[Asterisk-biz] Multipoint VOIP Network

[Anton Krall]

Brian.

You explanation was very interesting. I have been using asterisk as the
"brain" for some time now and when I saw the offer from vodtel I thought to
myself "wow! If they can do p2p without the need for a central directory or
server, then its magic!" and some clients of mine have been asking "why do
for asterisk when these guys do that?" then again, I need to explain to them
that voice communications is one thing and having PBX functions is another,
asterisk does it all but still, like you mentioned, you need to explain to
them how voip works so you need to explain how the Internet works and how
voice works over it :)

 

|-----Original Message-----
|From: asterisk-biz-bounces at lists.digium.com 
|[mailto:asterisk-biz-bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of 
|Brian Mulligan
|Sent: Miércoles, 27 de Julio de 2005 01:18 p.m.
|To: Commercial and Business-Oriented Asterisk Discussion
|Subject: RE: [Asterisk-biz] Multipoint VOIP Network
|
|This is a broad subject and reflects the confusion which 
|exists when the two worlds of IP and PSTN collide.
|In theory, an IP phone is just the same as a PC connected to 
|the Internet.
|In order to find other users the PC employs DNS to convert 
|names (e.g. web sites, servers) to IP addresses. So, if you 
|have an IP phone you can talk to any other IP phone providing 
|you know its address. The browser on your PC is capable of 
|storing hundreds of web site addresses as 'favourites', your 
|email client is likewise able to store thousands of email 
|addresses. Finding web sites is a case of knowing the web site 
|name to begin with or more likely 'googling' for the name.
|So, if your IP phone has a lot of storage and can build a 
|large directory of other IP phone addresses then you do not 
|need any form of central repository. Some of the snags with 
|this approach are;
|
|1. How do you know if another user has his phone on?
|2. How do you make sure that your directory is uptodate?
|3. How do you ensure that everyone is using a compatible 
|phone? (standards in the IP phone world are still something of 
|a moving target) 4. What do you do if you want to talk to 
|someone who is not on the Internet?
|5. How do you make sure that your conversations are secure, 
|and that the other person is verifiably who they say they are?
|
|etc. etc.
|
|This is where your central 'brain' comes in. You can manage 
|without it of course, after all, people have been using the 
|Internet without 'brains' for many years already ;-)
|
|(Apologies in advance for some of the broad simplifications of 
|complex issues above}
|
|Brian
|
|
|
|
|> -----Original Message-----
|> From: asterisk-biz-bounces at lists.digium.com
|> [mailto:asterisk-biz-bounces at lists.digium.com]On Behalf Of 
|Anton Krall
|> Sent: 27 July 2005 16:59
|> To: 'Commercial and Business-Oriented Asterisk Discussion'
|> Subject: RE: [Asterisk-biz] Multipoint VOIP Network
|>
|>
|> So in fact, all brach offices could be using ATA's or phones but you 
|> DO need a central brain like Asterisk to make it all connect to each 
|> other right?
|> That’s how I have been using it but products like vodtel 
|promote that 
|> they don’t need a central brain, that their boxes or atas 
|can connect 
|> to each other via a propietary network, which I guess is something 
|> like dundi, but you still need somewhere to register each 
|ata, even with dundi right?
|> Somewhere where the ata actually authenticates its user and password 
|> and knows where to send each call to?
|>
|>
|> |-----Original Message-----
|> |From: asterisk-biz-bounces at lists.digium.com
|> |[mailto:asterisk-biz-bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of 
|> |Jean-Michel Hiver
|> |Sent: Miércoles, 27 de Julio de 2005 09:27 a.m.
|> |To: Commercial and Business-Oriented Asterisk Discussion
|> |Subject: Re: [Asterisk-biz] Multipoint VOIP Network
|> |
|> |Anton Krall wrote:
|> |
|> |>Guys.
|> |>
|> |>Maybe this is a very simple or "stupid" question but reading
|> |about some
|> |>systems like vodtel's get me thinking.
|> |>
|> |>In a scenario where you have a HQ offide and some branch
|> |offices, most
|> |>of the time you put an asterisk based server on the main
|> |office and on
|> |>the satellite or branch offices, you put ATA's, IP phones, 
|mediatrix 
|> |>gateways, etc. that all connect to the main Asterisk server
|> |thus giving
|> |>you all the PBX functions, etc.
|> |>
|> |>But, is it possible to have the same scenario but without the
|> |Asterisk
|> |>based server and just install gateways on each office? How 
|can they 
|> |>communicate between them then? Products like Vodtel claim you can 
|> |>install gateways on each office (FXS gateways and 
|sometimes also FXO
|> |>ports) and exchange calls between them and every share the FXO 
|> |>lines, but, don't you need a central "brain" like Asterisk 
|to have a
|> |dialplan
|> |>and process the trunk and call exchange or know where all the
|> |gateways are?
|> |>
|> |>
|> |I think this is exactly the kind of stuff that 'dundi' is 
|supposed to 
|> |do. Basically, you create a P2P network, and to add a node, 
|you sign 
|> |a 'peering agreement' with another node of the network.
|> |
|> | From then on, extensions (either e.164 or internal ones) can be 
|> |added by each node.
|> |
|> |However, for corporate type application, is it really worth the 
|> |trouble?
|> |Seems to me that it would be simpler to maintain a central 
|> |extensions.conf and have each asterisk gateway periodically 'rsync'
|> |against it and do a asterisk -rx 'restart when convenient' 
|afterwards.
|> |
|> |Cheers,
|> |Jean-Michel.
|> |
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