OIT VoIP (Voice over IP) Ethernet Service provides wired telephone service in a small number of University buildings.
OIT VoIP Ethernet Service appears in the form of an RJ-45 Ethernet port (socket) into which you plug an Ethernet cable. These sockets are often referred to an "OIT Wallbox Ports," because each socket is often located in a box, sometimes mounted on a wall. A single OIT wallbox may provide more than one wallbox port; some of these ports may be OIT VoIP Ethernet ports, some may be OIT Ethernet ports, some may be analog telephone ports, some may be analog video ports, or other kinds of ports.
OIT VoIP Ethernet service is available only in a small number of buildings at this time.
To properly provide OIT VoIP Ethernet service is a building requires building a new network infrastructure in that building, separate from the building's existing OIT Ethernet Service.
In those buildings where OIT VoIP Ethernet service is available, to request that OIT activate/install additional OIT VoIP Ethernet ports, contact your department's telephone coordinator. See OIT Telephone Services for details.
To use OIT VoIP Ethernet Service, a device should be a VoIP handset supplied by OIT Telephone Services.
OIT VoIP Ethernet Service is not the same as OIT Ethernet Service.
Telephones that use OIT VoIP Service are attached via OIT VoIP Ethernet Service. They are not attached via OIT Ethernet Service.
While the Ethernet ports provided by OIT VoIP Ethernet Service are indeed Ethernet and use the same style physical connectors as OIT Ethernet Service, the OIT VoIP Ethernet ports do not provide OIT Ethernet Service. Instead, they provide OIT VoIP Ethernet Service.
Because both kinds of service use the same style Ethernet connectors, the OIT VoIP Ethernet Service wallbox ports are often marked differently, to distinguish them from OIT Ethernet Service ports. For example, the wallbox port may be marked "phone".
Telephones that use OIT VoIP Service should be attached only to Ethernet ports that provide OIT VoIP Ethernet Service; they should not be attached to Ethernet ports that provide OIT Ethernet Service. If one of these VoIP telephones is erroneously attached to a port that provides OIT Ethernet Service, the phone will not function. The phone will be treated much like any unregistered device attached to OIT Ethernet Service.
Only OIT VoIP telephones should be attached to Ethernet ports that provide OIT VoIP Ethernet Service. If any other device is erroneously attached to a port that provides OIT VoIP Ethernet Service, the device will not obtain normal OIT Ethernet Service. It may also result in OIT disabling the OIT VoIP Ethernet Service port to which it is attached.
Devices (e.g., VoIP telephones) attached to OIT VoIP Ethernet Service should not be registered in the Princeton University Host Database.
Exceptions to this include the devices attached to the voip-servernet subnet, a small network containing the VoIP servers managed by OIT. Those few devices attached to the voip-servernet subnet are indeed registered in the Host Database. All other devices attached to OIT VoIP Ethernet Service are attached to other VoIP subnets, and therefore shouldn't be registered in the Host Database.
If you have questions or need assistance with any of the procedures in this document, please contact the OIT Help Desk.