Remote locations - VPN or additional Asterisk server?

Please see the GIF file below containing a some-what logical outline of what we are trying to achieve.

s319.photobucket.com/albums/mm46 … iagram.gif

Basically we have a primary location that has a Asterisk VOIP server and some employees as well as VOIP phones. All this plugs into a switch, but technically into a soon to be dd-wrt router (unless you recommend otherwise).

We are going to be bringing on some remote locations which will have some employees as well as some VOIP phones. The Asterisk VOIP server is located at the primary location. I believe we will need a router to router VPN for the remote locations VOIP phones to connect to the VOIP server at the primary location.

One concern, however, is that any normal traffic, such as surfing the web, downloading anything, checknig email, etc, should all be done via each locations local internet. For example, the computers on the remote location end SHOULD be able to access anything on the primary location (VPN) but any web browsing or downloading should be routed through the local router and internet rather than crossing through VPN to the primary location’s internet.

Since ALL traffic does not need to be routed through the primary location internet but we do need VPN to connect the VOIP phones at the remote location to the primary location Asterisk VOIP server, what would you recommend?

Should we setup another Asterisk server at the remote location and then go through the internet to talk to the primary location Asterisk server? Are there any advantages or disadvantages to adding an Asterisk server to the remote location?

SUMMARY: Asterisk VOIP server at primary location. Adding on additional remote locations and thinking about router-to-router VPN or possibly another Asterisk server. There are VOIP phones at remote location. Computers at remote location should not use the primary location’s internet.

If we are talking about 1 to 4 VoIP phones, I would route the VoIP calls
through the VPN and not install a new asterisk server.
i’ve done this on a couple of places and it works fine (up to four phones
remotely).
Would be nice to have an xDSL connection that has at least 512kbps
upload b/w (again, for four devices).

Remote office machines will do their stuff as usual, VoIP phones will register
throught the VPN to the asterisk server you have installed at the main
offices. As a result, only the VoIP phones will use b/w from the VPN and not
the rest of the equipment.

Maybe you will have traffic issues (at 512kbps), try QoS’ing (it depends
on your networking gear; mind you QoS is not for the faint at heart).

HTH,

s.