hello all i'm interested in setting up a small pbx using asterisk and the primary goal is keeping the cost down. the general layout of the net is as folows: * 4 phone lines (2x isdn+ 2x analog) [or 2x isdn + 1x analog, as one might be put aside for a traditional phone/fax with no fancy stuff] * a server box * several client hosts (all linux with x) currently, the isdn lines are unused (to be utilised shortly), one analog line is used by a phone/fax and the other analog line is plugged into the server to provide in/outbound faxes (using hylafax) and the whole net is still sort of experimental in nature. the functionality goal is to provide every client host with a way to make phone calls to public phone network using headsets. currently, the sort of kludgy way i originally thought of is sticking a modem into each box (there are 3 at the moment) to dial the number plus a standard analog handset w/headset connectors (via a pass-through on the modem) to talk. when i found asterisk, i started to wonder whether i could use it in this scenario. i imagine it so: (i'm new to * and telephony issues) * put the isdn adapters and modems into the server box * connect the headsets to sound cards on client boxes (oss-supported onboard ones) * use gnophone to dial the number (i assume i can feed it the number from an external application) and talk using the headset * the call then gets over voip to the server (fast ethernet, same segment) and from there on via one of the lines; either: - one line is set aside for hylafax, the remaining three are for asterisk's use, how is the traditional phone connected to * box then? - one line is set aside for hylafax, one for the traditional phone, leaving two for * does it look reasonably? what equipment is needed? can i use plain standard analog internal modems? how? we really cannot afford much funky hardware (several x100p's, e100p's or an e400p is sort of out of question). thanks in advance grzegorz nosek
On Tue, 2003-04-01 at 09:31, Grzegorz Nosek wrote:> hello all > > i'm interested in setting up a small pbx using asterisk and the primary goal > is keeping the cost down. the general layout of the net is as folows: > > * 4 phone lines (2x isdn+ 2x analog) [or 2x isdn + 1x analog, as one might be > put aside for a traditional phone/fax with no fancy stuff] > * a server box > * several client hosts (all linux with x) > > currently, the isdn lines are unused (to be utilised shortly), one analog line > is used by a phone/fax and the other analog line is plugged into the server to > provide in/outbound faxes (using hylafax) and the whole net is still sort of > experimental in nature. > > the functionality goal is to provide every client host with a way to make > phone calls to public phone network using headsets. currently, the sort of > kludgy way i originally thought of is sticking a modem into each box (there > are 3 at the moment) to dial the number plus a standard analog handset > w/headset connectors (via a pass-through on the modem) to talk. when i found > asterisk, i started to wonder whether i could use it in this scenario. i > imagine it so: (i'm new to * and telephony issues) > > * put the isdn adapters and modems into the server box > * connect the headsets to sound cards on client boxes (oss-supported onboard ones) > * use gnophone to dial the number (i assume i can feed it the number from an > external application) and talk using the headset > * the call then gets over voip to the server (fast ethernet, same segment) and > from there on via one of the lines; either: > - one line is set aside for hylafax, the remaining three are for asterisk's > use, how is the traditional phone connected to * box then? > - one line is set aside for hylafax, one for the traditional phone, leaving > two for * > > does it look reasonably? what equipment is needed? can i use plain standard > analog internal modems? how? we really cannot afford much funky hardware > (several x100p's, e100p's or an e400p is sort of out of question).No analog modems. If your ISDN adapter is supported properly, you can place that straight into a asterisk box. The analog line would need a X100P. gnophone supports dialing from URLs, If your application could generate web pages to feed URL's the people could click on, then gnophone can accept them from the external app. Otherwise, you may want to watch the activity and place sample.call files in the queue as your employee needs a new call to service. -- Steven Critchfield <critch@basesys.com>
> Subject: Re: [Asterisk-Users] low-cost * (newbie question) > From: Steven Critchfield <critch@basesys.com> > To: asterisk-users@lists.digium.com > Organization: > Date: 01 Apr 2003 09:59:51 -0600 > Reply-To: asterisk-users@lists.digium.com > > On Tue, 2003-04-01 at 09:31, Grzegorz Nosek wrote:[snip] thanks for your reply> > No analog modems. > > If your ISDN adapter is supported properly, you can place that straight > into a asterisk box. The analog line would need a X100P.so to sum things up: one x100p for every analog line and one isdn4linux adapter for every isdn line, right? i'd like to test it on an experimental net with no isdn, so i'd like to use a fake channel to provide something the client can talk to. will a soundcard+gnophone on the * box do? or is there another channel type, dedicated to testing, with no hardware required? in what ways is functionality of the oss channel limited in comparison to, say, isdn?> > gnophone supports dialing from URLs, If your application could generate > web pages to feed URL's the people could click on, then gnophone can > accept them from the external app. Otherwise, you may want to watch thethe whole app has a web interface so i'd probably go this way> activity and place sample.call files in the queue as your employee needs > a new call to service. > -- > Steven Critchfield <critch@basesys.com> >thanks again, grzegorz nosek
>gnophone on your * server will require X on your * server, and that >would not be recomended. On my 1ghz AMD chip the screensaver could cause >a severe degradation on my VoIP channels. Put gnophone on your other >asterisk boxes and call each other.agreed, this is good advice, but you can run asterisk on a machine also running X without _too_ much of a performance hit, just make sure you have a blank screensaver set - rather than one that activally involves processing to reder itself. likewise its a bad idea to install seti or other programs like it on a server. duncan
> > > No analog modems. > > > > > > If your ISDN adapter is supported properly, you can place that straight > > > into a asterisk box. The analog line would need a X100P. > > so to sum things up: one x100p for every analog line and one isdn4linux > > adapter for every isdn line, right? i'd like to test it on an experimental net > > with no isdn, so i'd like to use a fake channel to provide something the > > client can talk to. will a soundcard+gnophone on the * box do? or is there > > another channel type, dedicated to testing, with no hardware required? in what > > ways is functionality of the oss channel limited in comparison to, say, isdn? > > >From information on the list, you will probably want a CAPI ISDN adaptor > not an isdn4linux adapter.why? what is the difference in functionality between the two wrt. *? do you mean active vs passive isdn? if i had the choice i'd go for active isdn (e.g. fax support - at least isdn4linux.de or thereabouts says so) but the difference in price is quite significant and i aim to get the cost as low as possible> > gnophone on your * server will require X on your * server, and that > would not be recomended. On my 1ghz AMD chip the screensaver could causei know, i would never put x on a production server, that's just for testing> a severe degradation on my VoIP channels. Put gnophone on your other > asterisk boxes and call each other.eh, silly me, i haven't thought of that ;)