We looked at AltiGen Communications' AltiServ, a Windows NT-based telephone and voice mail system. AltiServ is a combination PBX, voice mail and messaging system housed in a single NT server. With the addition of AltiWare IP, telephone calls can be routed over an IP network to another AltiServ server. AltiServ is extremely simple to set up and requires little ongoing management.
End users can view and change their voice mail configurations using a Web browser.
Our tests show this product is well-suited for companies with several branch offices, but some of the standing hardware limitations affect its overall scalability. We first tested AltiServ with voice traffic only. Our users reported the system was easy to use, and their voices were clear and easily recognizable. Next, using a packet generator we placed a moderate network load across our pseudo-WAN link. Conversation quality degraded noticeably.