[Asterisk-Users] What business IP phone to use

[Chris Bagnall]

> ...or if your 
> asterisk server is also a file server (which should never be 
> done)

I know I'm attracting flames for disagreeing, but sometimes when you're
dealing with small business customers there simply isn't the budget to have
separate machines for doing x, y and z, and often one finds the asterisk
server is the only *nix box on-site. That makes it an ideal box to use for
light file serving duties:
1) linux RAID1 support is pretty good, so you've got reasonable data
integrity without having to fork out for separate RAID controllers
2) samba works fairly well as a domain controller
3) you aren't buying another windows licence

Of course, in an ideal world you'd have a separate box as a file server, but
even in that instance, the asterisk box makes a good choice for storing
backups to (especially if they're scheduled late at night from workstations)
when the phones are unlikely to be in use.

It's a fascinating thread, this. 

Don't just rule out certain hardware or design choices because it isn't
what's normally considered a "professional" or "correct" way of doing
things. If you work with small businesses you'll often encounter scenarios
where you have to work within a very tight budget. That means you'll often
be making compromises that in an ideal world you wouldn't want to make -
cheap switches, reusing old hardware as routers, etc..

To give you an example: ever run a network over old 2-pair telephone wire? I
have, and in a fair number of cases it works. It's not something one would
do in an ideal world, it's sure as hell nowhere near cat5-compliant, but if
you're dealing with a listed building where trunking isn't permitted without
an extensive planning process, and lifting floorboards/ceilings is out of
the question, you may find yourself without an alternative.

So, for all the criticism, I'll continue using cheap switches, recycled
hardware and GXP-2000s in scenarios where the customer's budget simply can't
stretch to anything else.

Regards,

Chris
-- 
C.M. Bagnall, Director, Minotaur I.T. Limited
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