Hosting Kerio Operator
In some situations, it may be preferred to deploy Kerio Operator at a remote site, or data center, as these locations may offer better bandwidth, reliability, and consolidated management. This topic addresses the considerations when deploying Kerio Operator outside of the local network.
Phone Provisioning
When Kerio Operator is deployed on the same network as the IP phones, the provisioning process can be handled automatically through DHCPDynamic Host Configuration Protocol - A protocol that automatically gives IP addresses and additional configuration to hosts in a network.. However, if Kerio Operator is remote, the phones typically must be configured manually. Consider pre-configuring the phones at a convenient location before deployment at the remote site. For ongoing maintenance of the phones, it will be necessary to use the web administration of the phones, which will require access to the remote network. We've found Snom, Yealink, and Linksys phones to offer the best options for web configuration and remote management. For added security, automatic provisioning should be disabled from the dialog in the web administration, located under Provisioned Phones > Phone Provisioning.
With the introduction of the Kerio Phone mobile app, configuration from mobile devices is quite easy, and ideally suited in case Kerio Operator is in a hosted, or remote environment. For more information refer to Provisioning of Kerio Operator Softphone for mobile devices.
Network Configuration
Because Kerio Operator includes a built-in firewall, it's not necessary to incorporate an external firewall. If possible, Kerio Operator should be assigned an Internet routable IP address to avoid network address translation, as this can cause a variety of call quality, or connectivity type issues. In many cases, the phones will be connecting through NATNetwork address translation - A method that remaps IP addresses by changing network address information., and there is an option in the extension properties to account for this. For more information refer to Configuring NAT.
Bandwidth
When Kerio Operator is remote to the phone network, it means that local calls between extensions will be routed through the Internet. It's important to take this into consideration when evaluating the bandwidth requirements for a remote network of phones. A typical phone call may consume about 80 kbps, although some codecs may consume less bandwidth. For locations with limited bandwidth, consider setting GSM as the preferred Codec for those extensions provisioned on that network. For more information refer to Bandwidth used by the different codecs.
Security
In a hosted scenario, Kerio Operator is typically accessible directly over the Internet (unless access is restricted through VPN). It's therefore necessary to pay close attention to the security settings related to Kerio Operator. For more information refer to Securing Kerio Operator.