Setting up the Asterisk Phone System at Home
May 11, 2009
Amy Nutt asked:
The Asterisk phone systems are Linux-based VOIP PBX systems. PBX stands for Private Branch Exchange, and this refers to a division of the phone line within a building, be it a business or home. PBX systems are commonly used in businesses. Several phone lines come into the building and then are distributed to several individual extensions spread throughout the company. A few lines out of the building connecting to the phone lines are also part of the system, allowing outgoing calls. You typically have to dial a number, such as 9, to get one of these outside lines. Some people find that setting up a PBX at home is convenient, but not work the thousands of dollars necessary. With Asterisk, this type of system can be set up for relatively little cost.
The Hardware
There are some pieces of hardware that you will need to set up an Asterisk phone system in your home. One is a Linux server with an extra PCI slot. While the program can run on Windows based servers, it does not run well. Linux is a must if you want everything to run efficiently, as the Asterisk system was designed to be run on Linux. Most people find that a dedicated server works best for this application, espcially if they are going to use a Windows based system. The system will need 40 GB of available disk space.
Besides a server, you will also need a Digium Wildcard TDM400P. This is the card that allows you to connect your phones and your phone line to the Asterisk server and the VOIP PBX system. The card has four ports, so you will need to decide how many lines you need. The ports can be configured to be incoming or outgoing, depending on your needs. Incoming ports take the phone line coming from outside of your home and connect it to the system, allowing you to receive calls. Outgoing ports allow you to connect your regular phone to the system, so you can receive calls. If you need more than four ports, you will need to buy an extra card.
Software
Once you have the hardware, you are ready to set up your operating system and install the Asterisk phone system software. The best way to do this and avoid the need for Asterisk consulting as you install the product is to download the ISO of Asterisk@Home. This will begin to install automatically and will reformat your disk if needed, so installing it on a machine that does not have important information on it first is a good idea. There are other ways to set up the system, but they are quite confusing.
Setting up the System
After you have installed the software, you can use the new Web server to view the Asterisk Management Portal. This portal has an interface where you can set up your system. The interface is fairly straightforward and has documentation to help with any questions that you might have.
Once you have the basic setup entered, you will need to add your extensions. This is simple to do on the "Ring Group" screen. Simply add the number of extensions you intend for your home to have. This is also the page where you will configure your voicemail box. To record your voicemail messages, call the chosen extension from a phone inside your system and record the message.
The final step to completely configuring your system is configuring the rules for incoming calls. You can choose whether you want to have the calls go to the phones or an operator, where the caller can choose an extension. Once you have made these choices, you are ready to start using your new VOIP PBX system!
Once installed, Asterisk phone systems work much like a regular PBX system. You simply pick up the phone, dial the extension for an outside line, and make your call! Soon you will forget that you are using a high-tech VOIP PBX system at all as your new phone setup becomes part of your daily life.
Protect your VOIP network
The Asterisk phone systems are Linux-based VOIP PBX systems. PBX stands for Private Branch Exchange, and this refers to a division of the phone line within a building, be it a business or home. PBX systems are commonly used in businesses. Several phone lines come into the building and then are distributed to several individual extensions spread throughout the company. A few lines out of the building connecting to the phone lines are also part of the system, allowing outgoing calls. You typically have to dial a number, such as 9, to get one of these outside lines. Some people find that setting up a PBX at home is convenient, but not work the thousands of dollars necessary. With Asterisk, this type of system can be set up for relatively little cost.
The Hardware
There are some pieces of hardware that you will need to set up an Asterisk phone system in your home. One is a Linux server with an extra PCI slot. While the program can run on Windows based servers, it does not run well. Linux is a must if you want everything to run efficiently, as the Asterisk system was designed to be run on Linux. Most people find that a dedicated server works best for this application, espcially if they are going to use a Windows based system. The system will need 40 GB of available disk space.
Besides a server, you will also need a Digium Wildcard TDM400P. This is the card that allows you to connect your phones and your phone line to the Asterisk server and the VOIP PBX system. The card has four ports, so you will need to decide how many lines you need. The ports can be configured to be incoming or outgoing, depending on your needs. Incoming ports take the phone line coming from outside of your home and connect it to the system, allowing you to receive calls. Outgoing ports allow you to connect your regular phone to the system, so you can receive calls. If you need more than four ports, you will need to buy an extra card.
Software
Once you have the hardware, you are ready to set up your operating system and install the Asterisk phone system software. The best way to do this and avoid the need for Asterisk consulting as you install the product is to download the ISO of Asterisk@Home. This will begin to install automatically and will reformat your disk if needed, so installing it on a machine that does not have important information on it first is a good idea. There are other ways to set up the system, but they are quite confusing.
Setting up the System
After you have installed the software, you can use the new Web server to view the Asterisk Management Portal. This portal has an interface where you can set up your system. The interface is fairly straightforward and has documentation to help with any questions that you might have.
Once you have the basic setup entered, you will need to add your extensions. This is simple to do on the "Ring Group" screen. Simply add the number of extensions you intend for your home to have. This is also the page where you will configure your voicemail box. To record your voicemail messages, call the chosen extension from a phone inside your system and record the message.
The final step to completely configuring your system is configuring the rules for incoming calls. You can choose whether you want to have the calls go to the phones or an operator, where the caller can choose an extension. Once you have made these choices, you are ready to start using your new VOIP PBX system!
Once installed, Asterisk phone systems work much like a regular PBX system. You simply pick up the phone, dial the extension for an outside line, and make your call! Soon you will forget that you are using a high-tech VOIP PBX system at all as your new phone setup becomes part of your daily life.
Protect your VOIP network
Free SIP Monitoring, Diagnostic and Recording Tool – Feedback Wanted
May 3, 2009
Hi all,
Aman here from Devfoundry Software. We recently made the free edition of our VoIP Aware software available for download and I was hoping to get some feedback from the group.
It is available now for Windows and Linux and can found on our website @ www.voipaware.com.
To give you some background, Devfoundry is a software company based in Toronto. VoIP Aware is our proactive SIP call monitoring and diagnostics solution for voice and fax over IP.
VoIP Aware operates continuously to monitor all call traffic directly from the Ethernet. Each call produces a CDR, a QoS analysis, and a PCAP file containing all of the call's SIP, RTP and T.38 packets.
Capturing all calls the first time around saves the trouble of having to sit there with Wireshark, hoping to capture a bad call after someone reports a problem. In this case, you already have a capture of the bad call and can begin analysis right away.
VoIP Aware also contains alerting features that can notify users of declines in audio and fax quality; and is also able to extract fax pages and audio to .tif and .wav formats from the captured packets of completed calls.
The free edition will monitor all calls but will only produce QoS, PCAPs and extracted media for one call at a time. Alerting has also been disabled.
NOTE TO INTEGRATORS: VoIP Aware is accessed via a web interface making it ideal to install as a leave-behind tool at your customer sites. This will help proactively collect diagnostic data and can save you the time of having to travel back to the customer site.
As I mentioned before, we are very interested to have your feedback, and welcome any discussion on our forums (www.voipaware.com/forums).
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to be in touch.
Cheers,
Aman
Overcoming The Disadvantages And Improving the Quality Of VoIP
May 1, 2009
Kevin Sinclair asked:
VoIP is a great way to communicate with family and friends at a very low price. However, there are a variety of hindrances with switching to VoIP. This article goes over many of the disadvantages of VoIP, which may have experienced. Additionally, this article will explain how you can improve the quality of VoIP phone service.
Disadvantages of VoIP
Although there are many advantages of VoIP, there are also quite a few disadvantages. Below are four of the most common disadvantages of VoIP.
1. Maintaining a Dependable VoIP Internet Connection
If for any reason, you lose your internet connection, you will not have phone service. Therefore, you must use a cellular phone should this type of situation arise.
2. 911 Access
When you place a 911 call, the location cannot be immediately determined. Unlike PSTN, you must register your phone number online so that should you need to make a 911 call from your VoIP, emergency services will know your location.
3. Networks Have a Large Number of Computers Connected
If your network has a large quantity of computers connected and they are all using the internet at the same time, your VoIP quality will generally be less than desirable. One way to avoid this situation is to invest in an Ethernet.
4. VoIP Poor Quality
Audio quality is one of the largest issues. No matter what your VoIP service offers you, the basic role of any phone is voice communication. If the quality is not up to par, then there is absolutely no point to all of the bells and whistles that come with the service. If you have a lot of background noise, then a VoIP that can handle music, video, caller ID and a variety of other advanced features is practically useless. In the next section, we will address this issue more thoroughly.
Even with all of the advancements of VoIP, there are times when the audio quality suffers. Since VoIP relies completely on the internet connection, anytime the internet suffers so will the VoIP.
Six Ways to Improve the Quality of VoIP
Poor audio quality (disadvantage #4) along with dropped calls, are all complaints that user of VoIP tend to make. Below are six ways the setup of your VoIP can affect the overall quality. By following these simple steps, you can easily improve the quality of your VoIP service.
1. Internet Connection
One of the first recommendations is a high speed internet connection. There are companies which offer VoIP for dial up users. However, the connection can result in poor audio quality. Eventually, you will grow to dislike your VoIP. However, it is not the VoIP, but rather the internet connection. Even if you have DSL, there are occasions when the connection may be slow and your VoIP quality will suffer. Therefore, an Ethernet connection is highly recommended.
2. External Factors
Weather conditions, such as thunder storms, heavy rains and snowstorms can all can an increase in static on broadband lines. In some instances, simply turning rebooting the VoIP can solve the problem. Another solution to reduce the static is for the VoIP service provider to replace the cables with a higher quality cable.
3. Compression Software
The technical details of codecs are a bit too much for this article. If you would like additional information, you can go to Wikipedia. Here is a quick overview of codecs as it pertains to VoIP. When sending data, VoIP compresses it. This is simply because if the data is too large, transmission can be extremely slow and ineffective. Codec is a software program that can be used for data compression. However, a poor quality codec will lead to poor audio quality.
4. VoIP Location and Hardware
The hardware you choose for you VoIP can affect the audio quality. Most of the most important pieces of hardware is the ATA/Router. The VoIP ATA or Analog Telephone Adaptor, brings ordinary phones to the networked world. The adaptor connects a phone handset to an Ethernet adaptor and therefore connects regular, analog phones with VoIP networks. If you are looking for additional information on ATA, check out Wikipedia.
In general, ATAs should have support for security and firewall, as well as echo cancellation and compression technologies. Many technicians have discovered that certain VoIP equipment can interfere with each and possibly create feedback or buzzing noises and dropped calls. Although VoIP equipment and hardware should be places as close as possible to each other, ATA should not be placed near the broadband internet router. The audio quality can be decreased if they are placed too close together.
5. Computer Maintenance and Hardware
There are a variety of different things that can affect the quality of your VoIP service. Therefore, computer maintenance is extremely important in improving the service's quality. Make sure that you de-fragment your computer on a regular bases. As well, make sure that you have sufficient memory for the computer and high quality microphone and speakers.
6. VoIP Phone Type/Frequency
The type of phone you have, as well as the frequency can affect the quality of your VoIP. Many people believe that the higher a phone's frequency is, the better the quality of VoIP. However, in some instances, a lower frequency phone may fit your connection better. You may want to try a phone with a lower frequency if you are experiencing a lot of audio feedback.
Overall, VoIP is a great low cost alternative for communication. VoIP are not passing through, they are here to stay. Major corporations have done some significant research to fix the disadvantages of VoIP service, as well as improve the overall quality. With all of the improvements continually going on with VoIP, it will soon be accepted by everyone as an acceptable alternative to PSTN.
VOIP Security made Easy
VoIP is a great way to communicate with family and friends at a very low price. However, there are a variety of hindrances with switching to VoIP. This article goes over many of the disadvantages of VoIP, which may have experienced. Additionally, this article will explain how you can improve the quality of VoIP phone service.
Disadvantages of VoIP
Although there are many advantages of VoIP, there are also quite a few disadvantages. Below are four of the most common disadvantages of VoIP.
1. Maintaining a Dependable VoIP Internet Connection
If for any reason, you lose your internet connection, you will not have phone service. Therefore, you must use a cellular phone should this type of situation arise.
2. 911 Access
When you place a 911 call, the location cannot be immediately determined. Unlike PSTN, you must register your phone number online so that should you need to make a 911 call from your VoIP, emergency services will know your location.
3. Networks Have a Large Number of Computers Connected
If your network has a large quantity of computers connected and they are all using the internet at the same time, your VoIP quality will generally be less than desirable. One way to avoid this situation is to invest in an Ethernet.
4. VoIP Poor Quality
Audio quality is one of the largest issues. No matter what your VoIP service offers you, the basic role of any phone is voice communication. If the quality is not up to par, then there is absolutely no point to all of the bells and whistles that come with the service. If you have a lot of background noise, then a VoIP that can handle music, video, caller ID and a variety of other advanced features is practically useless. In the next section, we will address this issue more thoroughly.
Even with all of the advancements of VoIP, there are times when the audio quality suffers. Since VoIP relies completely on the internet connection, anytime the internet suffers so will the VoIP.
Six Ways to Improve the Quality of VoIP
Poor audio quality (disadvantage #4) along with dropped calls, are all complaints that user of VoIP tend to make. Below are six ways the setup of your VoIP can affect the overall quality. By following these simple steps, you can easily improve the quality of your VoIP service.
1. Internet Connection
One of the first recommendations is a high speed internet connection. There are companies which offer VoIP for dial up users. However, the connection can result in poor audio quality. Eventually, you will grow to dislike your VoIP. However, it is not the VoIP, but rather the internet connection. Even if you have DSL, there are occasions when the connection may be slow and your VoIP quality will suffer. Therefore, an Ethernet connection is highly recommended.
2. External Factors
Weather conditions, such as thunder storms, heavy rains and snowstorms can all can an increase in static on broadband lines. In some instances, simply turning rebooting the VoIP can solve the problem. Another solution to reduce the static is for the VoIP service provider to replace the cables with a higher quality cable.
3. Compression Software
The technical details of codecs are a bit too much for this article. If you would like additional information, you can go to Wikipedia. Here is a quick overview of codecs as it pertains to VoIP. When sending data, VoIP compresses it. This is simply because if the data is too large, transmission can be extremely slow and ineffective. Codec is a software program that can be used for data compression. However, a poor quality codec will lead to poor audio quality.
4. VoIP Location and Hardware
The hardware you choose for you VoIP can affect the audio quality. Most of the most important pieces of hardware is the ATA/Router. The VoIP ATA or Analog Telephone Adaptor, brings ordinary phones to the networked world. The adaptor connects a phone handset to an Ethernet adaptor and therefore connects regular, analog phones with VoIP networks. If you are looking for additional information on ATA, check out Wikipedia.
In general, ATAs should have support for security and firewall, as well as echo cancellation and compression technologies. Many technicians have discovered that certain VoIP equipment can interfere with each and possibly create feedback or buzzing noises and dropped calls. Although VoIP equipment and hardware should be places as close as possible to each other, ATA should not be placed near the broadband internet router. The audio quality can be decreased if they are placed too close together.
5. Computer Maintenance and Hardware
There are a variety of different things that can affect the quality of your VoIP service. Therefore, computer maintenance is extremely important in improving the service's quality. Make sure that you de-fragment your computer on a regular bases. As well, make sure that you have sufficient memory for the computer and high quality microphone and speakers.
6. VoIP Phone Type/Frequency
The type of phone you have, as well as the frequency can affect the quality of your VoIP. Many people believe that the higher a phone's frequency is, the better the quality of VoIP. However, in some instances, a lower frequency phone may fit your connection better. You may want to try a phone with a lower frequency if you are experiencing a lot of audio feedback.
Overall, VoIP is a great low cost alternative for communication. VoIP are not passing through, they are here to stay. Major corporations have done some significant research to fix the disadvantages of VoIP service, as well as improve the overall quality. With all of the improvements continually going on with VoIP, it will soon be accepted by everyone as an acceptable alternative to PSTN.
VOIP Security made Easy
