[Asterisk-Users] Want to use Asterisk instead of existingMeridianNorstar system ... need some help

[Mike Robinson]

Yes, you CAN use your existing Meridian phones.  There is a product
called a Handset Gateway that converts traditional digital PBX
telephones (Norstar, Meridian, Definity, NEC, etc) into SIP signaling so
the existing phones and wiring can work with *.  It's a heck of a lot
cheaper than buying new IP phones (plus the LAN upgrade to power them),
and you still get all the features of the digital phones (speakerphone,
message waiting indicator, feature buttons, etc). Also, it makes the
conversion a lot simpler because users don't have to learn how o use a
new phone and you don't have to go around to all the desks and swap the
phones.  Handset Gateways are available from Mitel, 3Com, Lucent
(Lucent, not Avaya), and Citel Technologies. I think only the Lucent and
Citel ones work with * though.  Check it out and save yourself a
bunch-o-headache.

-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Dennick [mailto:joe at dennick.net] 
Sent: Monday, April 18, 2005 9:24 PM
To: 'Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion'
Subject: RE: [Asterisk-Users] Want to use Asterisk instead of
existingMeridianNorstar system ... need some help

You can use the same six lines for both inbound and outbound calling
just like you do now.  The 'roll-over' will start on line 1 and move up.
You'll have to configure your outbound calls to start on line 6 and move
down.  If you ever get to the point where all six are consumed, you'll
want to expand.

You probably can NOT use the existing Meridian phones because they are
digital phone sets, not standard analog ones.  You can purchase 5
TDM400P cards (assuming you have 5 available PCI slots in your Asterisk
Server), and configure two with FXO ports (making 8 total) for the POTS
lines and the other three with FXS ports (making 12 total) to connect to
regular analog phone lines.  The 4-port FXO board costs $337 each, and
the 4-port FXS board costs $305 each.  

Or, you can just buy two of the 4-port FXO boards for the external lines
and then purchase either SIP phones or SIP Converters like the Sipura
that will connect to regular analog phones.  

To make it a little easier to swallow, there are plenty of places that
are willing to purchase your used Meridian equipment.

Personally, I'd opt for the SIP phones because they offer a lot more
functionality (like Conferencing and Transferring), and the will use
existing LAN Cabling.  Another thing to consider is that if you ever
need more than six POTS lines, it'll probably be cheaper and more
convenient to move to a T-1 (or partial T-1).

Good Luck!


-----Original Message-----
From: asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com
[mailto:asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of Imran
Sent: Monday, April 18, 2005 11:09 PM
To: asterisk-users at lists.digium.com
Cc: asterisk-dev at lists.digium.com
Subject: [Asterisk-Users] Want to use Asterisk instead of existing
MeridianNorstar system ... need some help


Hello:
 
I want to replace our Meridian system (6 incoming lines) with * for
obvious reasons such as Voip but I am not sure how to go about this.  I
have 6 incoming lines with a rollover so that only one main number is
published. I understand that I will need 6 FXO ports coming into
Asterisk but I am not sure how to handle connections going out of * (the
connections that my existing phones will use) ... how many FXS ports
will
I need????
 
Can I use my existing Meridian phones (6 line ones) 
Do I need 1 FXS port for each extensions in the offices (there are
currently 12 meridian phones) 
How should the extension jacks in the offices be wired ... I guess this
will depend on the answer to # 2 above. 
 
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 
Best regards
Imran


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