RE: [Asterisk-Users] Looking for recommendations for home office setups

2003-11-14 Thread James Harrell
... and one more note after which I'll try to be less bothersome ... 

I'm willing to pay a consultant in the Atlanta GA USA area to assist
with deployment. Every hour I spend doing this takes away from my
primary business opportunities. :) Feel free to contact me offlist.

Thanks,
James

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RE: [Asterisk-Users] Looking for recommendations for home office setups

2003-11-14 Thread James Harrell
Thanks Steve,

>First, thanks for the very nicely prepared (and well thought-out) message.
>...

I've tried to do my initial research, but with the list archive as big
as this one is... I'm certain I've missed many pertinent posts. Sorry
if this has been rehashed many times in the past. Going out on a limb
below and asking more questions that will likely indicate a bit of
ignorance on the topic. :)


>If your solution ends up being an asterisk box at each location, you can do
>this with 1 X100P and a 2-port TDM400P.

I am hoping to avoid multiple asterisk servers simply from a management
perspective. My ideal scenario would include one asterisk box at a central
location managing several CPE type devices that have the FXO & FXS embedded.
Preferably these CPE devices could be managed by the asterisk to be used
for the call routing scenario previously described. Would that require the
CPE to support IAX or would SIP be sufficient? I think the answer to the
question is the device would need to support IAX- hence the consideration
for multiple asterisk boxes. Any embedded-type CPE devices around that
natively support IAX, have at least one FXS and one FXO?

Something along the lines of the LinkSys BEFN2PS4:
http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=34&scid=29&prid=163
 - though I understand this product is tied to Net2Phone. No chance
   of getting it to work on an Asterisk network, right?

Or maybe the ZipCom VOIP TA
http://www.zipcom.com.tw/zipcom/products/bata.htm
 - which looks a lot like the device I'm looking for, but probably not
   exactly, and maybe not managable through asterisk. The limited literature
   provided on this box indicates it switches an incoming PSTN call directly
   to the attached analog phone rather than routing it through to asterisk.
   Appears to only support SIP & H323, can't find a retial source anyway. ;)

If all else fails, I'm not *completely* averse to multiple asterisk boxes-
just trying to avoid it.

Regards,
James

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Re: [Asterisk-Users] Looking for recommendations for home office setups

2003-11-14 Thread Steve Creel
On Fri, 14 Nov 2003, James Harrell wrote:



>We're a small software company, with employees working from home
>in three different locations:
> - Atlanta: cable modem connection
> - Denver: ADSL/PPPOE connection
> - Oklahoma City: ADSL/PPPOE connection
>
>Is this a pipe dream? Here's my goal:
> - One phone & one fax at each location
> - One telco phone line at each location
> - Utilize existing phones, though willing to buy new phones
> - Central asterisk server in Atlanta
> - Phone line "best rate" routing, outgoing calls routed through
>   the hard-line at a different location if local, etc. ie:
>   One can originate a call from the Atlanta phone, have it
>   routed through the Denver outgoing line to another location
>   in Denver to achieve a local phone call.
>
>As far as I understand, this may involve three hardware interfaces,
>one at each location (plus a central asterisk box). Each would have:
> - TCP/IP connection back to the central asterisk server (perhaps
>   via a VPN? Or can we just use straight TCP/IP with some form
>   of authentication. Caveat: we have NAT firewalls at each location.
> - Local telco phone line input
> - Analog line output for using existing phone, or potentially
>   go via ethernet to a true IP phone?
>
>I believe I'm looking for some form of "gateway" box at each location,
>controlled by the Asterisk server. Possible? If so, what hardware is
>recommended.


First, thanks for the very nicely prepared (and well thought-out) message.

You are looking for 1 FXO port to bring in the local telco line at each
site.  You want two FXS ports to provide asterisk dialtone to the existing
phone (assuming it's an analog phone) and dialtone to the fax machine.  If
your solution ends up being an asterisk box at each location, you can do
this with 1 X100P and a 2-port TDM400P.

Your "best-rate" routing is absolutely no problem.  The 'swich' statement
will be your friend.

You shouldn't need VPN unless you're concerned about encryption.  IAX2
(which, as you mention NAT, you'd be -strongly- encouraged to use) will do
authentication for you.

Good luck,

Steve

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