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I'm interested in Asterisk because it would be cheap to do (I think).

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The lines that come into the building (6 for phone service) are analog POTS. It looks like Asterisk would allow me to load-up a PC with 6 analog modems, but I don't see any examples of this type of set up. What kind of modems would I need?

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We have a PBX system from Nortel. I guess the model is Meridian. Over the years, parts are becoming harder to come by and it's probably time for a new system. I'm interested in Asterisk because it would be cheap to do (I think).

The lines that come into the building (6 for phone service) are analog POTS. It looks like Asterisk would allow me to load-up a PC with 6 analog modems, but I don't see any examples of this type of set up. What kind of modems would I need?

Also, am I setting myself up for a headache? The Nortel system is functioning now with one dead line. It's not the end of the world, so I can take my time getting this done right. If I can make a test system with just two incoming lines and two hardware phones, I will try that first.

Is a 10/100 network with other network and internet traffic on it good enough for a possible 6 extensions being used at one time?

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I just realized that we have a button on our current phones that allows you to speak over the PA system in the factory. Can this be done in Asterisk over the sound card or something?

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I just realized that we have a button on our current phones that allows you to speak over the PA system in the factory. Can this be done in Asterisk over the sound card or something?

Absolutely. Asterisk can talk to sound cards, bluetooth headsets, analogue or ISDN telephone lines, SIP, H323 and other VoIP protocols. It can glue them together in any way that you like. You want a one way output to the sound card on the Asterisk machine on Extension 4? No problem.

Check out what Ben (BAKup) said and rummage through the voip-info.org wiki. It is a mine of information and growing fast.

Asterisk@Home is definately a good place to get started quickly. What makes it great is the Asterisk Management Portal (wait, they changed the name to FreePBX). It is a web based Asterisk management tool and pretty easy to use. I tried to get this going on my Gentoo install and it was messy in places. It requires Apache to be run as the Asterisk user and a bunch of other seemingly kludgy permissions hacks - I think I would have more luck running a second copy of Apache for it on a different port. Anyway, Asterisk@Home is good because it all just works when you put the disc in Great if you have a dedicated machine for it.

I am about a third of the way through the Asterisk: The Future of Telephony book. It is a good read so far and really does start at the beginning. You should have a look.

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I don't know about going with the Grandstream phones in the long run. Many people here have a short temper and slam phones. They don't look like they're up to the abuse.

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I'd either get Polycom Soundpoint 501, or a Snom phone.

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those phones are the $19.99 cheapy phones you buy at Walmart

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those phones are the $19.99 cheapy phones you buy at Walmart

Why not buy six or seven times as many as you need? Still works out cheaper than the $200 phones, no?

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$20 no-name POTS phone

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I don't know about going with the Grandstream phones in the long run. Many people here have a short temper and slam phones. They don't look like they're up to the abuse.

The Nortel Meridian's are great, they have an optical switch thing and are built of a good plastic. I bought a Cisco 7960 to play with and it's great, but definately a posh phone for people who treat office equipment gently, it definately wouldn't stand up to a Balmer-style rage. I think Cisco (or a company they bought) had some older cheap beige phones that I recall where pretty sturdy.

I plan to play with Asterisk soon, we only have three lines (2x voice and 1x fax/ADSL) and it would be nice to hook them all up with decent fax <> email along with voicemail and redirection. My boss and his friend work away from the office a lot so it would be useful to explore some of the different ways we can arrange the system. We don't actually use phones very much but it would be cool anyway

Gareth

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I'm interested in Asterisk because it would be cheap to do (I think).

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I'd either get Polycom Soundpoint 501, or a Snom phone.

Ouch, $200 a phone isn't bad for a bussiness instalation, but will the cheap ones work in a home environment? I'm rewiring the house and would love to move over to asterisk and a complete voip solution.

Matthew

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those phones are the $19.99 cheapy phones you buy at Walmart

Why not buy six or seven times as many as you need? Still works out cheaper than the $200 phones, no?

He's just saying the quality of the phone I bought is similar to that of a $20 no-name POTS phone you might find at Walmart. The phone I bought to test was $85.

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Only $5 a month.