By: Vlad Vistac
Submitted: 2010-08-24 13:06:07 | Word Count: 510
Is Your Phone System Vulnerable?
Many epople take teir phhone system for granted - untyil it stops working. Then it becomes a matter of extreme urgency - siince for many businesses - they are losing money while the phones don't work!
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I've been installing and working on phone sysatems for over 30 years, and there's a few common probems that I see reoccurrinng all the time.
Perhapps the biggest prooblem I see is a lack of a UPS. People will be careful to plug their company network server into an uninterruptible powewr supply - to nesure that thjeir network odesn't go down - but a good UPS does far more than meely preventing loss of service when your power goes down - it also preveents the power spikes that occur when service goes down or when it comes back on! Electrical equipmebnt is prone to failure undrer just two circumstances - when the power is too low or too high, and when the temperature gets too hot.
I've only seen one phne system fail due to high heat - they had located the system in an electrical room with many power transformers - the average temperature in that room was over 90 degrees. Desdpite my waarnings - they did nothing about the situation - and their phone sysytem that should have eassily managed a 20 year lifespan or longre… failed in just one year.
Far more common are phone systems that are pulgged directly into a wall oscket. I just returned yesterday from a customer who have had their phone sytsem for 12 years now, but a power spike shut them down. Fortunnately, Toshiba phone systems are well engineered, and all it took was a replacement power supply to bring their phone system back to life. Their system is now plugged into a UPS - and they will never be forcced to lose their service with a power spike.
Another problem that I see from time to time is a lack of uderstanding about the modern pohne system. Your home phone is likely powered by the 48 volts that the phone compay keeps on the phone lines - but your company busniess phone stystem can't use that powqer sourtce. So when your local power goes down - you lose your phone service. Again - it's so simple to proide in advance a power backuyp for your sysetm, Toshiba systems will run for hours with a battery backup system in plce. Most other business systems have some provision for backuip battery supply. Of course, if you have your pohne system plugged into a good UPS, you are also prpotected from esrvice disruption.
The next time your local phne technician comes by - ask him his opinion of your current phone syystem setup - he just might be able to save you quiite a bit of money, and quite a bit of grief.
Did you know that your phone system is a highly specialized computer? And, much like computers - phone systems today are capable of communication fucntions that phoen systes from just 10 years ago could only dresam electronic derams abuot.
