility on a different PC than the one you are having issues with.

Let us know if you need further help.

RE: Strange effects ........

Hi,
hmmm .... I think I'll have to work on the basis that it should work, then eliminate things. Unfortunately distances and access between offices on 1 site (2 upstairs, 2 down) makes wiring to a Hub difficult for wireshark purposes.
I'll start simple by checking all PCs for any softphone software, you never know !

Incidentally, how can I update previous problem threads (ie spa 3102 in terminal equipment) with fix details as I was the last poster on it. I hate leaving threads without a conclusion.

Regards
Ron

RE: Strange effects ........

Hey Ron,

Thanks for taking the time to update the older threads, thus keeping them organized and up to date.

In order to do so, please use the Edit button on your older messages, and update them to reflect the current state of the issue. If that doesn't work for you, let me know and I will help you out.

Have a nice day.

RE: Strange effects ........

Hi,
Problem was indeed a softphone on a laptop used previously from a different location.
Simplest things can catch you out sometimes.
Regards
Ron

RE: Strange effects ........

Happens all the time, to all of us. A ethernet packet trace will let you identify most of the issues.