[Asterisk-biz] Forklift a 2000 phone PBX

[Jim Van Meggelen]

asterisk-biz-bounces at lists.digium.com wrote:
> I'm staring at an RFP--this company wants to replace a 2000
> position PBX
> (at eight locations) with a new system.  Their mindset is Nortel/Avaya
> because they talk about 28-button digital sets.  The do
> specify a few IP
> phones for just one location, so they are aware of VoIP.
 
> I'm going to bid on this--there's nothing to lose except the time it
> takes to write the proposal.  I'll bid an off site Asterisk
> system with
> SIP telephones.  Using the metric of 100 SIP phones/box, I'll
> bid twenty
> Asterisk boxes with ten boxes at each of two hosting locations.  Each
> phone will have registrations to both sites.

You might want to consider using SER for the SIP work, and have Asterisk
handle PSTN connectivity and Applications.
 
> The big unknown is wiring.  I'm going to assume the worst, that the
> existing LAN is overloaded.  I would a) have to make LAN
> wiring out of
> existing Cat3 wiring, or b) install a new voice-only LAN.
> 
> Does anyone know how to qualify existing Cat3 wiring for use as a LAN?

Cat3 cable was specifically designed to support both 10-Base-T Ethernet
and 16Mbit Token Ring. The Cat 3 designation certifies that signals up
to 16MHz can be carried. The trick is to be absolutely sure it's Cat3
you are dealing with - do not take anyone's word for it unless you're
sure they know cable. A lot of folks refer to voice cable as "Cat 3",
thinking that it is a generic term for all voice cable produced since
whenever. Cat 3 *is* extremely common for enterprise voice wiring, but
it is *not* a certainty. I was amazed to find out recently that quad
cable is still very popular in voice installations.

As for running VoIP phones over Cat 3, it is not only possible, but
probably an excellent idea. This will allow you to inexpensively deliver
a dedicated VoIP LAN, and the data folks won't want anything to do with
it as the 10Mbit speed won't turn them on at all. Win-win.

> Has anyone does an Asterisk system on this scale?

These folks are talking about it: 
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/0
3-20-2005/0003223447&EDATE=
Of course, that's a carrier solution, and you're looking at an
enterprise solution, but it demonstrates that you're not alone in
thinking big with Asterisk. 

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