Topic: OT: VOIP Service and SME server

[jdanvers]

I realize that this is more or less off topic and I'll apologize in advance - but just curious as any of us that are in here using these forums aren't neccessarily "regular" pc users.  Ie; we're the family or neighborhood geek who has his/her own server running in the house using that "weird operating system thats not windows" and we don't have our windows pc's plugged directly into our ISP's provided broadband dsl/cable modem (and wonder why our machines are so frigged up with pop-ups and crud).

Long story short, I ditched our land line telephone service sometime ago and have been using strictly cell for the past few months.  The cell barely works ~inside~ the house though - which isn't to big a deal while the weather is nice.  Living in Upstate N.Y. though, the weather isn't so nice any more and is only going to get worse before it gets better for the next couple of months...  I gotta get a regular telephone in the house again.  I'm looking at VOIP service providers and have more or less decided on either Vonage simply because it is widely and readily available via a number of local retailers, or I might go with one that seems to have good reviews called Packet8.

In either case, it appears that I'm going to have to place the hardware device that either service will require between my external nic and my cable modem.  I'm using a fairly typical SME 7.0 dual nic setup - external nic attached to ISP cable modem and internal one plugged into internal switch.  SME box doing the routing, dns, dhcp, etc.. services for internal network (just two machines @present - home use).

Anyone using any of these VOIP providers and if so - any issues using provided hardware as it may (or may not) relate to interaction with you're SME server?

Just curious and thanks folks...

-=- jd -=-

[arne]

Hello !

I ended my regualar telephone for something like 2 years ago, and I'm now using ip telephone for ordinary telephony and partly also for my and ny wife's GSM telephone's - to say it short it's now it's only allmost free ip telephony ..  

I have not tried Vonage but a nuber of other vendors.

When it comes to the SME server (that I have used all the time) I will recomend to set the iptelephony "unit" (if there is a unit) on the inside (the lan side) of the SME server. Then you will have to forward the proper protocols and ports.

Different routers handles ip telephony more or less good. SME server as gateway and Linux in general does perform very good for this purpose.

When one should choose the iptelephony vendor, I think the most important criterium will be that it has to be an vendor that use standard sip technology and that has an open service where the user self is free to log into equioment, change settings, etc.

If you use such an open standard service you can first start up whith a simple standard telephony adapter, and then you can build up your telephony system later on as you like it.

For IP telephony you can choose to use only one local telephony adapter or you can choose to set op your own local telephony central using a Asterisk server, running on the SME server or one other PC.

Today I run one Asterisk server installation (Selintra rpm) at a SME server and one other Asterisk server based on Astlinux. As telephony clients I use Grandstream Handytone 486 or telephony clients running on PC.  (The Grandstream is that kind of adapter that is actually containing a router and that can work as gateway, but I do not use that function. I use the inner LAN connection only for configuration.)

A ip telephony adapter at the inside of the sme gateway is an easy way to get started. Then, later you can get futher on building your own PBX using Asterisk. This will allow applying a lot more equipment, and you can use as many ip telephony vendors as you want, for inn and outgoing connections. You can also connect as many internal and external clients as your ADSL connection are able to carry (Approx 100 K for each running connection. Speed out use to be the critical parameter.)

Arne.