[asterisk-users] To use asterisk or proprietary hardware, that is the question

[shadowym]

Hi there,

Here is my dilema.  I have a new small business customer that wants me to
put in a VoIP phone system for them.  Based on their requirements, I have
determined that it needs to be a "set it and forget it" type of thing like a
lot of small business proprietary systems.  

At the same time they would like to be able to do minor dial plan changes
themselves so I have determine that a GUI like FreePBX or similar
alternative (free or commercial) is appropriate.

I have some concerns about using Asterisk for this. As much as I am in
support of the whole Asterisk revolution, I just do not feel confident
enough in Asterisk on a Hard Drive as a "set it and forget it" setup running
month after month, year after year.  I am hoping someone can convince me
otherwise.  I'm concerned about hard drive corruptions/failures, memory
leaks, software bugs etc.  I have the budget to buy good quality hardware so
if I was to go with Asterisk I would go industrial grade fanless computer,
power conditioned UPS etc.  I am not concerned about the reliability of most
of the hardware.  It's the hard drive and the software that runs on it that
worries me.  I will obviously use a mature stable Asterisk release and the
most stable Linux version which I won't bother naming just to keep the
discussion focussed.

I have other Asterisk installs that went well but they were in environments
where there were IT people around who were prepared to deal with some Linux
administration and I could provide ongoing support for more major things.
That is not the case here.  Some of those sites have been running for months
untouched, some needed some updates and reboots for various issues.  I don't
think this customer would look very favorably on me having to come in and
add patches or have to reboot once a month or whatever.  Their expection is
the same as they would have with any other phone system that mounts on the
wall and "just works" for years.  I think that is a reasonable expectation.

I am looking at putting in an Epygi proprietary VoIP system in instead.  It
is mostly hardware based although apparently runs Linux.  It has a GUI, is
supposedly plug and play most of the time, and most importantly, does not
use a Hard Drive.  I have heard good things about them so for arguments
sake, let's assume voice quality, features, and the enduser experience are
approximately the same as using an Asterisk/Analog FXO Card/hardware echo
cancel solution.  Flexibility, scalability, upgradeability are non-issues
because the requirements are fixed.  The Eqygi will end up costing a few
hundred dollars more but for arguments sake let's assume cost's are
approximately the same.

Astlinux would work except it does not currently meet some key requirements
(GUI, Sangoma Analog card support).  Otherwise it would be a GREAT
distribution for "set it and forget it" running without a Hard Drive IMHO.

Anyways, I am hoping I can get enough positive feedback about "set it and
forget it" experiences to convince me to use Asterisk/FreePBX instead of a
more proprietary VoIP solution.  Either way I will be using the same SIP
phones so that is a non-issue as well.

Basic Requirements are as follows:
Wall Mount
*6 local network SIP extensions
*4 remote SIP extension over ADSL or cable
*4 incoming analog phone lines in a hunt group
*features such as auto attendant, voicemail to email, forward to pager for
after hours emergency etc.  Nothing too special

Any help, advice, experiences etc. would be greatly appreciated.