[asterisk-users] Advice on Asterisk Conference

[Stuart Elvish - IP Exchange Systems]

Hi Mitch,

Firstly, I am not a conferencing guru; I just hope this helps.

> I'm looking for some best practices on how to set it up.
> 
> 1.  DO I need a separate server for the conference server?
This depends on a few factors:
(a) You won't be able to run MySQL alongside Asterisk with conferencing
and get good results. If you plan to use a single Asterisk server to do
conferencing and other voice functions (for example voicemail) then I
wouldn't expect any major issues. It depends on the usage of each voice
function of the system.

(b) How many conference participants will you have and will they all be
bi-directional audio or will it be more oriented towards having a single
person addressing multiple channels which are only listening?

(c) Are you planning on connecting SIP endpoints directly to Asterisk
and perhaps passing some of the callers through other trunks (SIP or ISDN)?

> 2.  Do I need to offload the actual conference to a router with PVDM modules.
Got no idea, sorry. Haven't worked with Cisco voice equipment personally.

> 3.  Does anyone have experience with transitioning from Cisco conferencing to Asterisk?
A couple of my clients have wanted integration with other systems
(Nortel / Avaya) and you will be best using the cheapest option of ISDN
cross-over cabling (if you already have spare T1/E1 ports) or SIP
trunks. The Cisco (or Asterisk server) can be programmed in such a way
that the conference participants (or voicemail users etc) don't know
which system they are interacting with.

> 4.  How many participants can participate in a conference?  
Depending on 1b and your processor specification, you can host quite
large conferences with only "marked users" speaking and many end points
listening. You would likely have to get a testing budget and figure it
out for your own system if no one else can provide you more detailed
information.

I hope this helps.

Kind Regards
Stuart