Draytek VigorIPPBX 2820 review

The VigorIPPBX 2820 can send and receive calls through a SIP trunk, with up to 30 extensions connected at any given point. Configuring most VoIP phones to work with the IP PBX is a simple matter of entering the correct connection information into the phones' configuration screens, but Draytek's own phones can be auto-configured by the device.

There's support for simultaneous or sequential ring groups, voicemail, and a basic Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system in the form of its Auto Attendant, which can request callers to enter the extension they wish to reach, play an informational message and direct incoming calls in response to key presses. It has a basic office hours, out of office hours and holiday scheduler, allowing you direct calls to different extensions or play a recorded out of office message. There's no call forwarding, though, so you can't redirect calls to a mobile phone, for instance. The PBX Status screen includes a detailed log of all incoming and outgoing called.

An ISDN menu allows you to set the behaviour of the router's two ISDN ports. ISDN (integrated services digital network) is commonplace for business phone systems. While it can be used to connect to the internet if your ISP supports this, its primary function is for making and receiving telephone calls. Incoming calls will go to extensions on your IP PBX, while outgoing calls can be routed either via SIP or ISDN. Using ISDN for this means that you're not dependant on your net connection for your telephony services to work.

The router's ISDN configuration is particularly easy to set up - you just need to enter the numbers for the phone lines given to you by your ISDN provider and select how you want the router to handle calls to each number. You can choose to forward numbers to a specific extension, a ring group consisting of several extensions or have the router's built Auto Attendant answer the call.