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Asterisk
- Thread starter dd1313
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Nope - just a standard computer with a NIC.
If you are just wanting to play with it you could probably get away with a P3, 512MB RAM, 10GB HDD - but that would only be able to handle about 1 concurrent call. If you are wanting to build a production system with lots of lines and/or transcoding then you going to need to up the specs a bit.
Try TrixBox or Elastix which are both quite user friendly and make it easy to get started with Asterisk.
THanks.and if I want a live system for a small business.I needs some sort of FXS and FX port.Can I use a VoIP router ?
DD
dmatthysen
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You can use a VoIP Gateway...Quintum would be an option but it is pricey.
Another option is to install ISDN BRI lines, each line handles 2 voice channels, and then run a cheap ISDN PCI modem based on the HFC chipset in the Asterisk server.
Works really well and call quality beats FXO ports anyday, plus no hassles with detecting end of call.
Works really well and call quality beats FXO ports anyday, plus no hassles with detecting end of call.
gmza
Well-Known Member
For clarity to warwickw's message the Duxbury card is available from various suppliers in SA quite cheaply (about R200 / R300) and is a HFC chipset card.
If you use the HFC chipset card, install Trixbox.
For the uninitiated, getting the ZapHFC driver working with Asterisk is an exercise in futility. With Trixbox, it should be a 1-liner to get it working.
BTW, I've been using a Duxbury 1-port ISDN card for with ZapHFC for years and it works brilliantly for small installations (1 port / 2 channels).
--Greg
If you use the HFC chipset card, install Trixbox.
For the uninitiated, getting the ZapHFC driver working with Asterisk is an exercise in futility. With Trixbox, it should be a 1-liner to get it working.
BTW, I've been using a Duxbury 1-port ISDN card for with ZapHFC for years and it works brilliantly for small installations (1 port / 2 channels).
--Greg
dmatthysen
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Have you encountered issues on "end of call" detection with some gateways?
I have only used FXO cards TDM400 etc, never any FXO gateways, and was extremely annoyed with them, mainly call audio quality was not that great, and every now and then I would end up with locked ports because of it not detecting call quality. Vowed since then to stay with ISDN technology.
The ISDN HFC cards work very well, used single port and quad port cards and always with the MISDN stack within Asterisk, I've written an install document for how to get MISDN and HFC cards to work under TrixBox if anyone wants it PM me.
I had a go at setting up AsteriskNOW and ended up throwing in the towel.
I kept on hearing about "take an old computer, pop the CD in and 20 minutes later you'll have a working PABX". So I took an old Celeron 1.1 with an 80GB HDD and 512MB of RAM. In it's previous life (up to two hours before I installed AsteriskNOW on it) the machine had lived in a network cabinet were it ran Win2K3 with IIS, PHP, MySQL and some other addons. It was our OSCommerce server, worked very well and was only decommissioned as we now pay a company overseas to do what we used to do locally.
About half an hour after I put the CD into the machine, I was logging into the configuration web page. It was a rather steep learning curve, but I eventually got the IP phone to log into the machine and the machine to log into Telfree.
Then came the clincher. I tried to get the machine to do what it's supposed to do - ie manipulate voice packets in real time.
What a disaster! 75% of all voice conversation was dropped. What came through had serious lag. Voice recordings sounded like they were being uploaded via a 9.6k line from rural Zimbabwe.
After I'd spent some time reading van Megellen, Madsen and Smith's book Asterisk: The Future of Telephony I realised that it's not nearly as simple as everyone makes it out to be.
My next attempt will use a machine that has at least a P4 3.0 processor with a gamer power supply and Corsair gamer RAM.
I'll also be looking as Elastix and Trixbox as I don't think AsteriskNOW will do what I want:
2 x FXO with Telkom lines
2 x FXO with Cellular lines
1 x SIP to the UK
I kept on hearing about "take an old computer, pop the CD in and 20 minutes later you'll have a working PABX". So I took an old Celeron 1.1 with an 80GB HDD and 512MB of RAM. In it's previous life (up to two hours before I installed AsteriskNOW on it) the machine had lived in a network cabinet were it ran Win2K3 with IIS, PHP, MySQL and some other addons. It was our OSCommerce server, worked very well and was only decommissioned as we now pay a company overseas to do what we used to do locally.
About half an hour after I put the CD into the machine, I was logging into the configuration web page. It was a rather steep learning curve, but I eventually got the IP phone to log into the machine and the machine to log into Telfree.
Then came the clincher. I tried to get the machine to do what it's supposed to do - ie manipulate voice packets in real time.
What a disaster! 75% of all voice conversation was dropped. What came through had serious lag. Voice recordings sounded like they were being uploaded via a 9.6k line from rural Zimbabwe.
After I'd spent some time reading van Megellen, Madsen and Smith's book Asterisk: The Future of Telephony I realised that it's not nearly as simple as everyone makes it out to be.
My next attempt will use a machine that has at least a P4 3.0 processor with a gamer power supply and Corsair gamer RAM.
I'll also be looking as Elastix and Trixbox as I don't think AsteriskNOW will do what I want:
2 x FXO with Telkom lines
2 x FXO with Cellular lines
I'm still undecided about whether to go the Digium or Sangoma route or to get a 4 port FXO ATA
1 x SIP to Telfree1 x SIP to the UK
dmatthysen
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Dude; perhaps your dropped calls are Telfree and not your setup. I`d rather go for another provider. e.g. Switchtel, Dow Networks or Iconnect.
I've had Telfree service via a cheap and cheerful Atcom phone on my desk for a long time and never had any dropped calls or other hassle with their service.
dmatthysen
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They probably like you...lol...I know about a couple of guys thats having a whole lot of issues with Telfree.
I had some time to play with Elastix and Trixbox today.
Trixbox is a non starter for me as I'm really not keen on having to log into a server overseas someplace to administer a server that's sitting under my desk.
Elastix is really, really nice. I'm still working my way through it, but so far so good.
Trixbox is a non starter for me as I'm really not keen on having to log into a server overseas someplace to administer a server that's sitting under my desk.
Elastix is really, really nice. I'm still working my way through it, but so far so good.
Trixbox CE only needs that international logon for the updates, if you are not worried about updates then its not required.
It depends, I have a policy of stabilising a box getting it up todate and then installing it into production, once its in production I only update if its 100% required i.e. feature broken or security update.
If you require some help on Trixbox or Elastix contact Global Chat on 012 3681122 or visit www.globalchat.co.za for further info.