[asterisk-users] FW: Seamless Multi Office Asterisk Deployment

Tue Mar 13 08:58:50 MST 2007

For startes I will keep it on the list and we can discuss some major
concepts, and I will possibly make some contact off list later for the
nitty-gritty :)

In-reply to Steve:
I did have a look at the "bicomsystems" product and it does appear to do
everything I am looking for. However, I have looked in to vendor systems
and have decided to go with an Asterisk system. Hench asking for
assistance on the Asterisk mailing list ;)

On the discussion at hand:
At this time I am not going to worry about the QoS with my T1 network
lines, I have been wondering what the quality will be like. I do not
plan to have more than maybe three calls on a line at peak times. But I
know that there will be more in the future. I am working with a total
employee base of around 30, and the remote offices have two to four
employees at a time, not a huge traffic demand.

What I am most curious about at this time is the methods used to move
from server to server. *Ideally* I would like to sit down at a phone,
enter my extension/password and have that phone ring as my extension.
Essentially, I would like a log in system on the phone. This presents me
with two issues: I have to make my phones allow simple logon as a SIP
device, and I need to get my credentials to move between Asterisk
servers. What methods have others used, or where should I look for more
information?

At this point I have two Polycom phones (430 and 501) for testing, they
seem to be talked about as very flexible. If they will not allow me to
add a "user friendly" login prompt, maybe I need to find alternatives
though. But this is the Asterisk list and I don't want to go too far off
topic, so the main concern is how I would synchronize my information
between asterisk servers.

One final topic on this message I would like to cover is time frame. I
am thinking maybe around 6 months to have at least a partial functioning
system up and tested. By partial I mean deployable with a basic
infrastructure feature set. I don't know if this is too little time or
too much time. My co-workers are excited about what Asterisk has to
offer. Any other thoughts on time frames?

P.S. I want to thank everyone who replied so quickly, surprised my
co-worker and I :D
--
Thanks,
  Brandon Comouche
    IT Administrator
    Sno Falls Credit Union

-----Original Message-----
From: asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com
[mailto:asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of Bruce
Reeves
Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 9:52 PM
To: Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion
Subject: Re: [asterisk-users] FW: Seamless Multi Office Asterisk
Deployment

I'm more then happy to share my experiences with anyone, there is just
a lot to be said about the things Brandon is trying to accomplish.
Take the automatic fail over he mentioned, there are a number of ways
to do that and everyone has an opinion. I just want make myself
available to help other get from "playing" with Asterisk like I did to
really putting it to use so that people sit back and say wow, my
cisco/avaya/nortel can't do that.

On 3/12/07, Sean Bright <sean.bright at gmail.com> wrote:
> Why does everyone want to go off-list?  Is this not information that
could
> benefit others?
>
>
> On 3/12/07, Bruce Reeves < asterisk at nortex-networks.com> wrote:
> > Brandon
> >
> > Your on the right track with what is can do. It will also be good to
> > look into what kind of QOS you can do on the T-1 connections between
> > offices. I have an 8 office setup similar to this and many of your
> > goals I have achieved and would be glad to offer ideas and such if
you
> > want to email me off list.
> >
> > On 3/12/07, Brandon Comouche <brandon at snofalls.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Hello
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > I have a brief and a long question about a possible Asterisk
deployment
> I am
> > > planning.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Long Story Short:
> > >
> > > I have four total offices, one main and three remote. All offices
are
> > > connected using dedicated network T1 lines creating one unified
network
> > > across offices. I would like to know if it is possible to set up
an
> Asterisk
> > > system with the following capabilities:
> > >
> > > - Branch Unification (I know this can be done)
> > >
> > > - Branch Independence (In case of T1 network Failure, PSTN line
failover
> at
> > > each branch)
> > >
> > > - Roaming Extensions (A user can go to any office and log in to a
phone
> -
> > > hopefully check voice mail as well)
> > >
> > > Basically, I am asking if Asterisk can be a system that will
seamlessly
> > > operate as one big system and handle failovers as well.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > After spending hours playing with Asterisk, reading voip-info.org,
and
> > > watching this list, it seems that Asterisk can handle anything. I
just
> would
> > > like re-assurance that I am not chasing a lost cause. A simple Yes
or No
> > > answer is acceptable to me. Below I have a long version of what I
am
> trying
> > > to do if anyone is in the mood to give me more pointers J
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >   Brandon
> > >
> > > (Long Version Follows)
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Long Story Version:
> > >
> > > Here is what I have to work with:
> > >
> > > - Four Offices (One main and three remote)
> > >
> > > - Dedicated T1 lines connecting three remote offices to one main
office
> (all
> > > connections made through the main office)
> > >
> > > - Will have a T1 Voice line at the main office
> > >
> > > - Three PSTN lines at each remote office
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Essentially what I would like to do is create a system comparable
to the
> > > ShoreTel ShoreGear product line (if you are familiar with it).
This
> system
> > > will seamlessly unite all offices as one and provide failover in
the
> case of
> > > line outage. It also allows users to roam from phone to phone
across
> offices
> > > seamlessly. It has many more features, but those are two main
features I
> am
> > > looking for. About 40 total phones will be deployed. To make it
even
> more
> > > difficult, I would like all user extensions to start the same
(i.e.
> across
> > > offices all extensions are 5### with no discernable pattern).
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Progress so far:
> > >
> > > At this time I have determined that I will need a server at each
office
> as
> > > well as a T1 card (TE110P) at the Main office and the four port
TDM PSTN
> > > cards at each remote office. I plan on using the Polycom IP 430 or
501
> > > (Undecided, 501 if required). I have been using TrixBox to this
point,
> would
> > > like to continue if possible. It appears that I will want to use
DunDi
> in
> > > some fashion to unite the branches.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > My main roadblock right now is trying to figure out how to get all
the
> > > information across the offices at the same time (extensions,
voicemail).
> I
> > > have successfully had two boxes communicate, but what I am looking
for
> is
> > > much more complex I feel. I have thought of synchronized MySQL
> databases,
> > > but I do not know if that will work the way I wish.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > If anyone reads this far ;) I am looking for suggestions for
routes I
> might
> > > consider or places I should/could look for more information. I am
> relatively
> > > new to Asterisk, but I am not afraid to get my hands dirty. If
something
> I
> > > said did not make any sense or if there is more information I
could
> provide,
> > > I am happy to help where I can. Thank you for your time and
assistance.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >   Brandon Comouche
> > >      An IT Guy
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com --
> > >
> > > asterisk-users mailing list
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> > >
> > >
> http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Bruce
> > Nortex Networks
> > _______________________________________________
> > --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com --
> >
> > asterisk-users mailing list
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> >
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> >
>
>
>
>  --
> sean
> _______________________________________________
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>

-- 
Bruce
Nortex Networks
_______________________________________________
--Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com --

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