Ed,
1.) I would suggest that you purchase a system from a Vendor, or that
you use [EMAIL PROTECTED] That would allow you a much less steep
learning curve before you get to a working system, and it would
provide you with all of the features that you are likely to ever want.
2.) I suggest that you use the existing incoming PSTN lines for your
asterisk system. However, you might want to work with someone who
really understands telecom to make sure that you aren't wasting money
on your phone/data service.
3.) You are mostly right with your assumptions on what you will need.
You will need a server, correctly sized for your call volume, a good
network, incoming PSTN service and an interface device to make it work.
4.) VOIP phones or software. Most people on the list seriously
recommend using hardphones instead of softphones in an office
environment. There have been numerous complaints about softphones and
sound quality, etc. on this list.
As for your questions:
- Asterisk is what routes between the PSTN and the internet. However,
to receive calls from the internet without an incoming phone line,
you will need an internet phone provider.
- Your network does not need to be VOIP capable, but implementing QOS
is a good idea, and POE for hardphones is often a good idea, too.
- For a T1, your needs are very much going to depend on your call
volume. Your Telco should privide the equipment that will split your
voice channels from your data channels.
- using an experienced vendor might very well be a good idea, but it
all depends on your desire to climb the learning curve and deal with
the mishaps that will inevitably arise. Also, it depends on how
essential your phone system is and how much you can afford to have
"Oops" moments, etc.
- you seem to be asking the right questions. For budgeting purposes,
I would suggest that you seriously plan on using hardphones, and
budget accordingly. They are far superior when compared to softphones
(in general), and remember that you most likely will get what you pay
for. I suggest Cisco 7940G if you can afford them, they are
excellent. Polycom is good, too, and Snom.
Please drop me a line off-list if you want to chat, I'd be happy to
provide input.
Tom Rymes
On Jul 12, 2005, at 5:33 PM, Ed Pastore wrote:
Hi, folks. I am planning on implementing Asterisk in 2006, and need
to budget for it now, so I need to know what I'll need to get. My
company has about 50 users, and is currently languishing on a very
old Comdial PBX. All of our client computers are Macs; our servers
are mostly OS X, with a couple Debians and a Red Hat.
I am thoroughly experienced at systems administration, and can
figure out most everything I need on the computer hardware and
software side, but I am a complete telecom newbie and get lost when
trying to figure out what else I will need.
Here's what I think I need:
- A server, running Debian Linux or OS X (our preferred operating
systems here)
- A good network. We're on switched 100 Base-T, but will move to
gigabit next year.
- A T1 or some dedicated channels of a T1
- Gateway PCI cards or devices (in the case of OS X, only devices I
guess)
- VOIP phones or phone software (I'd like to use software and USB
handsets)
Here's what I don't get:
1. How do I route between the internet and the telco network? (I
said I was a telecom newbie, right?) I mean, if someone dials a
phone number, what tells it to route to my gateway device? Do I
need service from a telecom company? I need to get the phone
numbers from somewhere, right?
2. Does my network need to be VOIP capable? I see some network
switches which route additional layers of ethernet, including in
some cases VOIP. Do I really need that? Or will any gigabit
switches do the trick? If so, what's up with those VOIP switches?
Is that just marketing? They sure cost a lot more.
3. What do I need in a T1? I currently have one T1 from Sprint,
going into a Cisco router, which then goes to my firewall, then to
my network. If I want, say 30 channels of another T1 for VOIP...
can I just buy another Sprint T1? And where does additional
hardware fit into that route in order to split out the VOIP
channels from the data channels?
4. Do I pretty much need a vendor for implementation help, if this
is all new to me? Or is there a path I can follow that will help me
get through this?
5. What am I not asking that I should be? :)
Any help, input, suggestions, etc. would be welcome. (But please no
vendor calls yet... I'm in early budgeting, and will just ignore
vendor input until I know more.)
Thanks!
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