[Asterisk-Users] Qs about FXO/FXS cards

[Jim Van Meggelen]

asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com wrote:
> This has been an interesting discussion. I'll chime in with my
> experience here. 
> 
> I have two servers. One with the cheapest motherboard and athlon
> processor I could find on Newegg.com. The other is a 1999 era
> motherboard with a Via C3 processor, again a bargain basement
> special. The Athlon system has a decent power supply - 400+
> watt, the Via has a
> very generic PS that came with the case - 300 watt tops.
> 
> On both system I have TDM cards, the Athlon has a 4 port FXS and two
> x100p's, the Via has a 2 port FXS.
> 
> Both systems are in "production" if you could call it that
> because they
> handle little traffic - home/hobby systems.
> 
> I have had no problems at all with the tdm cards or Asterisk. I
> occassionally lose my network on the Athlon machine - I chalk
> that up to
> the fact that I'm currently sharing an IRQ with two ethernet
> cards and
> an X100P.
> 
> I'm thinking of ditching the two x100p's in my Athlon machine
> for a TDM
> card with FXO modules to free up a slot and hopefully the
> burdened IRQ.
> Based on what I'm reading here I probably should think *really hard*
> about that. 

If I may, I'd like to ask you some general questions about the
environment these systems are running in.

- How are these systems powered and grounded?
- Are the lines feeding the FXO cards coming from the PSTN, or are they
being fed by a PBX or similar? (basically, how long is the loop between
the card and whatever is feeding it?)

You are successfully running systems that many would tell you to expect
problems with. The TDM400 FXO modules are generally agreed to be an
improvement over the X100P, so if you are having no troubles now, it is
entirely plausible that migrating to TDM400-based FXOs will work for you
as well. Unfortunately, there is no way of guaranteeing that, and it's
your money, so I can't advise you much more than that.

Frankly, what is most interesting is the fact that your systems are
trouble-free. Certainly if you were to ask if such systems could be put
into production, you would probably be advised not to expect much.

There seem to be a lot of variables with these TDM400s.

Cheers,

Jim.

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