I’m planning to run Asterisk on a Virtual Private Server on a datacentrum.
I can run Linux with the following hardware specs.
Harddrive = 40.000 MB
Data traffic limit = 1.500 GB
Processorpower = 1.500 MHz
RAM = 640 MB DDR-RAM
FlexRAM = 1.280 MB DDR-RAM
Is the hardware suitable for running Asterisk? For how many users?
That’s kind of confusing? Assuming you mean GB not MB of RAM.
Virtual private server? As in shared hardware server? I don’t know of many if any people doing this successfully. 1.5GHz CPU if that’s what you mean’t isn’t a heck of a lot of horsepower for shared hardware. It depends on how many simutaneous calls and what transcoding you plan to do if it’s a dedicated server.
Mustardman,
correct, I mean a shared hardware server, with the following specs;
Harddrive = 40.000 MB
Data traffic limit = 1500 GB
Processorpower = 1.5 GHz
RAM = 640 MB DDR-RAM
FlexRAM = 1280 MB DDR-RAM
This CPU power is dedicated for my solution only. The idea is to support max 50 users remotely.
I don’t recall reading of anyone doing this. I am assuming you are using strictly VoIP trunks and not any PSTN connections.
My instincts tell me it won’t work very well for the same reasons it is not recommended to run other services on dedicated Asterisk servers such as web hosting. This is a real time application and if the CPU has to go off and service another virtual servers request your conversation may drop out or stutter. The busier it get’s the worse this will be. That’s just my opinion. I don’t have any personal experience.
If you have overall admin control where you can prioritize your virtual machine it might make it more feasable but I still have my doubts.
How about this server? It’s a dedicated server in a datacentre.
HDD = 40 GB
Data month limit = 1500 GB
Processorpower = 1,5 GHz
RAM = 640 MB DDR-RAM
FlexRAM = 1280 MB DDR-RAM
This server will handle only SIP request and it will have a IP connection to our provider. No PRI/ISDN connections are required.
How many users are possible?
I would not recommend that you use Asterisk, or any SIP services for that matter, with any service that has “data limits”.
SIP calls would create a constant data stream that would use up your 1500 GB per month in a VERY short period of time. If you were fortunate, you might be able to have one or two users that could work within those limits. But that’s assuming that you don’t use Asterisk too much.
Asterisk is really not a solution that you would want to host on any server that you, yourself, do not own and control.
I would advise you to buy your own server, and get your own dedicated network connection. Do not try to work within any “limits”.
If you’re not interested in hosting the solution yourself, there are lots of excellent VOIP companies out there that would be happy to provide telecom services for you. You’ll probably find that they are cheaper and easier in the long run.
I’m running a small call centre here in Australia - here are my specs:
2.8 GHz Pentium 4
1 GB RAM
40GB Hard Drive
30GB Download limit per month.
I have 12 people in the call centre, with around 4 on call at any time 7 hours a day.
I am using G729 Codec and my usage per month is 8 GB (download and upload combined).
CPU usage is hovering around 6%, and RAM usage is at 300 MB (Asterisk is 20MB from that).
It is an outbound only call centre and the server is on our premises, so I am not counting the data between the server and the agents, only the server and the VoIP provider.
With the specs you got, and, provided that the link is fast (i.e. > 1.5Mbit/sec) and has low latency (<200ms), you should be able to support around 20-30 simultanious calls - using G729 - which I would recommend to minimise usage and bandwidth.
Good luck!
dimavo
Thanks Dimavo,
i’m thinking to go for the following server. It is dedicated server with full control and access to manage it.
Hardware Dell PowerEdge SC420 met Intel E7221
CPU Intel Pentium IV met 3.4 GHz
RAM 1024 MB DDR2-RAM (ECC 400 MHz)
harde schijf 160 GB SATA harde schijf (7.200 upm)
NIC 1 GBit-Ethernet
Datalimit 4.000 GB
based on your specs, this server must be capable to handle 50 users.