Epygi Quadro simplifies VoIP

Though VoIP is not a new concept, it’s suddenly drawing attention like a homecoming queen in her prom dress. This newfound popularity is due to two sudden realizations: First, this stuff actually works; second, you can really save money with it.

Enter a host of new voice over IP products, such as the Quadro VoIP appliance series from Epygi. Epygi is a little-known vendor that’s just poking its head out of the lab after three years in development.

Although the company still has some work to do in terms of marketing and polish, the Quadro represents the best of an emerging breed, achieving a new level in plug-and-play functionality. Quadros come in multiple sizes, but the bottom line is that they’re designed to provide point-and-click VoIP via SIP, configurable by any network administrator in just a few minutes.

The Quadro4x we tested comes in a form factor similar in size to a desktop hub or switch. You’ll find four RJ11 ports on the back (acting as FXSes, foreign exchange stations), an additional two RJ11s designated for analog trunk service (FXO, foreign exchange office), and two RJ45 ports, one for WAN and one for LAN. You’ll also see two USB ports, but these are intended for later expansion.

The company claims that configuring VoIP with a Quadro is as simple as plugging two Quadros into the network, telling each about the other via a setup wizard, and picking up the phone. Surprisingly, that statement is mostly true.

We tested our Quadros in several scenarios. First we configured a local VPN tunnel between two SonicWall SOHOs and established connectivity. The devices accepted the link with no trouble and we had a conversation going in less than 10 minutes. Call quality was crystal clear.

We then tried the same maneuver between our University of Hawaii test lab and one of our New York-based sites. We could not get it to work, but we were never able to establish whether this was due to VPN flakiness (we were using two different models of SonicWall in that test) or an actual shortcoming on the part of the product.

Finally, we dropped two Quadros on either end of a dedicated point-to-point T1 link. Again, the two devices found each other immediately and we had voice going in less than 10 minutes. Overall, we were hugely impressed with the Quadro’s quick setup.

And this isn’t just barebones toll bypass, either. Quadros are based on an embedded Linux kernel running Epygi’s proprietary SIP-based call manager. A little time with the documentation — which needs some serious work — and one of several configuration screens, and you’ll have voice mail, call conferencing, and call forwarding, which we tested straight out to our cell phones.

On the directory side, Epygi provides a freely accessible SIP directory server via the Net. Users can register with this server or not; the advantage to doing so being that it is a quick, easy way to create a functioning VoIP directory for your organization.

These boxes aren’t perfect. Our wish list with the Quadro was relatively short but significant nonetheless. The four FXS ports are for analog phones only, an important limitation. If your remote office is using Meridian digital handsets, for example, you’re out of luck — unless you provide for translation between the Quadro and the site’s existing PBX.

And if relegated to only four phones, the Quadro’s usefulness drops significantly. You can configure multiple Quadros, of course, but this presents a small challenge when it comes to providing the FXO trunk lines.

There are other models of Quadro available, but the largest at the moment is a 16-port version, called the Quadro16x. Epygi also recently released a T1/E1 translator, the QuadroE1/T1. This product is designed to convert signals from your existing behemoth PBX into SIP so the Quadro can provide its services in aggregate.

After these few complaints, however, we must admit we were hugely impressed with the Quadro solution overall. Solid performance, an excellent price point, and an overall great job at hiding the internal mess of VoIP configuration makes the Quadro line a huge step forward in making common use of VoIP.