pbrane
asked on
HELP URGENT - VOIP Solution needed
Hi all
we are just about to place a Win2003 server into a farm for a client, they are a small firm 4-6 users. Thye have asked us to quote for a VOIP system pretty basic stuff call routing if away from office to mobile, voice mail etc
I just wondered whats the easiest/cheapest setup, what hardware do we need? can we use w2k3 in anyway? sorry total newbie to this VOIP lark.
one other thing they wanted the VOIP to be hosted with the server is this possible?
Adam
we are just about to place a Win2003 server into a farm for a client, they are a small firm 4-6 users. Thye have asked us to quote for a VOIP system pretty basic stuff call routing if away from office to mobile, voice mail etc
I just wondered whats the easiest/cheapest setup, what hardware do we need? can we use w2k3 in anyway? sorry total newbie to this VOIP lark.
one other thing they wanted the VOIP to be hosted with the server is this possible?
Adam
Hi pbrane,
If you want cheap, then Asterisk is probably your best bet.
Asterisk is an open-source PBX system that handles VoIP and can do PSTN (normal phone lines) too.
You can find out about this at http://www.asterisk.org
You'll find loads of information on Asterisk, including how to implement it at http://www.voip-info.org/tiki-index.php?page=Asterisk
Asterisk runs on Linux, but I believe that ports are being done for Windows. Personally, I'd stick to a Linux install. There are special CDs that you can download to help you get it up and running quickly - take a loko at http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Asterisk+Install+CDROM
There are a couple of example setups that might be a good starting point:
http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Asterisk+setup+home
http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Asterisk+setup+soho+4+CO+12+extensions
Note that all this isn't necessarily the easiest - but it's almost certainly the cheapest and most flexible.
Sorry for the link-fest, but your question is quite general.
Does that help?
If you want cheap, then Asterisk is probably your best bet.
Asterisk is an open-source PBX system that handles VoIP and can do PSTN (normal phone lines) too.
You can find out about this at http://www.asterisk.org
You'll find loads of information on Asterisk, including how to implement it at http://www.voip-info.org/tiki-index.php?page=Asterisk
Asterisk runs on Linux, but I believe that ports are being done for Windows. Personally, I'd stick to a Linux install. There are special CDs that you can download to help you get it up and running quickly - take a loko at http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Asterisk+Install+CDROM
There are a couple of example setups that might be a good starting point:
http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Asterisk+setup+home
http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Asterisk+setup+soho+4+CO+12+extensions
Note that all this isn't necessarily the easiest - but it's almost certainly the cheapest and most flexible.
Sorry for the link-fest, but your question is quite general.
Does that help?
grblades: I was a couple of minutes too slow typing again! :-)
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How do you intend to connect to the standard telephone system?
You can connect to VoIP providers for making long distance and international calls and even get your own number for incoming calls.
Normally however you have an interface to the local telephone provider for incoming/outgoing calls. You can have a set of analogue lines, ISDN (BRI) or PRI (T1 or E1). This will govern what hardware you use. Often it is recomended not to use dedicated server hardware as sometimes they have interrupt issues with some telephone interface cards.
More information available at:-
http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Asterisk