Also check the Fax machine itself, some have modes that work better with VOIP. The Brother MFC on my desk here has a specific VOIP mode. I assume this forces the machine to use only standard data rates, and not attempt any of the high speed modes. I'm running it through a Linksys/Cisco ATA can't remember if it's a PAP2 or a 2102.
Ken -----Original Message----- From: John Lange [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: November 5, 2014 3:16 PM To: Alex Robar Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: [on-asterisk] phones The Linksys (now Cisco) SPA2102 ATA is the workhorse. It is now End-of-Sale (September 2014). The replacement is the SPA112 (or technically the SPA122 if you need the built-in firewall (which I discourage but might be good for VOIP providers targeting residential). I have not tested the new models but they are based on the same firmware so I have no doubt they would work. Don't confuse these with the Cisco 180 series ATAs. Those are designed for the Cisco Collaboration Server (Call Manager) system. Completely different firmware and definitely NOT a good fit for Asterisk or 3rd party SIP environments. If your faxing is unreliable, it's probably because T38 is falling back to G711. Do a packet capture with Wireshark and take a look at the SIP ladder diagram to confirm it's successfully negotiating T38. For larger deployments, the Adtran 908e, 904e, etc. supports FXS and T38 on multiple ports. BTW, Adtran makes great gateways of all kinds. Actually, to expand on my thoughts about Asterisk, Adtran makes a full PBX in a box that includes PRI, FXO, FXS, 24 ports of POE and a firewall/router. It is the Netvanta 7000 series (they use Adtran branded Polycom handsets). It's a great fit for SMB. I've replaced a few "home grown" Asterisk boxes with these because the client doesn't have to buy new handsets. And Adtran has awesome tech support so when your "PBX guy" disappears, you can still get support. John On Wed, Nov 5, 2014 at 1:52 PM, Alex Robar <[email protected]> wrote: > John, > > Would you be willing to share the ATA that you are having success with? We > always obtained results that were "okay", but nothing that was reliable > enough for something like a medical clinic that sends a hundred faxes a > day. Granted this may have a lot to do with the provider, but I'm still > curious as to what you've had success with. > > Thanks! > Alexander > > On Wed Nov 05 2014 at 2:48:20 PM John Lange <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Fax over T38 works and works reliably. We have many in the field at > > customer sites. The trick is configuring all the devices correctly; SIP > > trunking provider, SBC, Asterisk, and ATA. There are actually MFP devices > > that claim they have native support for SIP/T38 but I've never tried > > getting one of these to work. > > > > That being said, virtualFax (fax to email and email to fax) is a much > nicer > > solution. I don't like faxing over T38 but it's there and it works if you > > need it. > > > > With respect to handsets; > > > > Aastra are starting to fall behind since they were purchased by Mitel. > Used > > to be our "go-to" phones, robust and stable, easy to provision, but now > > falling behind. > > > > Cisco SIP phones (SPA series) were originally SIPura phones (thus the SPA > > in the model name), then purchased by Linksys, then purchased by Cisco. > The > > Linksys SPA942 was a great phone in it's day but it's starting to show > it's > > age. Cisco stopped releasing firmware updates for it years ago and we've > > been phasing them out of service ever since. > > > > We trialed Grandstream at one customer and ended up replacing them for > free > > due to the very poor quality and haven't touched them since. I would > assume > > they have improved in the last 6 years. > > > > The Polycom VVX series are arguably the best quality phones but they are > > not the cheapest. If you look at the larger hosted voice providers, most > of > > them use Polycom. The difference in the cost of the handset spread over > a 5 > > year contract is less than $1/month. > > > > The nice thing about the Polycom VVX series is that they are compatible > > with a variety of systems, including Microsoft Lync. That means the > > investment is protected if you want to change platforms at a later date. > > > > Digium also has handsets now. I've never tested them. > > > > All of the above being said; in my opinion, the days of the "home rolled" > > Asterisk PBX deployment are over. You can buy a fully featured, > > manufacturer supported, configured and deployed PBX from a major vendor > for > > less than the cost of a server with an FXO card running FreeXXX based on > > Asterisk. > > > > If you are a hobbyist and enjoy that sort of thing then great. But if you > > just want a feature rich, stable, hassle free PBX at a good price; > Asterisk > > is probably not the best choice. > > > > Regards, > > > > John > > > -- John Lange www.johnlange.ca
