Access your IP PBX using voice channels

This post is to propose you an experiment I did not so long ago.
I had the need to access, for support reasons, an Asterisk IP PBX which does not have any IP connection, or to better say, which is not allowed to be connected through the IP connection already sitting there.

In spite this might sound absurd, it happen more than one can imagine, at least in my experience.

Reasons are many, very restrictive network policies, not so cooperative network administrators or also PBX is just installed in places where there’s only voice connection. This is the case, for example, of installation of PBXes in small shops or small laboratory of various nature.

In this cases, do any change on the configuration of those devices may require you to move yourself to the device location.

When there’s no other way, why don’t use the voice channels already sitting there to access the server?

I don’t want to hide that this solution is slow by nature, the best you can do is 38400bps, and this is not quite simple to reach, in my case I couldn’t exceded 9600 bps. However you can remotely manage your installation without beg anyone’s help for a remote access!

Hoping someone else can find this useful, I wrote an article on my blog. carminatialessandro.blogspot.it/ … nnels.html

I’d be really glad to read your comments.
Regards
AC

If there are such restrictive policies, trying to circumvent them may be considered a breach of the policy. However you can certainly connect a modem to a voice channel and I believe there are modec implementations that are suitable for direct connection.

Thanks for your comment.

Indeed this action might be considered hostile in some situations such as very restrictive policied netwoks. I agree with you, thank you for pointed out.
Hoping that in other scenarios this still could be useful, I’ll wait to read other comments.
At last, please consider that: using this solution you do not need any additional hardware, such as additional analog modems.

Regards
AC