asterisk users - Jan 2004 - newbie thinclient env

i have a lot of questions, maybe you've got some answers. I've got the 
following setup :
1 central server ( linux ) , 17 servers ( LTSP ) on different locations, 
where each server has a number of thinclients connected to it ( max 6 ) The 
central server / 17 LTSP servers are on the internet and share 1 VPN ( 
freeswan ). It  would be nice if the 17 LTSP servers could use asterix on one 
way or another ( the central server is on a distant location , serves as a 
VPN gateway ). 

- asterix on the LTSP servers ? 
- can i connect a phone to the thinclients via USB ( some thinclients have no 
PCI extension possibilities )
- 17 LTSP servers have dynamic ip addresses ( here in belgium, that means 
that every 1 or 2 days, the ip address changes ). Can i use dyndns for 
asterix ?
- does asterix imply a serious load on the server, say for 5 telephones 
- where do i buy these dev kits ( belgium ? )
-  a lot more questions, ....



jef peeraer

Hi!
> - asterix on the LTSP servers ? 
It is not advisable to run Asterisk on a server that runs X-Windows. You 
could give it a try on one machine, but I might very well turn out that 
you'll not like the resulting voice quality ("choppy sound").
> - can i connect a phone to the thinclients via USB ( some thinclients
> have no PCI extension possibilities ) 
First thing is to check with LTSP if it supports local USB devices. And 
have you arranged already arranged sound support for the clients at all? 
Anyway, I'd rather go for a standard hardware IP phone - unless you are 
running a call center.
> - 17 LTSP servers have dynamic ip addresses ( here in belgium, that means 
> that every 1 or 2 days, the ip address changes ). Can i use dyndns for 
> asterix ?
I wouldn't rely on that, dyndns can be slow and out-of-date. Instead 
register the dynamic Asterisk boxes with one or two static Asterisk 
boxes, which would basically mean that you'd end up with a star topolgy.
> - does asterix imply a serious load on the server, say for 5 telephones 
That depends on the codecs that you plan to use (which in turn depends on 
the phones that you use), as well as the number of concurrent calls. If 
transcoding is involved (=translation from one codec to another) then 
your CPU will be less bored. You should also consider QoS issues when 
running VoIP in a LTSP environment (for the record: Linux Terminx Server 
Project).

Finally: Do you need your telephones to work even when the local LTSP 
server is down?

Check the Wiki for codec details, bandwidth usage etc:
http://www.voip-info.org/tiki-index.php?page=Asterisk

Cheers, Philipp