IT Pro Verdict

This device's IP PBX feature set is ideal for a small office. Although it's not as powerful or flexible as advanced dedicated IP PBX systems, it's incredibly simple to set up and did everything we asked of it. Call quality was excellent and we had no problem using it with our usual VoIP phones and softphones. The Vigor's capabilities as a router are as simple and effective as its IP PBX features. There's remarkably little on market to compare it to, as this is the first device we've seen from a major manufacturer to combine a router with an IP PBX. At around £370, it costs a little over twice as much as Draytek's standard Vigor 2820 router. Although it may be possible to buy a similarly specified dedicated IP PBX appliance and a separate router for a little less, configuration will certainly not be as simple as it has proved to be with the VigorIPPBX.

By Andrew Webb, K.G. Orphanides

published 2 February 2010

in Reviews

Still more configuration screens allow you to set up multiple PVCs (Permanent Virtual Circuits), load balancing profiles, static route configuration and connection details for up to four VLANs. There are comprehensive VPN configuration options for PPTP, IPSec, L2TP and even ISDN Dial-In protocols. A Certificate Management menu allows you to generate and import digital certificates for additional security.

The meat of the IP telephony settings are dealt with in the IP PBX configuration screens. We were impressed by the ease of set up thanks to a range of helpful wizards and options menus. The device comes with a voucher for 2 of credit with Draytel, Draytek's own VoIP provider, which means you can make sure your IP PBX is functioning properly before committing to a provider. Setting up a Draytel SIP line is remarkably simple. When you sign up for the service, you're provided with all the information you need - all you have do is enter it into the SIP Trunk settings under the IP PBX Line Management options.

When we created a new SIP Trunk connection it automatically generated default values for its SIP local

port and Proxy Port, leaving us to type in the information from our provider, such as our Display Name, Account Number and Authentication ID. You're not limited to using Draytel - various SIP providers are supported, including Gizmo Project, Call1899 and Call18866. If you wish to use another provider, as with any IP PBX, you should always either contact them or check their website for a list of supported devices and follow the configuration guidelines they will supply.