[asterisk-dev] dahdi system.conf update

[Shaun Ruffell]

On 08/26/2010 07:53 PM, Oron Peled wrote:
> On Friday 27 August 2010 01:24:49 Shaun Ruffell wrote:
>> These use cases are also valid when using "dial by name", but that would
>> require an Asterisk update and some users might want the benefits of a
>> DAHDI update without also requiring them to update their Asterisk
>> installation.
> 
> I wish this could be achieved -- I strongly believe it cannot. The best we
> could get with dial-byname is:

I believe this is the crux of any confusion.  I have a design goal of
decoupling span registration order from user representation without
requiring a change to Asterisk.  Your dial-byname is backwards
compatible in that a modified Asterisk can still process existing
configuration files, but that still requires Asterisk to be updated when
the drivers are updated.  When you said "backwards compatible" I was
thinking that you were asserting that the drivers alone were backwards
compatible with an unmodified Asterisk.

It also looks like we're in agreement that supporting an unmodified
Asterisk is a worthwhile goal <crosses fingers>?  If so, I accept that
it *may* not be practically feasible but I'm not yet convinced of that.
Therefore, before we change the interface in a way that is incompatible
with channel number assignment I would like just a little more time to
explore it and take some measurements.

As an aside: I also think that making changes necessary to support
assignment of channel number may very well have a side effect of
increased normal operating performance at the cost of increased time to
open channels and put them in conference with one another.  But since
those operations happen much less frequently than moving audio through /
between channels that are configured...I believe it will be a net gain
to the user.  I'm hopeful I'll be able to get my proposed changes to
tzafrir's branch together here within the week and capture some
performance numbers.

-- 
Shaun Ruffell
Digium, Inc. | Linux Kernel Developer
445 Jan Davis Drive NW - Huntsville, AL 35806 - USA
Check us out at: www.digium.com & www.asterisk.org