[General] VoIP For Home Usage

[Faisal AlAbhoul]

I would avoid buying the cheapo x100p PCI cards, the quality is almost similar to software and they come with plenty of echo problems. I would buy Rhino or Sangoma http://www.sangoma.com or even Digium cards, it would be even better if you buy the commercial level G729 codec which you can install in Asterisk.

As for the SIP hardware phones, i started testing with Grandstream Taiwanese SIP phones http://www.grandstream.com which obviously turned to be more of a budget SIP phones, i dont recommend them for production or office usage.. I would go with Polycom phones if you aim for best quality in the market, i have tested Polycom phones http://www.polycom.com and they are on the level. You can also try Linksys or even Aastra, both brands have good reputation. Since you gents already shopping online, allow me to share with you my VoIP shopping spot http://www.telephonydepot.com 

Asterisk is not about telephony only, you can use it for video conferencing and even for security cameras if not more, have a go at this Linux project concerning Linux for home entertainment and automation http://www.LinuxMCE..com

If you really want to replace a commercial level hardware PBX like Panasonic (which i finally did) you need a lot of research and testing, the Linux VoIP is quite mature and comes with beefy features (even future features yet to emerge) AFIC not even available in the PBX business stream. Be warned, once you are hooked with Asterisk and its variants...there is no turning back. :)




--- On Mon, 7/27/09, Majed B. <majedb at gmail.com> wrote:

From: Majed B. <majedb at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [General] VoIP For Home Usage
To: "General OpenSource Discussion" <general at oskw.org>
Date: Monday, July 27, 2009, 10:36 PM

Ahmad,
Too bad you ordered that OpenVox card! I found an even cheaper card!!!
The X100P SE: http://www.x100p.com/products_1.htm
It's fully compatible with Asterisk, offers one port, and is quite
small compared to the Digium card.
That product can be found on eBay so far.

As for not using the 1.6 branch of Asterisk: I looked around for the
changelog between 1.4 & 1.6 and didn't find anything that says 1.6 is
good to go.

1.4 has been on production for quite some time and is used on Asterisk
Appliances. I haven't seen Asterisk appliances using 1.6.

I'll be using the 1.4 setup at home so I don't have time to play
around with 1.6 and 1.4 already offers what I need, and more!

Currently, I'm working on writing another post on how to configure
trixbox for home usage: extensions, ring groups, Day/Night Control,
Time conditions and rules & a few more things ;)

Also, I've contacted KBM (IBM partner in Kuwait) and asked them about
Cisco's IP phones and their pricing. I told the salesman that I wanted
the most basic model and he suggested CP-7911G. It supports SIP and
has 2x 100Mbps Ethernet ports (A pass-through to your computer).

I'll keep you posted on the pricing. If you know a company that sells
SIP phones in Kuwait, let me know!

On Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 7:11 PM, <kuwait at q8net.com> wrote:
> Trixbox 2.6 based on Asterisk 1.4.x while Trixbox 2.8 is based on the new
> tree of Asterisk 1.6.x. Both should be stable but the 1.6.x has more
> features to be tested and deployed.
>
> I myself started using 2.x which was based on Asterisk 1.2, i would go to
> the lower branch since the main issue everyone suffer from is the stability
> of the driver.
>
>
> --- On Mon, 7/27/09, Ahmad Al-Ibrahim <ahmad at koutbo6.com> wrote:
>
> From: Ahmad Al-Ibrahim <ahmad at koutbo6.com>
> Subject: Re: [General] VoIP For Home Usage
> To: "General OpenSource Discussion" <general at oskw.org>
> Date: Monday, July 27, 2009, 6:42 PM
>
> Majed,
>
> Thanks for your post, I've ordered openvox card, downloading trixbox
> now, and going to buy a desktop in few hours :)
>
> btw, you've mentioned that you downloaded trixbox 2.6 because 2.8 is not
> stable? I see it marked as stable in trixbox website.
>
> Regards,
>
> Ahmad Al-Ibrahim
>
> Majed B. wrote:
>> I finished writing the steps I took to configure trixbox & making
>> caller id work.
>>
>>
>> http://mbhtech.blogspot.com/2009/07/configuring-asterisktrixbox-for-kuwait.html
>>
>> On Fri, Jul 24, 2009 at 6:23 PM, Bashar
>> Al-Abdulhadi<bashar at kuwaitnet.net> wrote:
>>> yes when it comes of renting your own E1, and purchasing a call manager
>>> and
>>> all its related devices then you need a local guy to manage it
>>>
>>>
>>> with FT's you only pay per extension and everything is hosted at their
>>> premises and every office/location you add just get a single data link
>>> and
>>> put as many extensions as you want on that location
>
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-- 
       Majed B.

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