Some n00b Asterisk questions

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pookguy88

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Jan 20, 2002
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I have a client who's present PBX system consists of a pots Nortel 8x3 (8 extensions/handsets, 3 lines) key box and a single pots fax line. I want to try integrating a VOIP line to see if I can slowly migrate all the lines to voip and I was thinking of trying this (http://www.digium.com/en/products/appliance/?tab=features) appliance.

My question is, will this or any other Asterisk box allow me to plug in normal POTs (from the telco) lines into them so that I'll have a mix of POTs and Voip lines in the Asterisk box to work with?

Thanks!
 
Sure, pot lines are FXO, and that device supports them. But I don't think I'm entirely clear on what you want; Do you want to take some lines off the current PBX and drop them into asterisk, or do you want to pass them through asterisk?
 
moetop said:
Most people do not suggest going with a straight VOIP solution.
Click to expand...
True, not for business use. I missed what he was thinking.

For POTS in to VoIP, I would go with an external SIP gateway to simplify things. audiocodes makes some decent stuff, pretty cheap. Then it's just a matter of getting a regular ol' server loaded with asterisk and you're gold.

Random bit of telco trivia: Do you know why they call the wires tip and ring? I had to do with the old style connector the operators used way back when. It was like one of those long stereo jacks. Hence, "tip" ( as in, tip of the plug ) and "ring" ( the second ring of the plug ). Just learned this today, thought it was neat so I shared.
 
XOR != OR said:
True, not for business use. I missed what he was thinking.

For POTS in to VoIP, I would go with an external SIP gateway to simplify things. audiocodes makes some decent stuff, pretty cheap. Then it's just a matter of getting a regular ol' server loaded with asterisk and you're gold.

Random bit of telco trivia: Do you know why they call the wires tip and ring? I had to do with the old style connector the operators used way back when. It was like one of those long stereo jacks. Hence, "tip" ( as in, tip of the plug ) and "ring" ( the second ring of the plug ). Just learned this today, thought it was neat so I shared.
Click to expand...

I knew the answer to that trivia ;)

Also, I've done some reading up on your guys' replies and I think I get the basic idea now.

I've another question though, how do I integrate the Asterisk/Trixbox box into my network? Will the IP phones just be network appliances pointing to the Asterisk box? Just run cat5 to them? External SIP gateway, what's that? Wouldn't that just be the Asterisk box?
 
I know you didn't ask this, however I just learned about it so I though I would share since it fits your situation perfectly.

Cisco 1861 router is basically built and designed for an 8 phone VoIP network. It connects directly to phone jacks (4 FXO ports) and a built in 8 port PoE switch. It also comes with Call Manager Express built in.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps8321/index.html

</cisco rant>

Just an helpful FYI.
 
A sip gateway is just a box that takes FXO/FXS lines ( in your case, you want FXO lines ) and turns them into IP SIP streams delivered to your asterisk box. I like the idea of a seperate SIP gateway because:

1) Cheaper ( traditionally )
2) Modular.
3) Better sound quality ( in general ) than Digiums stuff

The * box will need an IP address, as will the phones. Configuration of the phones depends on the phone, but I highly recommend snom320s/snom360s. Excellent phones for an excellent price. They are very easy to configure too.
 
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