[Asterisk-Users] Systems Admin; Telecom Newbie - What do I need?

[Wiley Siler]

Hello and welcome...

Most of what you want to know is available on the wiki located here...
http://voip-info.org/tiki-index.php

Just scroll down to the "All Things Voip" section.

Cheers,
Wiley



-----Original Message-----
From: asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com
[mailto:asterisk-users-bounces at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of Ed Pastore
Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2005 2:33 PM
To: asterisk-users at lists.digium.com
Subject: [Asterisk-Users] Systems Admin; Telecom Newbie - What do I
need?

Hi, folks. I am planning on implementing Asterisk in 2006, and need  
to budget for it now, so I need to know what I'll need to get. My  
company has about 50 users, and is currently languishing on a very  
old Comdial PBX. All of our client computers are Macs; our servers  
are mostly OS X, with a couple Debians and a Red Hat.

I am thoroughly experienced at systems administration, and can figure  
out most everything I need on the computer hardware and software  
side, but I am a complete telecom newbie and get lost when trying to  
figure out what else I will need.

Here's what I think I need:
- A server, running Debian Linux or OS X (our preferred operating  
systems here)
- A good network. We're on switched 100 Base-T, but will move to  
gigabit next year.
- A T1 or some dedicated channels of a T1
- Gateway PCI cards or devices (in the case of OS X, only devices I  
guess)
- VOIP phones or phone software (I'd like to use software and USB  
handsets)

Here's what I don't get:

1. How do I route between the internet and the telco network? (I said  
I was a telecom newbie, right?) I mean, if someone dials a phone  
number, what tells it to route to my gateway device? Do I need  
service from a telecom company? I need to get the phone numbers from  
somewhere, right?

2. Does my network need to be VOIP capable? I see some network  
switches which route additional layers of ethernet, including in some  
cases VOIP. Do I really need that? Or will any gigabit switches do  
the trick? If so, what's up with those VOIP switches? Is that just  
marketing? They sure cost a lot more.

3. What do I need in a T1? I currently have one T1 from Sprint, going  
into a Cisco router, which then goes to my firewall, then to my  
network. If I want, say 30 channels of another T1 for VOIP... can I  
just buy another Sprint T1? And where does additional hardware fit  
into that route in order to split out the VOIP channels from the data  
channels?

4. Do I pretty much need a vendor for implementation help, if this is  
all new to me? Or is there a path I can follow that will help me get  
through this?

5. What am I not asking that I should be? :)

Any help, input, suggestions, etc. would be welcome. (But please no  
vendor calls yet... I'm in early budgeting, and will just ignore  
vendor input until I know more.)

Thanks!
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