[Asterisk-Users] is asterisk and/or spandsp what I need for integration with Cisco?

[Brian Jarrett]

Hello list.

I've been running a Cisco VOIP WAN for the last two years using CallManager V3.2.  The remote 1760 routers are set up as H323 gateways.  I've got a VG200 that is my PSTN gateway with a full T1 voice trunk to the local CO.  I'm also running Unity v3.x for voicemail.

We are currently using two ATA186 devices that are using the G.711 codec to pass incoming calls on the T1 trunk to fax machines in 2 separate buildings.  The other fax machines in our buildings are simply connected to POTS lines.

I'd like to get rid of the POTS lines and consolidate all of our fax machines using a fax server.  I've been successful in hooking up the ATA186 device to an external modem that is connected to a hylafax server.  What I'd really like is to do away with the ATA devices and modem.  The hylafax server is already on the VOIP network, so I'd really like some solution that doesn't require converting the call back into a POTS line before I can handle it.

Will spandsp work for this?  Do I need asterisk as well?  I can get a call to the hylafax server using the G.711 codec.  I'm not sure if I'd still need some sort of hardware to use spandsp.  I tried using T38Modem, and it would work up until it tried to switch to fax mode for the H323 call.  So I found out that CallManager can't handle t38 (and neither does my vg200) and my attempts to get a Cisco 3640 to act as an H323 to H323 w/t38 gateway have been unsuccessful.

If spandsp doesn't work, is there any other way I can use asterisk?  The only other solutions I can come up with involve doing loopbacks between fxo ports or using the ata devices as some sort of intermediate link.  Either way it's a kludge.

Brian Jarrett
Network Administrator
Garfield County School District 16