Asterisk

Simply wanting to become more familar with Asterisk (and wanting to run a smal SIP phone network at home with a connetion to the Public Switched Telephone System). I started reading about what protocols both Asterisk and VoIP phones prefer.The first thing I noticed is you had better pay attention to what year the technical article you are reading was written.An article written in 2008 is not going to be of much help as the problems cited in 2008 by and large have been fixed.One big question is what does Asterisk prefer,some version of dsl or cable broadband.My feeling is that most issues have been solved but Asterisk still prefers cable broadband.One issue that is on the cusp of being fixed is the poor quality of router components internal with dsl modems,to a degree this issue still exists(or can be worked around with transparent bridging).In closing I ask,would I still be better off if I run my Asterisk box off a cable modem and if I do want to tie into the POTS do it with a landline that is free from the extra information present on a dsl line. I realise that the reasons to select one over the other are getting fewer.

EDIT: I have been specing out an Asterisk box and I have found one thing that is quite interesting.If you want to interface with the POTS (your land line) you need a "card" that fits in one of your pci slots.Different than most servers there actualy is a spec on this card for best performance.Not to say any old card that meets basic design will not work but for optimal performance you need a card that operates at 5V and is 64-bit with a desire for not less than 33mhz.The text I have been reading says a 133mhz card is prefered but I am not finding any in 64-bit.The bottom line is I must verify that any old motherboard will gve me the performance I want.Asterix and PFsense are my current projects of interest.I have no idea if anyone pays for knowledge about these two applications/hardware configurations.

The issue of dsl or broadband cable is a bit on the backburner at this time as buying a phone,an interface card,upgrading my phoneline,and perhaps a server board is an expense I cannot handle at this time.Must figure out on how to do this work on the cheap.Hopefuly one of the boards I currently have will make a good Asterisk box.
Edited by PCCstudent - 10/28/12 at 1:20am

Hello killa, I have been researching for one of the different cards to tie into the POTS.Buying from Digium is pretty much out as the cheapest I am finding is over 300.00.I am finding some documentation about just what cards prefer what specs on the PCI slot. The articles I read off the net assume I am going for max performnce at enterprise level with 500+ SIP phones.Just not finding info related to the "hobbyist".One article related how I should "at least have a business class dsl line" (I never even knew their was business class dsl).In anycase you help is appreciated +rep
http://www.beaglesoft.com/pcitechnologies.htm
http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/VoIP+Hardware
http://store.digium.com/boards/
Edited by PCCstudent - 11/1/12 at 12:25am

Killa,looking over everything.As with everything IT you want to at least know about a option to suggest to your customer.I do get a bit of a "wild west" feeling when it comes to VoIP and non standard PBX's (meaning a PBX that does not make use of the POTS. I want to keep costs down but I do want to get a feeling for when a customer wants to stay with the POTS phones he bought 5 years ago (and use a FXS gateway) and doing the entire thing with new SIP phones. My school offered an Asterisk class last summer and no one had enough of all four of the disciplines you need. 1.Standard Networking Skills.2 Working Knowledge of the POTS. 3 Working Knowledge of VoIP systems.4 Ability to accuratly and quickly edit the configuration files in Asterisk (in short basic Linux skills). Everyone excelled in at least one of the four areas but no one had all four down pat.They tried to offer the class one night a week (about 4.45 hrs in class) and people were losing concentration before class ended.I thought it should have been two nights.They either overestimated the skills we were bringing to class or underestimated the difficulty in bringing these four areas together.We were working with the "first time offered" complications also.The class did get me interested enough to go out on my own afterwards though.

dushman,Two instructors at the local community college convinced the Dean to let them have a go at teaching a VoIP class.The older guy came from the POTS industry and the younger guy is our Linux/data storage instructor. The class did get everyone started in VoIP infrastructure but it also showed how students are either not being taught the basics in a way they remember them (networking skills degrade quickly) or the number of "A's" they were handing out was not justified.

EDIT; I am trying to get some kind of answer from the school if a revised Asterisk course will be offered but with this course uncovering (something they did not intend it to do) how unprepared students that are graduating were,the school may chose to concentrate resources elsewhere. They are starting to informaly test when you are about 12 credit hours from graduation and this testing has uncovered a real deficiency in retention of the basics, in students that have good gpa's.
Edited by PCCstudent - 11/3/12 at 10:16am