Bizfon 4000 - Manual (Page 10)

Bizfon Manual I: Installation Guide Step 1: Installing the Bizfon
Step 1: Installing the Bizfon
Networking Overview
To establish a connection between the Internet and your local area network (LAN), an ac-
cess router is needed. The Bizfon IP PBX serves, among other functions, as an access
router, and will perform the task of connecting your LAN, or a group of one or more PCs, to
the wide area network (WAN) or the Internet. The Bizfon will process and regulate the data
traffic between these two networks. All Bizfon IP PBXs have one LAN port that can connect
to Ethernet hubs and switches on the LAN, allowing additional devices to be connected to
the network.
The Bizfon is a device with two sides: one side connects to your LAN, and the other side
connects to the Internet, or the WAN. Bizfon’s firewall and Network Address Translation
(NAT) functionality protects your LAN from being seen from the Internet side making the
LAN private and secure.
The Ethernet WAN port transmits up to 10 Mbps, and the LAN port transmits at 10 Mbps or
100 Mbps. The ADSL and G.SHDSL WAN port will adjust to the transmission rates that are
available.
Every device within an IP network requires a unique IP address to identify itself. Since the
Bizfon connects to both the LAN and the WAN, it has to be part of both networks, and must
have two IP addresses: one for the WAN side and one for the LAN side. The Bizfon’s inte-
grated firewall/NAT functionality will hide the LAN IP address from the WAN (Internet) side.
There are two ways of assigning an IP address: statically or dynamically.
A Static IP address is a fixed, manually assigned IP address that remains valid until
changed. If you plan to use the Bizfon as your Internet access router, contact your Internet
Service Provider (ISP) to find out if a static IP address is assigned to your account. If so,
you will need this static IP address when configuring the Bizfon device.
A dynamic IP address is a temporary address that is automatically assigned by your ISP
and will change periodically. If your ISP offers a dynamic IP address, the Bizfon will act as
a DHCP client and will receive a new IP address from the ISP’s DHCP server or PPPoE
feature.
Please Note: A DHCP client is a piece of software that requests an IP address from a
DHCP server. A DHCP server assigns on request a unique IP address to a device. The
Bizfon, like many routers, acts as a DHCP client on its WAN interface and as a DHCP
server on its LAN interface.
The Bizfon must be visible to the Internet to be able to receive and send VoIP calls. When
the Bizfon is placed in a private network, typically behind existing routers, it will by default
attempt to pass through the NAT of this router with its STUN (Simple Traversal of UDP over
NAT) feature. STUN will work without user configuration with the majority of basic routers.
In some scenarios, port forwarding on the router is required to make the Bizfon accessible
to other Bizfon devices and the Bizfon SIP Server on the Internet. Another configuration op-
tion is to use the Bizfon as the Internet access router, connected directly to the WAN, elimi-
nating the traverse to the local NAT firewall.
Bizfon2000 and Bizfon4000 (SW Version 3.1.x) 10