Question

How to set up Asterisk from Start to Finish...Kind Of...

Asked by: jocasio123

Hello all:

We currently have a traditional PBX (inter-tel) and are looking for another alternative as our company grows.  I have been looking at Asterisk and I am curious as to what I would need to fully implement an Asterisk solution.  We currently have 2 T1s and and intergrated T1 (split 12data/12 voice), however I am not sure how I would incorporate this into my network.  

1) Do I have to 'buy' any other services from my ISP?

2) Is Asterisk Free?

3) What hardware components do I have to procure?

4) I want to use soft phones instead of VoIP handsets.  Is this possible?

5) I beleive Asterisk will run on Windows.  IS this true?  If it's free, do I get all of the features, such as call recording, hunt  groups, etc?

Basically, I am weighing the viability of having this instead of the tradition PBX.  Right now we are in th process of hiring 10-20 new employees and each Inter-Tel hand set costs approx 300.00 new (I could get them cheaper on eBay, but they would still be approx 100.00/handset)

Any help would be greatly appreciated

jocasio

This Question has been solved and asker verified All Experts Exchange premium technology solutions are available to subscription members.

Subscribe now for full access to Experts Exchange and get

Instant Access to this Solution

  • Plus...
  • 30 Day FREE access, no risk, no obligation
  • Collaborate with the world's top tech experts
  • Unlimited access to our exclusive solution database
  • Never be left without tech help again

Subscribe Now

Asked On
2008-12-29 at 10:03:17ID24013620
Topics

Telecommunications

,

Asterisk Open Source Telephony

Participating Experts
3
Points
500
Comments
21

Trusted by hundreds of thousands everyday for fast, accurate and reliable tech support.

  • "The time we save is the biggest benefit of Experts Exchange to Warner Bros. What could take multiple guys 2 hours or more each to find is accessed in around 15 minutes on Experts Exchange." Mike Kapnisakis, Warner Bros.
  • "Our team likes having a resource that is more secure than just using Google and most experts using this service really know their stuff. It's nice to look here first versus using Google." Dayna Sellner, Lockheed Martin
  • "Anytime that I've been stumped with a problem, 9 out of 10 times Experts Exchange has either the accepted solution or an open discussion of the potential solution to the problem." Kenny Red, eBay Inc.

See what Experts Exchange can do for you.

Got a question?

We've got the answer.

Experts Exchange has been collecting answers to technology questions since 1996…3 million and counting! If you have a question, chances are we already have your answer.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Need individual assistance?

Our experts are ready to help.

If you can't find the exact answer you're looking for, ask our exclusive community of 50,000 experts. You’ll get a personalized answer from a trusted professional.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Want to learn from the best?

Read articles from industry experts.

Thousands of free tech tips, tricks, how-to’s and tutorials are available in our peer reviewed articles section. See for yourself how smart our experts are, no login required.

Screenshot of an Article

Working on a long term project?

Store your work and research.

Save solutions to your questions, answers you’ve discovered through searching plus helpful articles in your personal knowledgebase for easy future access.

Screenshot of Experts Exchange Knowledgebase

Access the answers to your technology questions today.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

What Makes Experts Exchange Unique?

Members of the expert community talk about why the experience at Experts Exchange is different than what you will find anywhere else.

Trusted by the world's most respected brands.

image of each brand's logo

Faithfully serving IT professionals since 1996.

Experts Exchange Logo

Try it out and discover for yourself.

Subscribe Now

30-day free trial. Register in 60 seconds.

Related Solutions

  1. Asterisk PBX Installations
    Hello everyone, Our organization is currently looking at upgrading our phone systems. We currently have 7 office sites around our state, which all have old key based phone systems. One avenue I would like to explore would be the deployment of the Open-Source Asterisk PBX s...
  2. Help with understanding PBX and Asterisk concepts
    I am trying to setup and configure a VoIP based pbx server using Asterisk. My end goal, in theory, is to have this happen: 1) Customer dials in on one of my asterisk trunk lines 2) Local Asterisk PBX server picks up, gives menu prompts 3) User communicates wit...

Free Tech Articles

  1. WARNING: 5 Reasons why you should NEVER fix a computer for free.
    It is in our nature to love the puzzle. We are obsessed. The lot of us. We love puzzles. We love the challenge. We thrive on finding the answer. We hate disarray. It bothers us deep in our soul. W...
  2. SCCM OSD Basic troubleshooting
    SCCM 2007 OSD is a fantastic way to deploy operating systems, however, like most things SCCM issues can sometimes be difficult to resolve due to the sheer volume of logs to sift through and the dispe...
  3. Migrate Small Business Server 2003 to Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2
    This guide is intended to provide step by step instructions on how to migrate from Small Business Server 2003 to Windows 2008 R2 with Exchange 2010. For this migration to work you will need the fo...
  4. Create a Win7 Gadget
    This article shows you how to create a simple "Gadget" -- a sort of mini-application supported by Windows 7 and Vista. Gadgets can be dropped anywhere on the desktop to provide instant information, ...
  5. Outlook continually prompting for username and password
    There have been a lot of questions recently regarding Outlook prompting for a username and password whilst using Exchange 2007. There are a few reasons why this would happen and I will try to cover t...
  6. Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
    There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 s...

Cloud Class Webinars

  1. Avoiding Bugs in Microsoft Access
    Alison Balter takes and in-depth look at avoiding bugs in Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the immediate window to debug your applications, invoking the debugger, using breakpoints to troubleshoot, stepping through code, setting the next statement to execute, ...
  2. Top 10 Best New Features in Visio 2010
    Scott Helmers gives live demonstrations of the top 10 new features in Visio 2010. This webinar will teach you how to create compelling diagrams by adding shapes to the page with a single click, linking the shapes in a diagram to data in Excel (or SQL Server, or SharePoint), ...
  3. IT Consultant Business Secrets Revealed
    Michael Munger, Experts Exchange tech pro and IT consultant, pulls back the curtain on his very successful businesses and answers question on every IT consultant and business owner should know about. He shares secrets on what he did to solve the 5 most common problems in IT, ...
  4. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
    Quest CTO, Mike Billon, gives an overview of the steps involved in building a dunamic disaster recovery plan. Through case studies and an examination of software/hardware tooles for monitoring and testing, you'll gain a better understandin of where you are, where you want ...
  5. Organize Your Visio Diagrams with Containers and Lists
    Scott Helmers uses cross functional flowcharts, wireframe diagrams, data graphic legends and seating charts to teach you: how to ustilize all three new structured diagram components in Visio 2010, the best practices for organizeing shapes in previous version of Visio, how to organize ...
  6. How to Us Objects, Properties, Events and Methods in Microsoft Access
    Alison Dalter gives an in-depbth look at objects, properties, events and methods in Microsoft Access. In this webinar you will learn about using the object browser, referring to objects, working with properties and methods, working with object variables, understanding the ...

Join the Community

Give a Little. Get a Lot.

Join the community of experts here and help other tech pros by answering question in your area of expertise. You can earn FREE access to all Experts Exchange's premium features and resources.

Join the Community

Answers

 

by: tvman_odPosted on 2008-12-29 at 10:39:14ID: 23257602

1. Design considerations: If you wish to use partial T1 for voice, you need to buy appropriate interface card. Digium, the sponsor of Asterisk project offers them for reasonable price. You need to have appropriate host system, PC or server hardware for handling your load. And requirements are different for different types of traffic profiles, like office, call center, warehouse, etc. and number of users. I can run Asterisk on i486 system for a small office just fine or dual Xeon mashine may be not enough for a call center.
Nice source of info http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Asterisk

2. Cost: It really depends on your ability to navigate among open source projects and scattered documentation. Digium offers commercial builds of Asterisk and Asterisk appiances. There are  third party releases for Windows. You can get them free. But still you will have to pay for Windows OS license. Diguim offers AsteriskNOW. It is a free LiveCD product running from CD and using HDD for storage of voicemails and configureations. Pre-configured Linux OS included.

Features: Asterisk supports all popular features you can find in tradition PBX system such as call transfer, call forwarding, recording, auto attendant, voicemail and lots more. Plut you can have very flexible and complex calling plans. Plus integration with other applications through AGI scripting.

Softphones: YES. A lot of free softphones available on web using IAX, SIP or H.323 protocols including video capabilities.

If you have more specific questions, let me know

 

by: denisdsr20Posted on 2008-12-30 at 01:35:04ID: 23261398

As starter Kit I would recommand :
- the best way to discover these technlogies is to set up a TRIXBOX (formely asterisk@home) : http://www.trixbox.org/ it comes with a web based management interface. It's Free
- you need additionnal hardware PCI board for T1/T2 access or analog lines, have a look on http://www.digium.com/en/products/  (Consider PCI boards with on board echo cancel)
- Alternate solution you can subscribe to a VOIP provider they will manage the VOIP switch for you
- You need VOIP phones, choose phones compatible with SIP 2.0 you have a wide choice from CISCO phones (hundreds $) to grandstream (50 - 80 $), for a trial you can also choose Softphones (softwares running on windows/mac/linux) take a look at http://www.counterpath.com/x-lite.html&active=4

Hope this helps

Denis DIDIER
SR20Service / France

 

by: jocasio123Posted on 2008-12-30 at 05:55:01ID: 23262468

Thank you both for the comments.  OK so it looks like I can use Windows to run Asterick as well as softphones for free (except the purchase of the PCI card).  I guess my only other question is would I have to have my line provisioned for anything other than T1?  Right now I have two dedicated T1s and 1 intergrated T1.  Do I have to have my ISP provision the line for any type of VoIP service?  Or do I just plug the T1 into the PCI card?  I also have 60 DIDs from my carrier as well.

Thanks!

jocasio

 

by: denisdsr20Posted on 2008-12-30 at 06:14:12ID: 23262608

1) Up to me the only way to have an asterisk running on Windows is to use a virtual OS (VmWare + vmWare player) see asterisk@home distrib. I'm not sure you can compile asterisk on a windows native station

2) For regular T1, you just have to plug T1 wires on the board and it works. For you're mixed T1 I'm not sure you can use DATA flows on these PCI/T1 boards

3) DID it just a matter of config on asterisk to route calls to right target

4) Not sure to understand the question related to your ISP ? If your calls go through T1 and your LAN (softphones), you will not route calls on your internet connexion. If you are using asterisk as a gateway T1/VOIP and route calls over internet there is much more issues to fix, first one is firewall traversal for SIP and RTP flows (UDP), may be your ISP can manage with this, if not you will have to do it by yourself. Google search SIP + NAT + firewall traversal it's rather complex and it's the tricky side of VOIP

Regards

Denis DIDIER
SR20Service / France

 

by: jocasio123Posted on 2008-12-30 at 06:39:00ID: 23262769

OK.  My question regarding my ISP is this.  I have the two Data T1 coming into my office.  I want to use softphones.  The computers these softphones will work on are the same computers my employees use to access the network as well as the internet.  So I was thinking I could have the Asterick box inside my network, attached via a switch, and then my users will be able to access it from their pcs.  What I'm gathering from your last post (Denis) is that I should just plug the T1 in directly from the smart jack into the asterick box and then wire my office for phone.  This would mean I would have to have two NIC cards in each computer - one for network/internetwork, and the other for phone.  Is this what you are suggesting?

thanks!

jocasio

 

by: tvman_odPosted on 2008-12-30 at 07:12:12ID: 23263048

I would suggest to use Linus as a platform OS since it's native environment for Asterisk. Trixbox is a good option. You don't need to be a guru in Linux to set it up.
Im' not sure how PCI T1 drivers will perform in Windows. I experimented with Asterisk in Windows but without any hardware.
You don't need separate NIC for soft phones. You connect your Asterisk box to the LAN and T1 from the smartjack to the PCI card.

If you wish to access your Asterisk from softphones from the internen, you will need to setup port forwarding on your router. Specific instructions depend on the model of the router and type of connection

 

by: xuserx2000Posted on 2008-12-30 at 14:54:42ID: 23266909

1) Do I have to 'buy' any other services from my ISP?
If you have 2 fractional T1's(12 voice 12 data)..., I would have your ISP split them into 1 data and 1 voice.  This will make your setup much easier.   One T1 will go directly into the asterisk "box" for voice, and the other into your router or firewall for internet.  The ISP should do this free of charge.

2) Is Asterisk Free?
Asterisk is open source and of course free...there are some spiffed up versions of asterisk embedded, that you can buy with support agreements.( I like the open source myself)  There is also "ASTERISK NOW", which is easier to setup and install for newbies.

3) What hardware components do I have to procure?
For useing a T1, you will need a digium PCI / T1 card... and a server.  You will have to check to make sure the voltage of the PCI slot on the server matches the voltage of the PCI card you intend to buy.

4) I want to use soft phones instead of VoIP handsets.  Is this possible?
Absolutely, and that is what I use myself....   just don't get the newest version of x-lite,...it has issues many people are dealing with as we speak.

5) I beleive Asterisk will run on Windows.  IS this true?  If it's free, do I get all of the features, such as call recording, hunt  groups, etc?
Asterisk will run on windows as a virtual server, but you will lose on performance a bit.  No real point in doing this...it's unnecessary.....I would run it on Linux CENTOS 4.x

 

by: xuserx2000Posted on 2008-12-30 at 14:59:53ID: 23266943

PS: Asterisk is superior to traditional PBX's, in cost/performance/and ...functionality(which is only limited by your own creativity and resources)

I dont' think it is allowed on this site, but if it were, I actually have a preconfigured / standby asterisk box i'm looking to sell with 1 FXO 1 FXS and 1 single port T1 card....

You might want to look on ebay for an embedded version...like Elastix or Trixbox.

 

by: jocasio123Posted on 2008-12-31 at 09:04:45ID: 23271322

xuserx2000:

Thank you for your input.  It's been very helpful as you went point by point and answered my questions.

Just one more question for this particular question regarding your answer to question 1:

I have two full data T1s and of course the intergrated T1.  Does Astericks work with the data or voice side of the T1?  I could just make that intergrated on a dedicated circuit (either data or voice).

Thanks!

jocasio

 

by: xuserx2000Posted on 2008-12-31 at 09:15:52ID: 23271441

Asterisk works with the voice T1 (didicated voice only), which would be connected to your digium PCI card...
here's the digium store you can get a card from...this one is a single span card...for using 1 dedicated T1 voice circuit.
http://store.digium.com/productview.php?product_code=1TE122BF

Now the data T1 (internet),...would be connected to your firewall/router....and the regular "LAN network" card on the asterisk server would be plugged into your network switch/hub with a local IP address...this ip address is the address your clients would be registering to.

Your provider should be able to swith both T1's to dedicated voice and data circuits...without charging you any money.

 

by: jocasio123Posted on 2008-12-31 at 09:16:38ID: 23271447

xuserx2000:

Oh, one other thing.  I want to be able to set up my network as in the following diagram.  This was I will be able to plug my Asterick's Server onto my network.  Is this possible?  If so do I need two NICs in the Asterick's server, one for the T1 and one for the network?  Finally, you mentioned Asterick Now.  Can I use this with much suscess for a 50 person office?

jocasio

 

by: jocasio123Posted on 2008-12-31 at 09:17:45ID: 23271457

Thanks..You're fast.  And the asterick's now...

 

by: xuserx2000Posted on 2008-12-31 at 09:17:53ID: 23271461

[data T1]
||
[firewall/router]
||
[LAN switches]====lan interface=={ Asterisk }===digium pci card====[voiceT1]
||
(clients)

 

by: xuserx2000Posted on 2008-12-31 at 09:19:34ID: 23271486

your diagram is perfect...

the only thing missing is the *new PCI T1 card in your asterisk server which would be connected directly with a regular straighthrough cable...to the "smart jack", voice T1 interface..

 

by: xuserx2000Posted on 2008-12-31 at 09:20:04ID: 23271494

 

by: jocasio123Posted on 2008-12-31 at 09:20:46ID: 23271507

Got it.  And Asterick's Now.  Would it be acceptable for 50 or so users...

 

by: jocasio123Posted on 2008-12-31 at 09:21:09ID: 23271512

OK.  I'll check it out.

Thank you for your help!!!

jocasio

 

by: jocasio123Posted on 2008-12-31 at 09:22:53ID: 31529434

Thanks to everyone for their assistance.  Because xuserx2000 gave me all of the answers directly to the questions asked, I have awarded the points accordingly.  Thank you xuserx2000 for making it very clear to me on what I need to do /look at...

jocasio

 

by: xuserx2000Posted on 2008-12-31 at 12:27:50ID: 23272888

the amount of users depends on the cpu / bus / memory of the server you get...asterisk is pretty stable even on mid-grade server hardware...

I have a Dell PowerEdge 2850, with quadcore processor...on a gigabit network...and I can comfortably handle over 90 simultaneous calls.

 

by: xuserx2000Posted on 2008-12-31 at 12:28:38ID: 23272894

don't forget to check the voltage on the PCI slot and the card you select...if you are unsure...digium sales department can help with hardware selection.

 

by: jocasio123Posted on 2008-12-31 at 13:40:46ID: 23273237

Thanks again!!!

20120131-EE-VQP-002

3 Ways to Join

30-Day Free Trial

The Experts

98% positive feedback on 31,087 answers since March 2000. angeliii is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with MS SQL Server & Develoment.

He has also proven his knowledge of Visual Basic Programming, PHP Scripting and Oracle Databases.

The Experts

97% positive feedback on 10,752 answers since July 2000. lrmoore has more than 18 years experience in the networking industry.

The six-time Mircosoft MVPs specialties include firewalls, virtual private networking, and network management.

Testimonials

"...and excellent source for support... Kind of like having your very own IT dept." Electriciansnet

Testimonials

"I was apprehensive at signing up at first. However... it has already made my life as an IT administrator much easier." JaCrews

Testimonials

"WOW! You guys have great, active, and knowledgeable people on here." moore50

Business Clients

Business Clients

In the Press

"If you’ve got a question... Experts Exchange can supply an answer.”

In the Press

"...an invaluable aid for both IT professionals and those who require tech support."

In the Press

"where IT professionals provide quick answers on just about any topic"

Business Account Plans

Loading Advertisement...