need to connect 2 offices im a super noob

[MonKENy]

OK so we have 2 offices about 45miles away from each other

I have them connected now but we have no IT anymore and I need to switch to all new internet and phone systems

We currently have Cbeyond as both,

They are horrible and we have had nothing but problems from the start and they can never fix our issues.

We are moving to time warner 15x2 with 1 static ip in office A
and Charter 50x5 with a static IP in office B
We are also switching to Ring Central for a phone system

I have a physical PBX in both locations we are also running windows sbs 2008.

What I need to know is how to put the 2 offices back together when charter and time warner do their thing.

I have no experience with vpn or office networking. is there a way I can do this with help?

What information do you guys need to help out if you can and are willing to do so?

[kevnich2]

You need to provide a lot more info. Do both sies need to communicate together? If they do, what needs to be shared? If your going with hosted voip, that just goes thru internet. How mant people do you have at each office, how many simultanious phone calls do you forseenatmboth locations? 15x2 internet will only be good for about 10 calls if you factor in inernet activity as well. Might want to bump that up. Recommend a minimum of 5mb upload for hosted voip.

To connect both sites for file sharing, how are they connected now? Vpn, mpls, metroE?

[Dstoop]

We are also switching to Ring Central for a phone system

The best advice I can give you, *DONT DO THIS*. Dealing with RingCentral's BS is fine if all you need is a cheap phone system for 2 or 3 people in a small business. If you're looking for a true business solution for your phone systems, steer *far, far away* from RingCentral. We were going to move to them for our phone and email-to-fax systems, and two days into our free trial we were already on the phone with their outsourced support as they scratched their heads trying to come up with workarounds to establish even the most simple functionality. Some of the answers to our issues were literally "send an email to our suggestion box and maybe the programmers will put that in," even for simple things like "each user should have their own cover page."

All of the outside consultants we've worked with since in our search for a phone provider have had nothing but horror stories to share about RingCentral. Take a look at their testimonial page and notice one glaring red flag: they're *all* from businesses made up of less than 10 employees, not a single big name has given a testimonial.

[mammador]

I don't think you need a VPN**

How are they connected now? Use a fibre link to connect the two** For the telephone and workstations, perhaps use VLANs to separate them**

[kevnich2]

I would only recommend fiber if you need a very fast, reliable link between your offices. Vpn is cheapest way as it works over any internet connection.

As far as voip, while i cant comment on ringcentral, my vote for best, most reliable provider is vocalocity. Jive is also quite good but dont have as much experience with them as vocalocity.

[MonKENy]

I am already w/ring central. So far they seem to be just right for what we need. We are a small business with 18 employees. Most of them just need an extension as they are clinicians so its no big thing.

We are VPN to connect the offices.

[Tbirdkid]

Setup a site to site with an Asa, a barracuda VPN, or setup leased line.