Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2000 8:29 pm Post subject: [Asterisk] Setting up a PBX system
Asteriskers,
I am very interested in setting up/testing a PBX system for my home
and then one in the small company I work for.
Can someone comment on what I need hardware wise to set up say a 2
line 2 or 3 node PBX to test with and then how to extend that to 5
lines and about 10 nodes. The PBX we currently use is stone age and
I want to punt it ASAP.
I will be happy to invest some money (<= $500 or so) in some of the
lower end hardware to test with and help with the developement of the
drivers.. although I don't have a lot of time to invest on hardcore
reverse engineering although I can when its really needed.
Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2000 4:38 am Post subject: [Asterisk] Setting up a PBX system
Quote:
Can someone comment on what I need hardware wise to set up say a 2
line 2 or 3 node PBX to test with and then how to extend that to 5
How are you bringing phones in? What about phone lines? Right now we
support the following "phone" things:
* Anything you plug into an Atlas 800 Plus
* Internet PhoneJack
* Full Duplex Sound card
Right now the only way to bring in a phone line reliably is with an Adtran
Atlas, (and conceivably with an Internet LineJack, but I have not tested
that configuration as I do not have the hardware). I'm expecting an ISDN
card before too long, so that might make a nice way of bringing in small
#'s of channels as well.
Quote:
I will be happy to invest some money (<= $500 or so) in some of the
lower end hardware to test with and help with the developement of the
drivers.. although I don't have a lot of time to invest on hardcore
reverse engineering although I can when its really needed.
Just depends on what hardware you have or want to use.
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2000 4:51 pm Post subject: [Asterisk] Setting up a PBX system
On Sat, 8 Jan 2000 22:38:10 -0600 (EST), Mark Spencer wrote:
Quote:
> Can someone comment on what I need hardware wise to set up say a 2
> line 2 or 3 node PBX to test with and then how to extend that to 5
How are you bringing phones in? What about phone lines? Right now we
support the following "phone" things:
* Anything you plug into an Atlas 800 Plus
How much is an Atlas 800 Plus? I checked out the webpage and it
looks expensive.
Quote:
* Internet PhoneJack
* Full Duplex Sound card
For my home testing I would have 1 and ( 2 if I disconnect my modem)
analog POTS lines. Standard US home connections.
At work we are bringing in 5 analog lines 4 that hook to our crappy
PBX and 1 that is dedicated to our modem.
Quote:
Just depends on what hardware you have or want to use.
Cheap hardware... We just bought a slighty better crappy PBX to
replace the original crappy PBX. We bought a boxload of the phones
at a fire sale. for like $50. So we found the control unit from a
second hand vendor for $200. Except we don't have it quite working
yet.
So I need to get something where the price/port is pretty low or I
won't be able to compete with the current system. Although it's
crappy it does work. Just no frills, like voice mail, etc
Looks like what I need to do is hook up with the linmodem stuff and
help get one of those working.
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2000 9:12 pm Post subject: [Asterisk] Setting up a PBX system
On Fri, Jan 07, 2000 at 02:29:19PM -0600, Richard A. Smith wrote:
Quote:
Asteriskers,
I am very interested in setting up/testing a PBX system for my home
and then one in the small company I work for.
Can someone comment on what I need hardware wise to set up say a 2
line 2 or 3 node PBX to test with and then how to extend that to 5
lines and about 10 nodes. The PBX we currently use is stone age and
I want to punt it ASAP.
I will be happy to invest some money (<= $500 or so) in some of the
lower end hardware to test with and help with the developement of the
drivers.. although I don't have a lot of time to invest on hardcore
reverse engineering although I can when its really needed.
One idea I've got on my TODO list is putting together a little box
(with the help of some hardware-savvy friends) that'll take two phone
lines, output their audio signals on left/right sides of a 1/8" stereo
jack (for soundcard use) and incorporate a chip for doing RING
detection, DTMF recognition and whatever else Asterisk needs
(outputting this via a serial line, though this could easily be
changed). A bit of easy driver work, and your El Cheapo soundcard (if
capable of full-duplex stereo sound) is suitable for use w/ Asterisk!
(Oh, yes -- it'd be necessary to also go from the soundcard's out port
back to the phone line).
Now, it would probably be quite a long time before I got to this (now
that I've finally finished the understanding-how-the-darn-thing-works
phase, the perl stuff is taking quite a bit of my time), so if you
want to pursue it... be my guest!
(Note that I've only mentioned it very briefly to one of my hardware-
savvy friends, so if it's not so practical or easy as I make it sound
here, my apologies for wasting your time).
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2000 9:31 pm Post subject: [Asterisk] Setting up a PBX system
Quote:
One idea I've got on my TODO list is putting together a little box
(with the help of some hardware-savvy friends) that'll take two phone
lines, output their audio signals on left/right sides of a 1/8" stereo
jack (for soundcard use) and incorporate a chip for doing RING
detection, DTMF recognition and whatever else Asterisk needs
(outputting this via a serial line, though this could easily be
changed). A bit of easy driver work, and your El Cheapo soundcard (if
capable of full-duplex stereo sound) is suitable for use w/ Asterisk!
This device exists, and it's called a "winmodem" but the vendor hasn't
made specs available.
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2000 10:33 pm Post subject: [Asterisk] Setting up a PBX system
Quote:
How much is an Atlas 800 Plus? I checked out the webpage and it
looks expensive.
It is. The 550 will be better, but still only makes sense for high
numbers of ports/phones. But it *will* make the most sense there,
probably.
Quote:
For my home testing I would have 1 and ( 2 if I disconnect my modem)
analog POTS lines. Standard US home connections.
ISDN might be a good solution for you.
Quote:
At work we are bringing in 5 analog lines 4 that hook to our crappy
PBX and 1 that is dedicated to our modem.
Two ISDN lines might be a better solution again.
Quote:
So I need to get something where the price/port is pretty low or I
won't be able to compete with the current system. Although it's
crappy it does work. Just no frills, like voice mail, etc
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2000 10:47 pm Post subject: [Asterisk] Setting up a PBX system
Quote:
lines, output their audio signals on left/right sides of a 1/8" stereo
jack (for soundcard use) and incorporate a chip for doing RING
detection, DTMF recognition and whatever else Asterisk needs
(outputting this via a serial line, though this could easily be
changed). A bit of easy driver work, and your El Cheapo soundcard (if
capable of full-duplex stereo sound) is suitable for use w/ Asterisk!
And you need line isolation, and what DSP does the tone
detection, tone generation, compression of audio, etc? And will
it support the PSTN in other countries? And what about detecting
the end of a call (with wink), or detecting the state of the
hook-switch - or for that matter, taking it off hook!
I bet if you dig into it you will find it is more complex than
you think. I'd like to see the sales volumes of LineJACKs get to
the point where economy of scale kicks in and gets the price
down!
Greg
/********************************************************************
Greg Herlein Quicknet Technologies, Inc.
Member of Technical Staff 415-864-5225 x541
gherlein@quicknet.nethttp://www.quicknet.net
*********************************************************************/
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2000 10:53 pm Post subject: [Asterisk] Setting up a PBX system
Quote:
And you need line isolation, and what DSP does the tone
detection, tone generation, compression of audio, etc? And will
it support the PSTN in other countries? And what about detecting
the end of a call (with wink), or detecting the state of the
hook-switch - or for that matter, taking it off hook!
And then the whole song and dance of having it FCC Part 61 (I think it is)
certified so Ma Bell doesn't try to use that as an excuse to terminate
your service...
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2000 11:00 pm Post subject: [Asterisk] Setting up a PBX system
Like I said, use a win-modem. It would be cool if the DSP on the winmodem
could be used for compression as well.
Mark
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Spencer, President Free and Commercial Linux Support
Linux Support Services, LLC On the web or on the phone
923 Stage Road Suite F
Auburn, AL 36830 http://www.linux-support.net
(334) 887-1042 staff@linux-support.net
Toll free: (877) LINUX-ME
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2000 11:05 pm Post subject: [Asterisk] Setting up a PBX system
Greg Herlein wrote:
Quote:
> lines, output their audio signals on left/right sides of a 1/8" stereo
> jack (for soundcard use) and incorporate a chip for doing RING
> detection, DTMF recognition and whatever else Asterisk needs
> (outputting this via a serial line, though this could easily be
> changed). A bit of easy driver work, and your El Cheapo soundcard (if
> capable of full-duplex stereo sound) is suitable for use w/ Asterisk!
And you need line isolation, and what DSP does the tone
detection, tone generation, compression of audio, etc? And will
it support the PSTN in other countries? And what about detecting
the end of a call (with wink), or detecting the state of the
hook-switch - or for that matter, taking it off hook!
I bet if you dig into it you will find it is more complex than
you think. I'd like to see the sales volumes of LineJACKs get to
the point where economy of scale kicks in and gets the price
down!
Greg
/********************************************************************
Greg Herlein Quicknet Technologies, Inc.
Member of Technical Staff 415-864-5225 x541
gherlein@quicknet.nethttp://www.quicknet.net
*********************************************************************/
Most of the boards I've seen on the high-end stuff are Motorola DSP56001's
with an i386 or 486 embedded proccessor. They comment about the FCC stuff
is important though, I hear FCC approcal is expensive. There is a group in
Australia that has a 4 port analog board they are selling for USD$400 that
is an open-design. I can't find a URL though. Saw it on one of the linux
sites.
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2000 11:19 pm Post subject: [Asterisk] Setting up a PBX system
Quote:
Yes you are right, ISDN would be a good solution for me.
Unfortunatly in Prairie Grove, Arkansas the chance of ISDN here
anytime soon is about nil. I wish we had ISDN. Them we could get rid
of our 56k modem that only connects at 28.8k because the phone lines
here suck. ASDL is becoming availble in Fayetteville (semi large town
12 miles away) where I live. I just had my line tested but I don't
know the results yet. So that might be an option later for my house
system if I can find the right hardware.
My understanding is that ADSL is not a digital phone line. The phone
actually runs on the same pair as the data, but not digitally, just
normally, with a splitter separating out the frequency.
I don't even know if you could run more than one winmodem in a single
computer. The LineJack might be an option for you, and is probably the
closest to running.
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2000 11:28 pm Post subject: [Asterisk] Setting up a PBX system
On Mon, 10 Jan 2000 16:33:08 -0600 (EST), Mark Spencer wrote:
Quote:
> For my home testing I would have 1 and ( 2 if I disconnect my modem)
Two ISDN lines might be a better solution again.
Yes you are right, ISDN would be a good solution for me.
Unfortunatly in Prairie Grove, Arkansas the chance of ISDN here
anytime soon is about nil. I wish we had ISDN. Them we could get rid
of our 56k modem that only connects at 28.8k because the phone lines
here suck. ASDL is becoming availble in Fayetteville (semi large town
12 miles away) where I live. I just had my line tested but I don't
know the results yet. So that might be an option later for my house
system if I can find the right hardware.
Anyway, unless things take a radical turn I have no digital options
just POTS.
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2000 11:37 pm Post subject: [Asterisk] Setting up a PBX system
Quote:
My understanding is that ADSL is not a digital phone line. The phone
actually runs on the same pair as the data, but not digitally, just
normally, with a splitter separating out the frequency.
Its not. ADSL is merely a raw data stream...none of the framing or
channelization you'd get out of a T1 or ISDN PRI.
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2000 11:38 pm Post subject: [Asterisk] Setting up a PBX system
let me know more. If we can produce an idea for a viable product, I have
the channels to investigate building it in scale.
Mark
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark Spencer, President Free and Commercial Linux Support
Linux Support Services, LLC On the web or on the phone
923 Stage Road Suite F
Auburn, AL 36830 http://www.linux-support.net
(334) 887-1042 staff@linux-support.net
Toll free: (877) LINUX-ME
On Mon, 10 Jan 2000, Richard A. Smith wrote:
Quote:
On Mon, 10 Jan 2000 17:53:34 -0500 (EST), James Sharp wrote:
>>
>
>And then the whole song and dance of having it FCC Part 61 (I think it is)
>certified so Ma Bell doesn't try to use that as an excuse to terminate
>your service...
>
I don't know too much about Telcom stuff however I have been an
embedded system designer for many years and this sort of stuff come
up now and then. You can buy chipsets that claim to be FCC
certified. I don't know if this relieves you of having to go
throught the actual testing or not. But I don't know why they would
advertise that fact unless it helped you in some way.
My Circuit Cellar mag had a article several months ago about using a
Scenix microcontroller and someone's chipset to implement a software
modem. I remember thinking "gee..theres not a lot to it" The chipset
handled the isolation, ring detection and other nasty stuff and the
software did the rest. I didn't read the article in too much depth
since I didn't have a use for something like that until now.
I will try to find it and read it more carefully tonight. I beleive
that it was based on an Appnote at Scenix's site. For those not in
the know the Scenix microcontroller is a small 8-bit RISC machine
that can run at 100Mhz! It lets you do a lot of stuff that used to
only be in the realm DSPs.
I haven't had the chance to use one yet but this could be the excuse
I need.
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2000 11:39 pm Post subject: [Asterisk] Setting up a PBX system
On Mon, Jan 10, 2000 at 02:47:01PM -0800, Greg Herlein wrote:
Quote:
And you need line isolation, and what DSP does the tone
detection, tone generation, compression of audio, etc? And will
it support the PSTN in other countries? And what about detecting
the end of a call (with wink), or detecting the state of the
hook-switch - or for that matter, taking it off hook!
There are a few companies making pre-approved components for line
interfacing that could be legally used and would handle several of the
issues you mention (though they increase the cost significantly); Five
minutes of research also turned up more than a few public-domain (mostly
PIC-based) solutions for DTMF recognition, caller ID and the like.
In short, I still believe this project to be within the range of
reasonable things to do.
Quote:
I bet if you dig into it you will find it is more complex than
you think. I'd like to see the sales volumes of LineJACKs get to
the point where economy of scale kicks in and gets the price
down!
I agree -- by no means is this an attempt to replace the LineJACK, which
is an exceedingly cool piece of hardware; The whole harware-based
compression bit, for instance, are areas that this won't address at all.
That doesn't mean it won't have its (low-budget) place, though.
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