[Asterisk-Users] A Head Check

[Greg Boehnlein]

Hello,
	I have been retained by a Building Management Company to install a 
combined Voice/Data solution for a Tennated Office Space. This space will 
rent offices, with telephone and internet service to inviduals or small 
groups of individuals. As fate would have it, the service will be 
provided in a building where we have a major Pop, with a DS-3 worth of 
ISDN PRI circuits, 345 megs of upstream bandwidth and diesel generator 
backup. We are providing everything for the solution, from the initial 
wiring to the ongoing maintenance of the PBX and Internet service.
	I have arranged for a single PRI to be broken out of our DS-3 w/ 
100 inbound DID numbers assigned to it and have PICd it to the LD provider 
of our choice. I intend to plug this PRI into an Asterisk server w/ a 
Digium TE410P card, and deploy SNOM 200 IP phones to the desktops. We will 
be using a RedHawk power-injector system to provide power to the phones.
	Now.. This is our first deployment of Asterisk, and I need a head 
check here. Am I making the right decision? :)

Sepcifically...

1. Are the SNOM 200 IP phones a good choice for standard users? Or should 
I consider Cisco? Price of the phone is not the important thing.. What is 
important is ease of use with minimal training and reliability!

2. Does anyone have reccomendations for a solid motherboard to use as the 
basis for the Asterisk server? Again, reliability and stability are the 
important issues here. I'm looking for a Dual CPU board (Athlon MP or P4) 
that will work flawlessly with the TE410P. I've used the Tyan Tiger MPX 
(2466) http://www.tyan.com/products/html/tigermpx.html with Dual MP 
processors with incredible success in the future. I'm considering building 
the box on that platform.

3. I am also responsible for delivering inbound faxes to the DID numbers 
via Email. I.E. customer has a document faxed to them and they get it in 
Email as a tiff. I'm considering using Hylfax with a Multitech DID capable 
modem, but other suggestions are welcomed!

4. I have built some cost for support from Digium and/or other Asterisk 
experts into the budget. Does Digium have paid support plans? What about 
other consultants out there?

I'm just trying to make sure that I cover all the bases. This is got to be 
a bulletproof solution, and I'm departing from my comfort level with 
Altigen to give Asterisk a run for the money. We've got TONS of Linux 
experience here, and comfort with customizing code, so I am happy with 
what Asterisk gives me.. What else should I be worried about?

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