[Asterisk-Users] RE: [Asterisk] How to select server ardware?

Sat Apr 19 19:41:52 MST 2003

Hi Chris,

I know this is quite an old email, but I was browsing through the archive :)

I am currently working on "embedding" asterisk in one of Allwell's STB's.
The idea is more or less exactly like yours.  The STB will be solid-state
and contain OS, Asterisk, Basic configuration and voice files on a flash
disk.  It will boot up and get a network share via DHCP.  This network share
will be used for voicemail boxes.

Current status is that I've got the OS pretty much nailed (ULTRA optimized
linux with utils all compiled from source).  The OS alone takes about 2.2 MB
of flash and including Asterisk I end up using about 5.5 MB which is fine
considering the box got 16 MB of flash.  I haven't got Asterisk started yet
since I got a few compilation problems (I am not using GNU C libraries in
the box - I am using uClibc which is way more space efficient, but the
makefiles for Asterisk need some patching to make it work and I am just not
done yet).

Next step will be to finalize a nice web-based GUI.  That I will probably
need to build from scratch since there is no way the box will get Java or
PHP or something else that fancy.  The web-based GUI will have to use
CGI-BIN's which are basically shell or awk scripts.

Regards,

    Lars...

--
Lars Boegild Thomsen
Technical Director
JustIT Sdn. Bhd.
Cell Phone (MY): +60 (16) 323 1999
ICQ: 6478559
Yahoo Chat: lars_boegild_thomsen at yahoo.com
MSN Chat: lars_boegild_thomsen at hotmail.com
http://www.justit.ws

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-asterisk at marko.net [mailto:owner-asterisk at marko.net]On
> Behalf Of Chris Albertson
> Sent: 14 February 2003 01:44
> To: asterisk at marko.net
> Subject: RE: [Asterisk] How to select server ardware?
>
>
>
> The main reason going with a disk-less server is not to save
> the $50 cost of a drive.  It's to reduce maintainance effort.
>
> The "PC department" at the company I used to work for had a great
> system for suporting general desktop Windows users.  They install
> diskless PCs.  Now now when a system dies they just put another
> identical machine on the user's desk and turn on the power switch.
> There is ZERO configuration.   Also with a diskless system users
> didn't care which PC they used.  Just enter your login and your
> files appear.  No issue with backing up desktops either.
> In a larger system with many linked * servers maintainance would
> be an issue.  You need a system that any untrained idiot can fix
> uotherwise you'll be spending the rest of your life on-call 24x7.
>
> My interrest is in building a "demo system" that others could
> replicate.  It will need to run a number of servers other then
> asterisk too.  At this point I don't know the best why to go.
>
> One other solution I've seen.  Raytheon did this for some customer
> they had.  Use those "IDE caddies".  It's a quick dis-connect box that
> holds an IDE drive.  The fielded systems all had removable IDE
> drives.  Software updates where shipped out on preloaded IDE drives.
> This solved all instalation related issues.  Old drives where
> shipped back to be re-cycled.  Also the customer could keep a few
> spare pre-loaded drives on hand.
>
> One other idea is to boot off a CDROM and have the boot up process
> copy (decompress) data onto a local hard drive.  A re-boot would
> always wipe out the local drive.  This sound best to me.  I could
> afford to give away 100 CDs but not 100 IDE disks.
> CD images could also be downloaded.
>
> I still like the idea of keeping mail boxes and the like on a central
> server.  You can use mirrored drives and tripple power supplies on the
> server.  I've used these.  You can fail a drive (pull off the DC power
> cable) or a power supply (yank the AC cord) and the system stays up.
> We also used multiple NICs to multiple 100BaseT switches.  We ran
> Solaris on the server which is even more stable then Linux.
> Solaris will "boot around" failed sections of RAM or a dead CPU
> or controller card.  Very robust and cost justified if 100+ people
> depend on it working.
>
>
> --- Clay Graner <Clay at CTITec.com> wrote:
> > I have wondered if you could setup a copy of Linux to run with a pre
> > configured copy of Asterisk on a bootable CD.  Something like what
> > they
> > did with KNOPPIX http://www.KNOPPIX.com
> >
> > I would think at a minimum you would have to have a lot of RAM to do
> > it
> > and you certainly would not be able to save voicemail, etc. but you
> > might be able to just forward voicemail to e-mail address.
> >
> > What is the feasibility of it?  I am not sure that skimping on a hard
> > drive that you can pick up for ~$50 is really worth it though.
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-asterisk at marko.net [mailto:owner-asterisk at marko.net] On
> > Behalf Of Chris Albertson
> > Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2003 5:59 PM
> > To: asterisk at marko.net
> > Subject: Re: [Asterisk] How to select server ardware?
> >
> >
> > > Something you may want to think about is the idea of linking your
> > HAM
> > > to
> > > telephone via a IAX protocol. You could get some lower end systems
> > > that
> > > each have a dedicated soundcard and ethernet device, then link to a
> > > machine that controls the telephony gateway. A old Pentium should
> > be
> > > more than powerful enough for a soundcard and libiax. Come to think
> > > of
> > > it, a PC104 board might even have all the hardware you want and be
> > > around a few inches square.
> > >
> > > Then your P500 should be plenty powerful enough and have enough
> > > expansion to get your couple of FXO ports onboard.
> >
> > One Sound "card", video and Ethernet are built into the motherboard.
> > leaving five empty PCI slots.  Add 3 sound cards and you have
> > two empty slots.  Put a FXO in each.
> >
> > The problem is not finding slots to stuff cards into.  As you say,
> > I could use multiple PCs linked with IAX protocol.  What I wanted to
> > know was some kind of rule relating off hook entensionsto Mhz of
> > processor clock.
> >
> > I see "bare bones" PC kits
> > selling for $160 on www.pricewatch.com.  These with only some
> > added RAM can be configured to boot with TFTP as diskless Linux
> > systems with root file system NFS mounted.  Disk-less not only
> > saves money but eliminates any need to configure a system.
> > They would run "headless" with no video, keyboard or mouse
> > no CDROM, no floppy.
> >
> > Still, what would be required 500Mhz Caleron?  2.4Ghz P4???
> >
> >
> >
> > =====
> > Chris Albertson
> >   Home:   310-376-1029  chrisalbertson90278 at yahoo.com
> >   Cell:   310-990-7550
> >   Office: 310-336-5189  Christopher.J.Albertson at aero.org
> >   KG6OMK
> >
> > __________________________________________________
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> >
> >
> >
>
>
> =====
> Chris Albertson
>   Home:   310-376-1029  chrisalbertson90278 at yahoo.com
>   Cell:   310-990-7550
>   Office: 310-336-5189  Christopher.J.Albertson at aero.org
>   KG6OMK
>
> __________________________________________________
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> Yahoo! Shopping - Send Flowers for Valentine's Day
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>