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

[Ed Pastore]

Thanks, that's great stuff, Wiley.

On Jul 13, 2005, at 2:20 PM, Wiley Siler wrote:

> How many users are being supported again?

About 50 users or fewer. But I suppose there are some more lines  
lying around for conference rooms and such. Right now, I think we  
have 20 POTS lines on our ComDial.

> The biggest hits to servers seems to be due to transcoding in most
> cases.
> Look on the wiki for an explanation of server sizing and decide based
> upon how you will connect your users to dial tone.
> A good bet is to figure on a dual processor machine with 1 GB (or 2 is
> better at current RAM costs) of RAM, and at least 80GB HDD.  You may
> want something that has drive redundancy via RAID (most would I think)
> so factor that into the cost.

Good, solid server with RAID. Check. For me that's a given. :)

> How many phones do you need?
> What features?  Great phones can be had for $150-200.
> Do you need one line LED only?  Get the Polycom IP300.
> Need multi-line?  Get the Polycom IP501. (best value in my opinion but
> others are great too)

I'm hoping to do mostly software phones and USB handsets. But I  
suppose I'll need phones again for workstation areas and such. So  
I'll say 15.

> How many ports for your Gigabit network?  How many replacement NICs?
> How many switches at what size?  I assume you can price that yourself?
> Do you really even need this?  I think moving to Gigibit is great but
> you may want to make sure you focus more on QoS enabled switches.
> Plenty come in Gigabit capable and with high port density.  Linksys  
> has
> some nice managed switch at 24 ports with gigabit and QoS.

I'm doing gigabit as a separate project. It's budgeted outside of  
this. I want a faster network for more robust use of services on my  
OS X servers. But I'll be sure to look for QoS capability.

> How many lines do you need to have dialing at once?
> Do you need 40 hard lines?  Do you need 23 (PRI T1)?
> Figure a PRI T1 at $600-800 per month (may be different in your  
> region)

If I have ~20 POTS lines now should I expect that 23 channels would  
be enough?

> Software phones are pretty much free at this point.  USB Headsets are
> around $50 for good ones from Logitech or Plantronics (my fave).

Cool. Maybe I can swing some bluetooth headset too. :)

Isn't there some sort of device that would let a remote laptop user  
use my Asterisk system from a hotel or whatnot? That is, something  
that lets calls to their work number route to their PowerBook no  
matter where they are? If so, what is that called and how much are they?

> PCI cards are pretty much decided like this.  From what I have seen,
> Sangoma cards require more technical savvy than Digium cards so  
> plan on
> getting some Digium cards unless you want to deal with the learning
> curve.  Others may disagree but that is my opinion.  Examples of the
> card costs can be seen at voipsupply.com and other places.  They make
> multiport cards that support up to 4 T1s on one card if you need more
> than 23 channels of voice.

Here's where I start to get wide-eyed.

I know I need PCI cards, but don't yet understand what they do or  
which ones I need or how many. Assuming one T1 is enough, which card 
(s) would I need?

Are there any other devices I need in the route between the T1 and my  
network?

Also, don't I need to pay someone for phone numbers? I'm still fuzzy  
on what the deal is with that. Is there even any benefit in moving to  
a T1, or should I just keep my 20 POTS lines and route them in  
somehow? Is there a PCI card for that?

And can I have 50 phone numbers with 20 POTS lines or with 23  
channels? How does that work? (Yes, me telecom newbie!) The wiki is  
big... just a pointer to the right place would be appreciated, if  
that's what it takes.

> I think most of the pricing is really something you can do yourself if
> you just answer the questions above and go from there.  I don't think
> anyone here will be able to give you a budget number.  You will  
> need to
> start a tally sheet and go from there.  Post your numbers when you are
> done and I bet someone will double check them for you.  Until then,  
> you
> need do a little more of the calculation on your own.  You don't  
> need to
> understand telecom to get this budget completed.  You just need to  
> know
> what your basic requirements are.  Answer the questions above and you
> will know all of your hardware and line provisioning.  Factor in an
> additional 10% for cost overrun and you should be good.  Don't  
> forget to
> add any consulting fees you feel you may need (figure a couple  
> grand at
> worst).

Out of curiosity, do people sell turn-key Asterisk systems and/or  
bundled Asterisk installations? I'm leaning away from that sort of  
thing, but it wouldn't hurt to know what the field is, and see some  
cost estimates as a fallback.

Thanks again for all the help!