[Asterisk-Users] Is Asterisk ready for "real" use?

[James H. Thompson]

One thing that PBX systems do well that VOIP systems mostly don't do at all well is support
handsfree intercom/paging  functions.   Some phone systems will even let you page to an in-use
extentsion.  So if you depend on these kinds of functions, it may be hard to replace them with
current VOIP systems.

Jim

James H. Thompson
jht at lava.net

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Ciholas" <mikec at ciholas.com>
To: <asterisk-users at lists.digium.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2003 5:42 AM
Subject: [Asterisk-Users] Is Asterisk ready for "real" use?


>
> Okay,
>
> I am facing a move in two months to newly renovated space.  I
> have to decide *this week* between:
>
> A) Pull LAN and phone cables, prepare to move and expand our
> "traditional" PBX (Panasonic KX-TD1232 and VPS200).
>
> or
>
> B) Pull only LAN cables, go VoIP, use Asterisk as PBX.
>
> It is *not* an option to purchase a VoIP system package from
> Cisco, 3com, etc.  Installers are getting an enormous premium for
> this now (rough estimate, 20 extensions $40K (!)).
>
> I am "this close" to committing to a solution based on Asterisk
> PBX, PoE LAN switches, and VoIP phones.  I am absolutely sure it
> is the right *long term* solution, but I don't know if it is
> "ready" for reliable daily usage.
>
> I've literally read the last year's worth of posts to
> asterisk-users to get a "feel" for the situation.  Since you
> don't see posts of the form "installed it, just working, no
> problems" very often, you could get the opinion that everyone has
> problems since that is what the mailing list is for.
>
> So, I would like to hear from those out there that have a system
> as I've described above and tell me if I'm insane to commit this
> direction or whether it makes sense.
>
> For those of you who have done it, how much time did it take you
> to get the system running smoothly?
>
> PS: In case it matters, we're extremely Linux capable (we use it
> for our file serving, networking, and we built our own custom ERP
> on perl and mySQL, we also do embedded Linux in custom military
> robot controllers).
>
> --
> Mike Ciholas                            (812) 476-2721 voice
> CIHOLAS Enterprises                     (812) 476-2881 fax
> 2626 Kotter Ave, Unit D                 mikec at ciholas.com
> Evansville, IN 47715                    http://www.ciholas.com
>
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