Voice Over IP + Reinvented = ?

Peter Rukavina

Since moving in to the new palace of digital pleasure a week ago, I have been without a telephone. As chronicled earlier, I’m moving the old phone number over here, and switching service to Eastlink at the same time. Everything is scheduled to fly on Tuesday next.

There are, however, no phone jacks down here in the Green Room. But there are plenty of Ethernet jacks. Which has prompted me to invest in a Sipura SPA-2000 device from Pulver Innovations.

Having earlier acquired a Digium Wildcard X100P, which is sitting upstairs in this webserver waiting to be called into action, my plan is to plug the Sipura into the Ethernet jack here in my office, the X100P into the Eastlink phone line, and then to use Asterisk to manage my calls.

In theory, I should be able to take the Sipura with me to Yankee, plug it into Ethernet there, and have my office phone ring through.

Watch this space (or Labs, depending on degree of difficulty) for details.

Comments

Submitted by Cody Swanson on

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Having just completed a VOIP rollout at work using Avaya’s IP Office system I can say the biggest leap I had was providing a secure way for our remote employees (myself included) to access the switch and providing priority to VOIP packets so remote users don’t sound like Max Headroom.

Although it was a pain in the rear to complete it’s nice being able to call the office without worrying about long distance. Now I just need to convince Avaya to release a linux version of the software. :-)

Submitted by Ken on

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Can you tell me where you got your x100 card? Too bad a modem won’t work as a line card, that could trigger a massive shift into astarisk.

I’m about to put Shrike on a 800Mhz Celeron which will be my asterisk server.

Does asterisk have GUI’s or can I just install Linux server?

Submitted by Peter Rukavina on

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I bought my X100P directly from Digium (www.digium.com). Apparently there is someone offering cheaper Digium “clone” cards, but I’m not sure where, when, or how.

All you need the X100P for is to interface with a POTS telephone line; if you just want to do 100% VOIP, then you don’t need any additional hardware to use Asterisk.

There is a limited GUI for Asterisk, called Gastman, but it’s more of a call control system than an Asterisk configuration utility; to install Asterisk itself you’ll need to follow the instructions on www.asterisk.org, grab the latest sources via CVS, compile and install.

Submitted by Ken on

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Asterisk sounds promising, I can’t wait to install it. I’m doing some new work with Nortel testing equipment installations for the CS2000 Gateway which is a protocol converter that does SS7 signals on the circuit switched side and SIP-T, H.248, MGCP out to the IP world.

I have a very strong telecom view and need to learn asterisk in order to understand the IP view in more detail.

Tarballs, GNU, Kernels need to be as clear to me as All Ones, loopbacks, and loopstart!

Submitted by Ken on

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This is my first Reinvented entry from RedHat!

Now to install asterisk, hmmm this is going to be interesting.
Let me see if I can get that asterisk directory from my win2k box over the LAN…then unzip it and hope it prompts me through like a highway flagman through construction back onto pavement!

RedHat, what refreshing fonts you have!
It’s like a new skin.

Submitted by Ken on

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Asterisk has successfully been installed.

It was easy to get the asterisk-0.9.0.tar.gz from my win2k box, just clicked network servers, chose it, pwd, there it is my old windows hard drive in RedHat via LAN.

Ran make not as root, then remembered and noticed lots of
/did not do
/whatever, nothing done
/not done
/etcetera

Logged in as Root, lot less /
didn’t-do’s and more /blabla0:12223 write good ok

Now what! Tweak tweak. Should I load the make samnples or dive right in and edit the .conf’s?

I am running Asterisk man!

Submitted by Ken on

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The Tyne Valley convenience store is installing an auto-dialer that will remind late-movie renters to return their DVD’s.

The owner asks me how to install the dialler card into his PC, which I assume he did by now! He’s not running Asterisk, but give him time….

Submitted by Ken on

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This Asterisk project has been enjoyable, I’ve done datafill on Nortels’s DMS exchanges for local and cellular and Asterisk does in a microcosm the same awesome dial tone services and trunking.

Thanks Peter Rukavina for tipping me off on Asterisk!

Tesla FingerLake Wunderkind!

Submitted by Ken on

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Question: I want to put my Asterisk server in a utility room, and telnet to it; however telnet server doesn’t respond - do I need to start telnet service or install a new RPM to provide that.

What is the best way to remote access my Linux RedHat9 from my other Win2K PC?

In advance, thanks for your valuable time.

Submitted by Peter Rukavina on

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Ken, if your server is on the Internet, either directly or indirectly, you shouldn’t use telnet, as it lets password information (and anything else over the link) pass in clear text. Use SSH instead, which should have been installed by default under RedHat 9. You’ll need an SSH client on your WinTel box to do this: I recommend PuTTY, although there are many others.

Similarly, you can use SCP or SFTP to transfer files to/from the server; I suggest WinSCP for this.

Submitted by Ken on

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Your response was the fix! Now if Digium’s cards arrive…
I owe you a bucket of clams, do you eat shellfish?

Submitted by Ken on

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I’ve just arrived in Atlanta do do some work testing and maintaining Nortel’s VoIP based on Passport switch.
In the next year there will be a lot of new rollouts offering more service for Asterisk and the like. From what I see it is the next big thing in telecom, which is no secret but nonetheless very exciting as it liberates the phone system even more from Ma Bell.

Used to be internet was dialed up on the telecom network, now the telecom network is going to exist on the internet.

Submitted by Ken on

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Outstanding Rob, thanks for that link.

There should be a X-prize for the first person who can create their own nationwide phone company for under $1000

Submitted by Ken on

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Normally I would look for this answer myself, but can you tell me how to make asterisk load when my Linux system boots?

I’m sure it is a certain text file to add it to, like autoexec.bat, just don’t know exactly.

Submitted by Peter Rukavina on

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Simply add the command to start up Asterisk in your /etc/rc.d/rc.local (assuming you’re using RedHat).

Submitted by Randy on

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I just recently (week ago) ordered a couple of the X100P clones from a guy on ebay. His S&H charges are outrageous, packaging questionable (bubble padded envelope), but if you consider the price as a whole its verry resonable ($13.98 per card). The cards arrived safely and fully functional.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA…

I have two of them working quite nicely in an asterisk box as 2 FXO ports. (Note this will not given you any FXS ports)

Submitted by Danny Lane on

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Starting an Asterisk project any advice on hardware cards I should be getting before getting started?

Submitted by Peter Rukavina on

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I use a very, very old Digium single-port board to route my POTS line to&#160Asterisk. The only complaint I’ve ever had with it is that I’ve never been able to make it interpret and forward the “call display” information to Asterisk; otherwise, it’s performed well for more than 5 years.

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Photo of Peter RukavinaI am . I am a writer, letterpress printer, and a curious person.

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