[asterisk-users] Multiple contacts.

[Steve Totaro]

SIP wrote:
> Steve Totaro wrote:
>   
>> Alex Balashov wrote:
>>   
>>     
>>> I'm sure this has been asked a million times before, but is there an easy 
>>> wa to have Asterisk register more than one (distinct) contact binding
>>> concurrently?
>>>
>>> The goal is to have two phones register with the same credentials from 
>>> different locations and consistently and reliably ring on inbound calls,
>>> irrespective of their registration intervals and so on.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Alex Balashov
>>> Evariste Systems
>>> Web    : http://www.evaristesys.com/
>>> Tel    : +1-678-954-0670
>>> Direct : +1-678-954-0671
>>>   
>>>     
>>>       
>> A million and one now, check the archives.
>>
>> No you cannot and why would you want to?  The device that registers last 
>> will ring.
>>
>> Just set the phones up in a ring group or even a ring all queue.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Steve Totaro
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>>   
>>     
> Why would you WANT to? Well heck, I can think of a lot of reasons -- not 
> the least of which being able to freely log in from anywhere at anytime 
> with multiple phones (the wifi sip phone from the coffee shop, the desk 
> phone at the office, the phone at home, the new phone I just picked up 
> at lunchtime) without having to configure a device entry for each and 
> every one of them and modify extensions.conf to ring multiple devices 
> for each and every phone I add or remove from the list.
>
> In short, flexibility.
>
> The problem with this question is the way Asterisk thinks of phones to 
> the way many people think of logins. To Asterisk, phones are devices -- 
> separate entities for which there should be an entry each time. To those 
> of us NOT migrating into Asterisk from the traditional PBX world, this 
> is somewhat of a foreign concept. The idea that everywhere we log in 
> from must be a unique device that has to be configured to be allowed to 
> log in is somewhat weird in a world of mobility.
>
> In the days of terminals all connecting to a central hub, it made more 
> sense.  But in the days of internet cafes, library computers, wi-fi 
> everywhere, etc., it's just not a compatible concept. Who wants to 
> reconfigure his VoIP box every time he goes to a new computer with a new 
> softphone, for instance?
>
> So while it may make absolutely PERFECT sense in the realm of Asterisk, 
> as Asterisk is a PBX system and that's how PBX systems think, I'm always 
> surprised at the number of people who simply don't understand why people 
> ask this question. A lot. :)
>
> N.
>   
Every machine in a in a Windows environment must be configured to join a 
domain.  A user must also be setup in that domain to log in.  It is more 
secure to lock that user into a single login session so that if they are 
logged in at one machine, they cannot login somewhere else.  Think of it 
like that.

Flexibility is not always best practice nor secure.

I do not see how internet cafes and wifi have anything to to do with 
anything.  If you go to any of these places with your softphone or wifi 
phone, they should work.  I am not sure how you would expect a computer 
to just know how to configure itself other than setting up a download 
site with a provisioning tool.  AFAIK, computers cannot read minds yet, 
nor just configure themselves without human intervention.

If you want to be that flexible you can just configure Asterisk to allow 
you to auto register and use authenticate on dialing or to be really 
flexible, just leave it wide open until you file to file bankruptcy due 
to toll fraud.

Thanks,
Steve Totaro