I’m just getting started with the new Digium SwitchVox AA60 unit.  This VoIP telephone system was introduced this past spring. I’ll be evaluating it with two Polycom SIP phones and a Junction Networks IAX trunk account for PSTN dialtone.

SwitchVox is a San Diego-based IP Telephony technology integrator that has been producing very eyeball-friendly Asterisk phone systems for the last several years. Brian and Tristan Degenhardt, both with SwitchVox since its early days, were instrumental in publishing my second book, VoIP Hacks, as Brian contributed some fantastic material for the book, and Tristan coordinated his contributions.

I met Tristan briefly at Fall VON Boston two years ago (in the Asterisk Pavilion), but didn’t have much time to go over things with her.  Well, as it turns out, SwitchVox was very soon later acquired by Digium, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The AA60 is aimed at small offices (there are more capable models aimed at larger offices, of course). Street price on these is around $3400 for a 10-user bundle.  Now I’ve never been a big fan of licensing users for PBX access (especially on an open-source system), but I realize there’s no better way of appropriately monetizing the offering.

Initial setup of the AA60 involves connecting a PC keyboard, mouse, and monitor to the rear panel of the AA60 (shown a few scrolls down).  Once you’ve done the network setup, the keyboard, mouse, and monitor are no longer needed, and the unit is configured through a fantastic web interface. Actually, SwitchVox’s web interface is arguably the main reason Digium acquired the company.

So the AA60 is really a PC. It does have sort of an odd form-factor. I was expecting it to be 19″ rack-mount standard, but its enclosure is about the size of a slimline/SFF desktop PC, maybe a bit bigger.  Digium does include a mounting bracket for placing the AA60 on a wall board.

Now the AA60 doesn’t come with any legacy telephony interfacing out of the box, though Digium’s cards can be configured and installed as a part of your order. This would allow you to equip the unit with T1/E1 PRI access or analog trunk/station ability.  I have a Digium Wildcard TDM with two stations and two trunks that I’m going to try out as a part of this demonstration, so I’ll let you know how that goes.

The AA60, unlike other VoIP appliances (such as the Jazinga we looked at a few weeks back), delivers only voice functionality. That is, it isn’t a switch, router, or firewall.  For installers looking at a more high-end PBX product with fewer strings attached, this is a blessing.  For some offices, and all-in-one unit makes sense. I would argue though, that for most, having a standalone PBX makes the most sense.  Keeping PBX separate from infrastructure spreads out the points of failure and doesn’t make your phone system reliant on a bundled switch or router. Digium has wisely decided not to include those extra components.

In the next post, we’ll get into configuring the AA60 and talk about the pros and cons, if we discover any. See you then.