[Asterisk-Users] Newbie Question-Looking for Feedback

[WipeOut]

M. Matt Colgin wrote:

>I've been looking at Asterisk for a replacement for our phone system and I'm
>hoping someone can help validate my assumptions.
>
I'll try.. :)

>
>We have 4 analog lines coming into the building. These lines are simple POT
>lines and we have them in a "hunt group" with Verizon so that when a single
>phone number is dialed, the first line is rang, if that line is busy it will
>ring the second line, and so on.
>
>I would like to put together an Asterisk system to handle these lines and
>allow us to do VoIP, call queuing, voice menuing, etc. In looking at the
>product offerings of Digium, it appears that I need 4 Wildcard X100P's and 1
>Wildcard TDM400P 4-Port. For VoIP work, I'm looking for any recommendations
>that can be made. My first priority is to support a user in New Zealand
>talking to our phone system in the US, but there could be another 2 I'd like
>to support in the US (all on cable modems with the typical capped 30KB/s
>upload). I'd like for it to work very well with the Asterisk PBX and be as
>simple as plugging in a ethernet cable or even support 802.11b/g with little
>to no configuration.
>
>In addition, I'm curious on other people's experience with software based
>VoIP phone. Specifically, it appears that a good amount of amount could be
>saved by using software based phones inside the building, thereby negating
>the need to purchase 3 hard VoIP phones and the Wildcard TDM400P. Can anyone
>recommend a good software package, that is fairly idiot proof and would work
>well for a small call-center with temp/minwage employees?
>
>
>To Summarize:
>- Can and does it make sense to purchase 4 Wildcard X100P's?
>- Can and does it make sense to purchase 1 Wildcard TDM400P (4-Port)?
>
I will answer these together, the recomendation is typically not to go 
above 3 cards in a system which means that you could give 5 cards a go 
but chances are you are not going to have a happy time with it..

My suggestion would be to either use a channelbank and a T100P or the 
simpler solution convert your 4 analog lines to 2 ISDB BRI lines and 
then get a 2 port AVM or Eicon ISDN card..

>- What VoIP hard phone works best with Asterisk? Are there WiFi ones that
>are less than $100?
>
My personal favorite in terms of both cost and performance would have to 
be the Snom 200.. Other options are the Grandstream (cheapest there is), 
the Cisco(a little pricey), the Snom 105 and no doubt a few others..

A Grandstream costs about $75 and AFAIK its still the cheapest so I 
would have to say No, you will not likely get a WiFi VoIP phone for 
under $100..

>- How much bandwidth does VoIP require? Will cable modem users with a max
>30KB/s upload ok?
>
The bandwidth requirement is dependent on the codec but 30KB/s should 
hande any codek no problem.. the bigger problem you will have between NZ 
and the US is latency which is really annoying when trying to transfer 
realtime data..

>- What VoIP soft phone works best with Asterisk?
>
I have found X-Lite or X-Pro to be the best..

>
>Also:
>- What kind of uptime are people experiencing?
>
I have over 100 days continuous, with reboots to apply patches.. Others 
on the list have said thay have over a years uptime..

>- How much system load will be needed for 4 concurrent VoIP conversations?
>
I have a P2 400 development server and have done 4 concurrent ( thats 
all I have ) VoIP sessions.. My production server is more powerful and i 
have not really looked at the number of concurrent sessions but its 
never really broken a sweat..

>- What kind of gotcha's have people had that would be good for a newbie to
>know?
>
Becasue the software is free does not mean that the system will be, 
there are many really cheap off the shelf analog only PBX's out there 
that will be much cheaper.. the advantage to * is all the features you 
get and the VoIP support.. and of course the satisfaction when its all 
working.. Of course if it crashes you better run cos your users will be 
hunting you down.. :)

>
>
>Thank you in advance,
>  
>
Hope it helped..

Later..