[Asterisk-Users] Has anyone tried using a Sipura-3000 as an FXO device for *?

[Rich Adamson]

> I am considering using Sipura-3000s as FXO devices for my * system. Has 
> anyone tried them in that configuration? They interest me because they 
> need no PCI slots and therefore no drivers. I would much prefer not to 
> have any special kernel requirements for my system.

In the process of doing that now.

Simple / prelim implementation:

Each of the three ports (eg, fxs, fxo, cat5) are treated as separate 
interfaces, and one can configure fxo -> *, fxs -> *, ring-through from
fxo -> fxs, * g/w functions to the pstn, etc. There seems to be a ton
of functionality in the box and those functions are mostly limited by
your imagination (and how well one can read and comprehend).

Configurable from a web interface, however there are a ton of options
that aren't very clear without digging deep into their newly released
admin manual (called a user guide on their site). The manual seems to
have been written for the 1000/2000 with additional chapters/sections
oriented to the 3000. (Sort of rush to print.)

The fxo and fxs interfaces can be configured to register separately
with *, making both very addressable, etc.

Like *, it also has an internal dialplan, however understanding the
various interactions requires some experimentation, as each of the
interfaces seem to be considered a "gateway", and part of the dialplan
directs calls to gw0, gw1, gw2 (etc) which correspond to physical
interfaces in most cases.

The box was truly targeted for the residential user where existing
phones interface on one side, the pstn line on the other side, and
the default call is sent to the voip interface. Disconnected (or
failed) ethernet results in a relay flipping, tying the fxs directly
to the fxo. Same with power failure. Nice.

So, properly configured, it appears to be a very nice box that would
allow * to sit in the middle, but still provide excellent fail-over
capabilities when unusual events occur.

For small installations, it makes handling US 911 calls extremely
easy as that can be made part of the internal dialplan.

Initial tests did not show any signs of echo, very good volume and 
audio quality, and would probably be a good choice for small quantities
of pstn lines (particularily soho and residential users).

The only downside I've seen thus far (not much experience as yet) is
that * calls to the pstn line are cut through immediately, so one 
hears the initial dialtone from the pstn and the sending of the dtmf
tones on all outgoing calls. Kind of annoying, but there might be 
some config option to handle it; I've just not found it as yet. (If
anyone knows how to handle that, sure would appreciate a suggestion.)

Thus far, I'd give the box at least an A-, and will likely move 
higher with a little more experience.

Rich