Hey all, was wondering if it was possible (since a few people on /., where asterisk was recently mentioned) for someone to throw together thier own PBX using * without buying any hardware… you know, spare computer, hooked up to a landline…
People were saying that it was possible, but is it possible? Is it HARD?
Thanks for any comments…
if you need to hook up to your PSTN you’re going to need hardware. how much you spend is up to you though (US$10 - 200, depending on option chosen).
is it hard ? only as hard as you want to make it. if you have a PC you can spare and want to avoid getting too involved in config then AsteriskatHome (asteriskathome.sf.net) will get you going quickly and fairly fuss-free.
thanks for your reply, not to ask a stupid question… but what exactly do you mean by “hookup” your PSTN?
let me put it this way, i see all these different hardware types its talking about…
id be using say, Verizon (for the phone service) and I have DSL as well (if that matters).
[quote=“sithik”]what exactly do you mean by “hookup” your PSTN?
[/quote]
i dunno … what did you mean in your original post by “hooked up” ?? 
i mean a link between your telco-provided PSTN service and your Asterisk server. i’m not familiar with US telcos, but you could have an FXO port (X100P, TDM400, Sipura 3000 etc) that linked to the public network, plus as many trunks as you need via SIP or IAX providers that terminate to the PSTN (Vonage, BroadVoice, Sipgate, Teliax etc)
check the wiki at voip-info.org for a lifetime of reading and experimenting !!
Thanks again BaconButtie, I’ve been reading ALOT (maybe too much) about how PBX’s work, and how * works. Im still somewhat lost as to the hardware required.
Lets say I have a verizon landline (with thier freedom plan (call anywhere in the US and canada for free), I think I would definately use that (possible?)
The other thing I dont understand are these cards…
Im guessing (digium.com/index.php?menu=pr … uct=TE110P - err wrong, at least i hope so, $600 worth of hopeso anyway) would work fine for a single phone (for now) PBX setup?
So, from what im gathering. I need at least one of those cards (assuming the link i posted would work for what I wanna do (for now) ), a PBX phone (grandstream.com/y-gxp2000.htm) and that would be it?
from what im INTERPRATING, the setup would look like this:
NID (Verizon landline)
|
|
56k Modem? (in computer)
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TE110P (in computer)
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|
PBX Phone
I believe the TE110P is a T-1 card - a bit of overkill for what you need. Probably the better option from Digium is the TDM400 which can be configured with 4 ports - which you may only need 1 port configured on the card.
The configuration would be something like:
Verizon line -> TDM400(installed in Asterisk box)
The phone can be SIP phone you want ranging from the free softphones all the way up to the Cisco stuff and would be connected to the Asterisk box through your LAN.
This is just one arrangement and there are many other permutations of course. Check out the wiki at voip-info.org/
[quote=“sithik”]Thanks again BaconButtie, I’ve been reading ALOT (maybe too much) about how PBX’s work, and how * works. Im still somewhat lost as to the hardware required.
Lets say I have a verizon landline (with thier freedom plan (call anywhere in the US and canada for free), I think I would definately use that (possible?)
The other thing I dont understand are these cards…
Im guessing (digium.com/index.php?menu=pr … uct=TE110P - err wrong, at least i hope so, $600 worth of hopeso anyway) would work fine for a single phone (for now) PBX setup?
So, from what im gathering. I need at least one of those cards (assuming the link i posted would work for what I wanna do (for now) ), a PBX phone (grandstream.com/y-gxp2000.htm) and that would be it?
from what im INTERPRATING, the setup would look like this:
NID (Verizon landline)
|
|
56k Modem? (in computer)
|
|
TE110P (in computer)
|
|
PBX Phone[/quote]
hmm, thanks for the reply guys/gals. that card is still somewhat expensive, since i think (for now) im just going to play around with it, im going to try:
chayden.net/Asterisk/SeUpAsteriskAtHome.htm
Ill signup for vonage (since I already have the adapter), and that should be all I need, no? Ill use the softphone just to make sure everything works correctly and everything…
Actually, I dont know if I would need a softphone since the vonage adapter only has the ethernet to connect to the router, so im guessing that would essentially be the “analog to digital adapter”, like the TDM400 would be?