Mitel has extended life of ShoreTel 14.2 software, but not hardware…
Mitel is no longer selling hardware for 14.2 or prior ShoreTel versions. If a customer wishes to add new hardware to their system, then they must upgrade to Connect.
Now that Mitel has ended sale of supported hardware for ShoreTel 14.2, many of our customers are asking how they can add extra capacity to their system while coordinating the orderly upgrade to Connect or migration to the cloud.
The SG line of switches End of Sale date is June 2018. The latest line of hardware cannot be used on existing legacy systems. Companies must upgrade their systems, and many do not wish to. Instead, they want to spend those resources on expansion.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get the virtualization benefits offered in Mitel Connect . VMWare offers a zero-cost product with some limitations but the needed capabilities to leverage the virtual machine offerings in Mitel Connect. Here’s what you need to do:
- You can start by creating a VMWare account and downloading the free ESXi software and license.
- For 60 days, you get unlimited features, allowing you to try out the full product before entering your feature-limited free license key.
- VMWare has changed the names around a bit; you want the VMware vSphere Hypervisor.
- Download the ISO file and use Rufus or similar software to create a bootable USB.
- Boot your VMWare server from the USB file and follow the installer prompts.
Once you have your VMware environment up and running, you can expand the capacity on your 14.2 system. Virtual phone switches increase phone capacity and can be used to provide an active standby switch. As part of our service, LANtelligence team would provision virtual phone switches and add additional capacity. Mitel is still selling the phones and all the licenses you need. Your new expansion or new location plans can proceed without worrying about investing in end of sale hardware.
VMware can also be used to add a virtual mobility router and a virtual service appliance for chat and conferencing capability.
There are some caveats. VMware has a supported hardware list that needs to be checked against the server. The free version does not allow access to the web configuration console or the APIs for backups. There is also no support. The upgrade to vSphere Essentials is only $500, which is less than a Windows Server license and will get the previously mentioned missing functionality.
The end of sale and end of life announcements do not have to place a halt on your expansion plans. You can keep your timeline to transition to the cloud or your upgrade by leveraging VMware and the virtualization capabilities in your 14.2 ShoreTel system.
LANtelligence can help you plan your path forward now that the supported hardware for 14.2 systems is at End of Sale.
Contact our Technical Solutions Engineers to discuss how we can help you implement a virtual solution to your ShoreTel challenges.
