Introduction
Counterpath has been known for high quality SIP softphones for some time. Initially, Counterpath (then Xten) launched X-Pro and the free, but slightly limited version, X-Lite. Their 2nd generation softphone, eyeBeam, then replaced X-Pro in September 2004. The most significant change was the switch to the reSIProcate SIP stack from SIPfoundry. This enabled the phone to support all the advanced NAT traversal protocols and added a lot of functionality. The Counterpath eyeBeam softphone also supports video with consistently high quality.
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- X-Lite V3.0 for Windows (free)
- X-Lite V2.0 for Linux (free)
- X-Lite V3.0 for Max OS X (free)
- X-Lite V4.0 beta for Windows (free)
- X-Lite V4.0 beta for Mac (free)
- eyebeam V1.5 for Windows and Mac OS X
- Bria and Bria Professional (offers auto provisioning)
How to use the Xten eyeBeam Softphone
Settings using the sipX Configuration Server
The Xten family of softphones is not yet supported for plug & play management by the sipX Configuration Server. Adding support would not be too difficult.
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Optional: If you would like the softphone to have an entry under Devices in the sipX Configuration Server, you can create an unmanaged phone. The user line can then be assigned to that phone. Even though no profile is generated for this phone, the administrator can see what users and lines are assigned to which phones. Choose a random serial number (12 digits) as an identifier or alternatively you could enter the MAC address of the laptop or PC on which the softphone is installed.
Configuring the eyeBeam Phone
Install the eyeBeam softphone application following the instructions provided by Xten. Launch the eyeBeam application and right-click your mouse and select Settings. Go to SIP Accounts and create a new line as follows:
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Note: The example provided above uses DNS SRV. If DNS SRV is not used please enter the fully qualified host name of the sipX server in the field labeled Domain. Add User name and Authorization user name that matches the User ID defined for the user created in sipX. The Password is the SIP Password auto-generated by the sipX Configuration Server and not the PIN. Check Register with domain and don't forget to enable the account (check box at the top).
Enable Presence Indication
The eyeBeam softphone is able to subscribe to and display presence of other users. We have tested this with eyeBeam revision eyeBeam 1.1 3010n stamp 19039 and Polycom phones (SIP firmware 1.5.2 and 1.6.2).
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Note: This feature should also work with Snom phones. However, we have not yet tested this fully.
How to Configure Presence Indication
Nothing has to be configured on the Polycom phone. The default profile generated by the sipX Configuration Server provides all the necessary settings.
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The eyeBeam phone allows to setup groups.
How to Configure Message Waiting Indication (MWI)
The eyeBeam softphone release 1.1 3010n stamp 19039 (November 2005) does not yet properly support Message Waiting Indication. Xten has promised to fix this in the near future. The phone needs to send a subscribe message to the sipX server in order to receive a notify about message state changes.
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This is apparently still an issue with X-LITE Windows version 3.0 build 47546.
Configure X-Lite to register with sipX
X-Lite does not distinguish realm from domain so you must edit configure DNS SRV so you domain resolves to the machine you have the PBX installed for SIP traffic OR change you realm to be your fully qualified domain name. See this issue for more
http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.telephony.pbx.sipfoundry.general/3547
Add a USER who will be using the X-Lite softphone
The Xten family of softphones is not yet supported by ConfigServer. Adding support would not be too difficult. In order to use it you first have to create a new user in the sipX ConfigServer who will be using the phone. The SIP credentials (User ID and SIP password) have to be transferred to the phone manually and the phone is configured using its configuration menu.
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{{Box Important|Release 3.0 and higher of sipX automatically generates a SIP password when a new user is created. The SIP password is programmed in the phone and required for the line to register. This password is different from the PIN entered on the "New User" page. In order to see or change the assigned password, click on the "Show Advanced Settings" link.}
Configure the X-Lite 2.0 phone on Linux
1. Select MENU (the button on the left side of the green telephone button).
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7. Restart the X-Lite phone
Configure the X-Lite 3.0 phone on Windows
1. Right click on Display Area.
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5. Click the OK button and then click the CLOSE button on the next window.
6. Phone should register
Force X-Lite to use UDP Transport
1) Use ***7469
2) Filter for "transport"
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