Ok Crew I am totally newbie to all this VoIP and IPX stuff. Infact I have installed Linux before but never really ran it.
I have a couple of questions.
First if I get into this is there enough people here to help me out or I should say BAIL me out if I run into problems.
Second what flavor of Linux should I use?
Third I have a normal telephone line and I have high speed cable internet. What is better for me to use with this IPX? Is this going to cost me an arm and a leg to set up with the phones etc.
I mainly just want to do it and see how long I can keep it going here at the house. If it work out for me I might recommend it to my next employer. I got laid off 4 months ago so I have ALOT of time on my hands, but not much money.
Asterisk is as complicated as you want to make it. the hardware specs for a 1-line home system aren’t particularly high, so you don’t need to spend a fortune, particularly if you pickup a clone FXO card. if you can afford a TDM it’s well worth it.
subscribe to the digium user list (but expect 10+ digests per day !) for extra help, but remember to have googled yourself to death first. voip-info.org/ is THE bible when it comes to asterisk for me. then google, then here, then the lists.
i would recommend the AsteriskatHome distro for first time use. it’s a single download that sets up a basic system for you, although you’ll soon progress and be doing the configs yourself. AMP has it’s limitations. once you get this far you’ll probably be confident enough to install your preferred distro and Asterisk etc from source without the AAH scripts. asteriskathome.sf.net
you can also start with softphones, e.g. xten.com like XLite, and you’ll also be able to setup and play with SIP and IAX2 trunks from a wide variety of providers.
maybe then you’ll be able to set yourself up as an Asterisk consultant
