asterisk users - Nov 2005 - newbie question regarding asterisk

Hello everyone,

I'm new to VoIP and despite a lot of reading, I'm kind of more confused
than
before.

I have following question - we currently have hardware Alcatel PBX and
approx. 50 phones in the company. I was wondering if we would need to change
the phone service provider, because they don't provide VoIP services if we
were about to switch to Asterisk instead of the Alcatel PBX?

Or can Asterisk maintain current functionality plus adding VoIP by simply
switching the alcatel pbx for Asterisk server?

I hope I'm making at least a bit of sense.

 

Thanks in advance for help

 

Confused

 

Markos

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On Mon, 2005-11-14 at 12:21 +0100, Markos Paraskevopulos
wrote:
> Hello everyone,
> 
> I?m new to VoIP and despite a lot of reading, I?m kind of more
> confused than before.
> 
I had an asterisk system up and running then read some dox and becuase
what I read at that time wasnt well written it has that effect :)

asteriskdocs.org is pretty good, and the oreilly book asterisk and the
future of telephony (pdf is available at asteriskdocs.org) is a good
read, and only takes about 1 night to read everything except the
appendices.

> I have following question ? we currently have hardware Alcatel PBX and
> approx. 50 phones in the company. I was wondering if we would need to
> change the phone service provider, because they don?t provide VoIP
> services if we were about to switch to Asterisk instead of the Alcatel
> PBX?
> 
Asterisk does more than VoIP.  It can speak analog (both fxs and fxo -
or act like a phone company (fxs) or act like a phone (fxo)), it can
also do digital trunks (t1/e1/j1 - ds3 soon alledgly).  While it can
replace a pbx it can also provide a T1 to a pbx.  It can talk to the
phone company via VoIP or whatever circuits you already have.

You dont *have* to switch phone companies if you dont want to, and it
doesnt always make sense to switch.  

> Or can Asterisk maintain current functionality plus adding VoIP by
> simply switching the alcatel pbx for Asterisk server?
> 
If you want to add VoIP you can do this more gradually if you dont have
the budget to totally replace 100%.  Asterisk can feed your current pbx
with phone service, where it interconnects to can be either VoIP or PSTN
or both.  Eventually you can migrate off what you already have.

If however you have the budget to replace every phone on the desktop (or
get appropriate interface equipment so the phones can speak to asterisk)
then asterisk should be able to maintain current functionality plus
adding anything that it does that you dont have (ie VoIP).  

> I hope I?m making at least a bit of sense.
> 
I hope my answer makes sense..  
> 
-- 
Trixter http://www.0xdecafbad.com     Bret McDanel
UK +44 870 340 4605   Germany +49 801 777 555 3402
US +1 360 207 0479 or +1 516 687 5200
FreeWorldDialup: 635378
http://www.sacaug.org/  Sacramento Asterisk Users Group
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On Nov 14, 2005, at 6:21 AM, Markos Paraskevopulos
wrote:
> Hello everyone,
>
> I?m new to VoIP and despite a lot of reading, I?m kind of more  
> confused than before.
>
> I have following question ? we currently have hardware Alcatel PBX  
> and approx. 50 phones in the company. I was wondering if we would  
> need to change the phone service provider, because they don?t  
> provide VoIP services if we were about to switch to Asterisk  
> instead of the Alcatel PBX?
>
> Or can Asterisk maintain current functionality plus adding VoIP by  
> simply switching the alcatel pbx for Asterisk server?
>
> I hope I?m making at least a bit of sense.
>
>  Thanks in advance for help
>
> Confused
>
> Markos
Markos,

The answer to your question is "Maybe". It depends on how you connect
your existing PBX to the PSTN, and it depends on what you want from  
your system.

Asterisk is completely capable of connecting to standard analog and  
digital (T1/E1/PRI) phone circuits. You do not need to use VOIP to  
connect Asterisk to the phone network. However, how you will go about  
doing this depends on your call volume and budget. How many incoming/ 
outgoing phone lines you have, how much long distance you dial, and  
local telco rates all play a part here.

The easiest way is to figure out how you connect the existing PBX,  
and then you can research to see if Asterisk will support that  
technology. (Chances are that it does). For example, if your Alacatel  
connects to the PSTN via a T1/E1 Circuit, then you could buy an T1/E1  
interface card from Digium or Sangoma and plug the T1/E1 right into  
your Asterisk server. If you have multiple analog POTS lines, then  
it's more complicated, but there are solutions for that, too (digium  
X100P, TDM400p, TDM2400p, various SIP gateways, multiple Sipura  
SPA-3000, etc...)

Then you might want to research your other options and make sure that  
you are using the most cost effective solution for your needs (This  
all depends on how you use the PSTN and what the local rates and  
availability are). The most basic knowledge you will need is the  
difference between a T1/E1 style connection and a regular analog POTS  
line. For example, if you have multiple analog lines, you might be  
able to save money by getting a full or fractional T1/E1.

If you're still completely confused and you don't have a lot of  
telecom knowledge, you might want to consider hiring a consultant to  
help you out.

Tom

----------------------------------------------------------
Tom Rymes
Cascade Link Systems
www.cascadelinksystems.com
(603) 375-1414

Technology solutions for small and medium sized businesses.