Topic: Router or SARK for DHCP?

[del]

If you had a router that was acting as a DHCP server then installed a SARK PBX would you turn off the router's DHCP and use the SARK box? I can see that using the SARK box would make the setting up of VoIP handsets easier, are there any other advantages? What would you do? Also what's the best, as in reliable and easy to setup trunk card for SARK. Thanks in advance.

Del

[SARK devs]

Hi Del

Unless your router can do DHCP66 (most domestic and low end stuff can't) then I would use SARK every time unless I was only planning to roll out a very few phones or phones that don't support provisioning.  Of course, with SME server running server-gateway mode, you can have the best of both worlds because you can have eth1 running in the customer LAN, so the customer can do its own DHCP up there and you can have the phones running under eth0 and getting DHCP from SME Server/SARK.

Easy trunk cards....  What kind of trunk?  PRI/BRI/Analogue?

Best

S

[del]

Analogue cards, can you elaborate on the Server-Gateway setup? Would you need 2 networks to do this? I'm sorry for being a bit slow but I'm trying to imagine how the phones would get a different IP address if they were plugged into the same network cabling. 

Del

[SARK devs]

Analohue cards.... Digium and Digium clones are all the same.  If you can afford it, get one with inbuilt echo cancellation, it will make life easier.  The only others that I know of are Sangoma and we don't currently support them.

...I'm trying to imagine how the phones would get a different IP address if they were plugged into the same network cabling.

They aren't, you have two network switches;  one which eth1 plugs into (on the  customers data LAN) and another which the phones and eth0 are connected to.  This is just ordinary smeserver server-gateway mode with the customer LAN upstream and the phone LAN downstream, each on different subnets.

Best

S

 

[del]

So with two networks I would need to run another network point to each desk for the phones, yes? On the Digium card, do you have a part/item or model number of the one with built in echo cancellation?

Thanks,
Del

[del]

Seems like the TDM400P will do, I need to connect 4 trunk lines.

Del

[SARK devs]

TDM 4xfXO with EC is designated TDM404EF in UK.  This may not be the same in the USA. 

So with two networks I would need to run another network point to each desk for the phones, yes?

Yes, although we have a few customers who do the same thing using a single switch and VLANs.  However, you'll need VLAN capable phones (Snom, Aastra, Cisco, Polycom) if you want to run that way. 

Best

S

[del]

Analohue cards.... Digium and Digium clones are all the same.  If you can afford it, get one with inbuilt echo cancellation, it will make life easier.  The only others that I know of are Sangoma and we don't currently support them.

In what way will it make it easier? The TDM400P doesn't have it but you can get module for it but it costs $235.00! The TDM404EF is the same price as the TDM400P with the echo cancellation module so they both turn out tob nearly $600.00. So will my life be $300.00 easier? Another make I came across was Rhino http://www.rhinoequipment.com/R8FXXcard.html

Thanks again,
Del

[SARK devs]

Code: [Select]

So will my life be $300.00 easier?
If you do happen to have lines with long echo, then after a couple of weeks' messing about with tx and rx gains and echotuning to try and alleviate the problem, $300 might not seem so expensive.    For that reason, you might wish to buy a card that is at least capable of taking an EC daughterboard just in case you do run into problems.

We've not tried Rhino analogue cards so can't comment

Best

S



 

[David Harper]

Depending on your provider, the echo can be REALLY annoying for people on the local server end, so the $300 could be money well spent if the lines will be used a fair amount.

[del]

Code: [Select]

So will my life be $300.00 easier?
If you do happen to have lines with long echo, then after a couple of weeks' messing about with tx and rx gains and echotuning to try and alleviate the problem, $300 might not seem so expensive.    For that reason, you might wish to buy a card that is at least capable of taking an EC daughterboard just in case you do run into problems.

We've not tried Rhino analogue cards so can't comment

Best

S

OK you've convinced me, I'm going to order a TDM404EF and be done with it 
What is the most stable version of SARK? Is it available on your ISO? Finally, will the TDM404EF need Zaptel or DAHDI?

Thanks,
Del

[del]

OK you've convinced me, I'm going to order a TDM404EF and be done with it 
What is the most stable version of SARK? Is it available on your ISO? Finally, will the TDM404EF need Zaptel or DAHDI?

Thanks,
Del

I've managed to get a TDM404EF card now and I've installed it. SAIL seems to have found it OK, I've got 4 trunks and DAHDI group2 in the trunks panel  The telephone company are installing my lines on Friday and I was wondering what else I need to do before I plug in the lines to the TDM404EF? This is the first time I will have used analogue lines on my PBX so any advice is welcome and very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Del

[David Harper]

Don't forget to set up a default route so your handsets can dial out.

[del]

Don't forget to set up a default route so your handsets can dial out.

I've just be looking on the docs wiki and the example shows the dahdi group being chosen rather than each individual line, I was wondering if this will cause problems as it is a 4 line card but I will only being using 3 of the ports? I am thinking (I know, I shouldn't) that if all 3 lines are in use maybe Asterisk would try and use the unused line. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Del

[David Harper]

AFAIK you can set up three identical dial plans for the individual ports instead a single plan for the DAHDI group.