[Asterisk-Users] Re: Asterisk newbie questions

[Jason Kawakami]

----- Original Message ----- 
>
> [sarcasm on]
> Thank you ALL for your warm welcome to this list.  I posted this message
> yesterday, and since I'm only getting Digest I figured I'd see a response
in
> a day...
> [sarcasm off]
>
> C'mon.  This is the Asterisk Users mail list, isn't it?  This is where the
> Voip WIKI tells me to go for information on how people are using *.  Even
if
> you only point me in the direction of some other information, it would be
> great if I could hear SOMETHING from you guys and gals out there....I
humbly
> seek YOUR wisdom.

most of us have spent years/months learning our trade.  having new guys who
want to "...be the hero and pull this off with a much smaller budget." come
in and demand instantaneous help doesn't really fly with this list or any
other OS list in my experience.  the expectation of the users on this list
is to have you TRY something before you come crying for help.

you have to remember that responding to anything on this list is totally
voluntary.  posting things like "sarcasm on" like you have here is pretty
much assured you of being ignored other than being flamed.  however like
S.L.Jackson in Pulp Fiction, you have caught me in a transitional period and
I'm not gonna kill you.
>
> Reposted message:
>
> snip>
> Here is a scenario - 40 person call center, all with PC's (windows) and
> soft-phone.
> -any recommendations on hardware to run *?  soft phones?  90% of calls
would
> be IP / IAX coming to the center.

Call center yes.  built into * look on the wiki for stuff about queues and
agents.  softphones are a bad idea.  laptops/desktops are busy running other
applications and if your users/computers are like most then they are already
overworked with too little horsepower.  look into cisco for phones only.
they work quite well with * and there are lots available on the open market.
>
> I read in the list archives about an ACD application / extension to * that
> would probably to what I need in that regard.
> - thoughts?

call center apps are always critical and if you are most interested in the
distribution of calls then the built in ACD will work just fine.  however,
know that the MIS portion of the call center (reports, call vectoring etc)
will land squarely on your shoulders to develop something that suits your
needs.
>
> In remote locations I would also run *, and hook it up to an extension on
an
> existing PBX.  Excuse the complete newbie question, but how many 'wires'
do
> I need to bring between the PBX and the * box to support multiple
> simultaneous calls?  These calls would come from any extension on the TDM
> pbx to asterisk to the call center.  In a typical scenario there would NOT
> be a lot of simultaneous calls unless the system we're supporting went
down
> hard.

FXO/FXS integration would work for very low volume of calls ((qty not sound
of course)each channel requires 2 wires to be connected to a port of
opposite signalling on your system))  if you are really looking for more
seamless integration then look to T-1/PRI networking and I wont get into
that here.
>
> How would / could? one configure * at the remote location to communicate
> with * at the call center?

IAX trunks.  the wiki can explain further
>
> How would / could? one configure * at the remote location to use the
> existing TDM PBX as failover to call the support center via 1-800 if the
IP
> circuit died?

this is the most difficult question you have asked and I am not sure how to
answer this with an * system but I am sure it can be done.  with normal pbx
you would set primary and overflow routes for particular dialing patterns.
probably has something to do with GoToIf cmd.

Good luck, and remember the most important thing is to TRY something on your
own before you come out to the list and ask how to do it.  if you dont want
to or cant do this and still want to explore * as an option, post a request
to the asterisk-biz list, you are bound to get responses from lots of people
who have spent the time to learn how to delploy * as a solution.  or look
deeper into the wiki for a consultant(s) to do all of it for you.  will
still probably be cheaper than a traditional solution and that still makes
you "...the hero and pull this off with a much smaller budget."


Jason Kawakami
www.optellabs.com