There's no shortage of H.323 point-solution products for network managers to consider, from end-user telephony products, such as Microsoft NetMeeting, to hardware-based gateways, such as Ascend Communications' MAX. However, only Selsius Systems offers a full product suite providing end-to-end connectivity services; the sum of the parts is a fully functional virtual PBX on your existing LAN.

The Selsius line is quite broad. Its best-known components are its Ethernet telephones, which use firmware-based codecs (coder/decoders) to bring high-quality VoIP (voice over IP) all the way to the desktop. Selsius also offers a line of H.323 gateways with analog, T1 and PRI interfaces, letting you connect Ethernet phones to the outside world, as well as a reverse gateway that provides H.323 interfaces to fax machines and other traditional telephony gear. Rounding out the suite is a software-based call-management system that provides extension management, call setup and routing, and more, combining all the products into a distributed, virtual PBX.

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We tested a handful of Selsius Systems' 12-button speaker- phones and software-based virtual phones, a dual-line analog gateway and call-management software. After using it as our main business telephony gear for two months, we found the solution to be more than adequate, though it has some annoying idiosyncracies.

Advanced Features We were most impressed by the Selsius solution's support for business-class telephony services such as hold, transfer, distinctive rings, Caller ID and call forwarding. These features clearly separate Selsius from the rest of the herd; no competing vendor offers these services in an H.323-compliant form. In fact, no other vendor offers an H.323-compliant end-to-end solution, much less one that offers advanced services. And of those vendors that offer point solutions, none has products that feature anywhere near the depth of the functions Selsius provides.

Taken together, Selsius' range of products and comprehensive features make deploying VoIP on your network not just feasible, but desirable. Although some rough edges must be smoothed out, the Selsius products live up to the promise of IP-centric telecommunications. In particular, they provide a good solution for small-to-medium-sized networks where network utilization is not a great concern and where a fully featured PBX does not already exist.

Selsius is a division of Intecom, a well-known PBX vendor, so support for advanced telephony features is not surprising; that the products' support for native IP services is equally well-designed is more of an eye-opener. All system configuration is handled through a Web browser; the phones and gateways use DHCP to determine their IP addresses and TFTP to download their specific configurations, rather than requiring each unit to be programmed by hand.