[asterisk-users] small homebrew pbx

[Steve Edwards]

On Mon, 15 Jun 2015, lucio at sulweb.org wrote:

> I'm new here and I'm interested in building a small PBX with asterisk at 
> home. I have one single PSTN line and ethernet cabling in place. I 
> already have fairly decent PC that I can use (AMD FX 8350 16GB of RAM 
> and RAID 10 SATA disks). I make and receive 10 calls a day on average. I 
> want 4 IP phones connected to the ethernet network. When there is a 
> incoming call, all phones must ring and the first that takes the call 
> makes the others stop ringing, but lets them available for internal 
> calls.
>
> Given the requirements above, what's a cheap but working PCIe card / USB 
> adapter I could buy for this kind of PBX? Do I need things like echo 
> cancellation? Do I need FXS ports?

I don't know this 'translates' to Italy, but this is what I would advise 
somebody in the US to consider, assuming you have a reliable Internet 
connection.

0) I hope you mean you want to run Asterisk at home instead of 'Asterisk 
at Home.' A at H was an ancient distribution from around 2005.

1) Rent a DID (a 'PSTN number') from a reputable SIP provider. This 
eliminates the need for a PCI/USB interface and you won't disrupt your 
'business' while you figure out how to configure and test your Asterisk 
server.

In the US, you can rent a DID for about $1.50 per month and about a $0.01 
per minute of 'talk time.' For 10 calls per day, this should beat the hell 
out of a 'landline' monthly standing fee.

In the US, it costs less than $20.00 to 'port' your existing number if you 
are really in love with it.

2) Ditch the 'room warmer' and find something really small and cheap to 
run. I live in San Diego and we pay $0.32 per kWh. I'd guess running your 
rig would cost me $50.00 to $100.00 per month just in electricity -- and 
probably that much again in the summer for additional Air Conditioning.

Take a look at Soekris net4801. It's pretty old (but very reliable) and 
it's CPU will limit you on what OS you can run, but it will give you an 
idea of how small (and cheap to power) an 'Asterisk server' capable of 
handling a couple of simultaneous calls can be.

For a more modern server, look for something small and cheap based on 
something like an Atom processor. Maybe a used laptop. If the battery is 
still good, you've solved your UPS problem as well. Although, if you lose 
power, you've probably lost your Internet connection as well so you could 
only make calls between extensions.

3) For the IP phones, check out ebay.com. Last year, I picked up 3 Polycom 
SP 501's for $20.00 each. A little dated, but a great phone.

-- 
Thanks in advance,
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Edwards       sedwards at sedwards.com      Voice: +1-760-468-3867 PST
Newline                                              Fax: +1-760-731-3000