[Asterisk-Users] What business IP phone to use

[Pete Barnwell]

On Sat, 2006-02-25 at 17:19 +0000, Chris Bagnall wrote:
> > ...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.

Hi Chris,

I find the same thing often - what I'm curious about is how you deal
with the situation when the 'less than ideal' solution doesn't work (or
doesn't work consistently)?

Rgds

Pete