Home
| Calendar
| Mail Lists
| List Archives
| Desktop SIG
| Hardware Hacking SIG
Wiki | Flickr | PicasaWeb | Video | Maps & Directions | Installfests | Keysignings Linux Cafe | Meeting Notes | Linux Links | Bling | About BLU |
Thank you Jack, --Dave --- On Tue, 11/16/10, Jack Coats <jack-rp9/bkPP+cDYtjvyW6yDsg at public.gmane.org> wrote: > From: Jack Coats <jack-rp9/bkPP+cDYtjvyW6yDsg at public.gmane.org> > Subject: Re: VOIP - other than Linux > To: "Dave Peters" <gameslover987-/E1597aS9LQAvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org> > Cc: "BLU" <discuss-mNDKBlG2WHs at public.gmane.org> > Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2010, 11:06 PM > Dave. > > There are commercial PBX providers that don't use > Linux.? If what you > mean is you want > a Windows solution, another list might be more > appropriate. > > Asterisk is the major player in the VOIP/PBX market place > that has and > supports OSS > software.? And it doesn't have to use Linux, but > Asterisk is easiest. > You can check with > Digium who sells phone interface hardware. > > If you are planning to using it over a private network and > you have > very many phones, > you can get routers that work well.? If you are > planning on > provisioning over the open > internet, ... lots of luck, ... and it does work, just not > well, > largely due to many IP providers > dropping priority information on your packets.? Some > people have found > by grossly over > provisioning the bandwidth requirements, and reducing > latency as much > as possible it > works reasonably well, but expect issues if you are going > to do VOIP > over the open internet. > > If by not wanting Linux, you mean in soft phones, there are > various > soft phones that work > on other systems as well.? Hard phones (personally I > like Polycom, but > they are pricey) > are the more common way to go. > > If you want to go with a good but high end provider, > contact your > Cisco sales droid, who > will be willing to take a PO to do it soup to nuts or any > part > inbetween, including having > their consultants built it for you.? All it takes is > $$ > > I worked for a small white box type asterisk vendor that > went out of > business because > the market just isn't there (folks that wanted buy systems > 'for free' > because the software > is free, thus they assume your time is free too... grumble > whine > grumble).? To get phone > network access we normally had a T1 brought in for the > 'outside world' > lines, and if > the customer didn't need it all for analog voice, we took > the data > slices and used them for > the voice channels in/out and sometimes internet data > depending on the > vendor on the > other end and how we had it provisioned. > > Asterisk is not an easy install if you are wanting all the > bells and > whistles to work the first > time, but it does work.? And once it works it is VERY > reliable, IMHO. > Daily maintenance is > not bad but it isn't something to be left to a part time > clerk. (That > is adding/change/delete > phones and extension numbers, putting in and configuring > automated > attendant, call > groups, etc, etc, etc.)? And when I was dealing with > this a couple of > yearen ago, the GUI > maintenance was in its infancy.? Also depending on how > many extensions > you have, plan > on adding an additional asterisk server per building or > office and > every time you get > 100 or so extensions served by one server, it helps > reliability and > responsiveness to set > up another server.? Asterisk servers don't have to be > 'killer > machines' but they need to > be reliable, and make sure you over configure the UPSes you > put them > and the network > equipment that serves your phone system equipment on ... if > the power > goes out and your > equipment goes down, you have no phones.? I always > liked to make sure > that there was > at least one POTS analog line that was served directly from > the > outside for security > system, fax, etc.? ... > > Oh yes, if you are putting in a PBX make sure your local > emergency > services and phone company sets you up with the procedure > to update > 911 databases. > I worked for a bank, and a office called in with a robbery > in > progress.? We reported it to > the police, so they surrounded our office building but not > the office > where the robery was > taking place 20 miles away. ... after that we figured out > how to > update 911 with proper location... > and yes, our people that reported it did tell them the > correct > address, but the emergency > services reported only the 'automated' address to the > police. ... > Since you are running > the phone systems it IS YOUR PROBLEM and duty to make sure > it is right. > > Sorry for preaching, but it was very embaricing for our > bosses (I > didn't work on phone sytems > then, but some of my fiends did). > > Sorry this is so long, but I hope it helps. >
BLU is a member of BostonUserGroups | |
We also thank MIT for the use of their facilities. |