Hi,
I’ve been following Asterisk’s development for quite a while now and it wasn’t until recently that I was requested to build an actual Asterisk system. So I’ve got a few quick questions that I’d like to run by some people more experienced than I am. Right now I’d like to setup an Asterisk system with 4 FXO ports and use IP phones to connect to the system.
So the system would be dialing over analog but the phones connecting to the machines would be over ethernet-- this is possible to do, correct?
At the moment the hardware I’ve selected for this configuration is:
Wildcard TDM04B Retail Package (4 FXO ports)
Linksys-SPA-921
Any hardware recommendations to accomplish this build with less headache and with as much reliability as possible are very much welcome! Thanks in advance!
That configuration is the easiest and arguably the most well tested configuration so it’s a good system to cut your teeth on.
I don’t have any personal experience with those phones but you can definitely get better for just a few dollars more. How picky will the users be about sound quality? Is this a serious business environment or a micro business that never had a phone system before or ??
I know this is the digium forum but if it was me, I would seriously look at a Sangoma A200. They now include 6 free Octasic swec licenses and are known to have less motherboard compatibility issues.
Plan to need better echo cancellation than what is included with Asterisk. Do NOT underestimate the possibility of echo making your life miserable. You should ALWAYS plan to use either commercial swec or spend more for the best solution for best overall sound quality which is hardware echo cancellation. If your hardware has the horsepower, the commercial swec available from Digium and Sangoma is adequate but hardware will always be better. Faster convergence, less CPU usage, simplified installation.
Hi mustardman,
Thanks for your reply! We’ve actually decided on this phone here:
voiplink.com/Cisco_7960G_p/cp-7960g.htm
What do you think about that model? Also regarding the echo cancellation, do you have a recommendation on something that does this driven through hardware as you suggested? This phone system will be used by a business so you could consider it mission critical that it work correctly.
[quote=“inotocracy”]Hi mustardman,
Thanks for your reply! We’ve actually decided on this phone here:
voiplink.com/Cisco_7960G_p/cp-7960g.htm
What do you think about that model? Also regarding the echo cancellation, do you have a recommendation on something that does this driven through hardware as you suggested? This phone system will be used by a business so you could consider it mission critical that it work correctly.[/quote]
If you ask 10 people about hardware you will probably get 10 opinions.
Here are my opinions:
People seem to like the Cisco’s but hate the price and configurability. Everything from Cisco is overpriced IMHO. There is always that “agenda” of Cisco’s to “encourage” an all Cisco solution. Couple that with licensing fees to pay for firmware upgrades to fix problems you should not have to pay for, lack of factory support for Asterisk, difficulty of configuration. Cisco is a non-starter for me. More hassle than I am willing to deal with while paying a premium price. Nobody is going to get fired for going with a Cisco phone though.
If you can afford Cisco phones you can surely afford an extra $300 for a hardware echo can so get a Sangoma A200D (The “D” means it included the echo can module)and your guaranteed to have excellent sound quality, no echo, and no motherboard compatibility issues. Guaranteed!
Echo is by far the biggest potential issue you will face. I would sooner pay more for hardware echo can and cheaper phones than the other way around but ideally you should not try cut corners on either.
If course you need a solid platform to run it all on so that means commercial grade server hardware. Not those cheap Dell servers either. Some guys even try run this stuff on those el cheapo $299 Dell Dimensions (cringe!). Yikes!
Hrm, in your personal opinion could you recommend a decent handset that works with Asterisk? Also I assume this would work as a replacement for the Wildcard while providing us with proper echo cancellation:
voiplink.com/Sangoma_A20002d … 20002d.htm
Correct? Once again thank you for your help!
Yup, that’s the exact card I use.
I would get just one of those Cisco phones initially and see if it’s gonna work for you. You could for sure use it for the most important person in the office to make them feel “special” but you may decide it’s too much of a hassle and expense to deploy in the whole office.
I personally use the Aastra phones exclusively. They hit all the right spots for quality, price, features, and configurability for me.
Thanks again mustardman, your suggestions have been great! We happen to have a few of those Cisco phones around so we’ll probably just try one of those, but if all else fails what do you think about this model here:
voiplink.com/Aastra_480i_p/aastra-480i.htm
Thanks again, I really appreciate it!
[quote=“inotocracy”]Thanks again mustardman, your suggestions have been great! We happen to have a few of those Cisco phones around so we’ll probably just try one of those, but if all else fails what do you think about this model here:
voiplink.com/Aastra_480i_p/aastra-480i.htm
Thanks again, I really appreciate it![/quote]
If you already have some of the Cisco phones around you might as well use them. You need the SIP firmware and if they don’t already have that Cisco or one of their partners will try charge you for the upgrade.
I like the newer 5xi Aastra phones. I’ve used the 480i and 480i CT. The large display is nice if you plan to have lots of softkeys and/or are using XML. The 9133i is a nice low cost workhorse. I believe they all use the same speakerphone and handset so sound quality is the same on all of them.