Professional Documents
Culture Documents
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-6089178.html
On CNET: 6 Worst MP3 players of 2007 BNET Business Network: BNET | TechRepublic | ZDNet
Takeaway: A lot of people want to know if it is possible to build an enterprise grade open source VoIP solution and if there are any benefits to it. George Ou sheds some light on the question.
1 of 7
2/25/2008 9:32 AM
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-6089178.html
In my "Open Source VoIP" illustration, the solution is made up of several key components. They are: IP PBX (Asterisk servers) Voicemail and Fax servers Ethernet to T1 Bridge Channel banks Ethernet Switch segments (thick tubes labeled LAN) Analog phones Analog faxes
2 of 7
2/25/2008 9:32 AM
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-6089178.html
CAT-5 Ethernet wiring (black) T1 wiring (red) Standard analog phone cabling (green) Router/Firewall devices IP Phones Computers with software IP phones PDAs with software IP phones Telco cloud
3 of 7
2/25/2008 9:32 AM
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-6089178.html
Ethernet to T1 Bridge
An Ethernet to T1 Bridge such as the RedFone foneBRIDGE can be used to link multiple servers to 4 T1 devices. Even though a slightly cheaper quad T1 PCI card can be used directly in an Asterisk server, it forces you to commit those T1 resources to that particular server. The foneBRIDGE allows you the flexibility to use those T1 resources on multiple servers and be more robust in a server failure scenario. T1 interfaces connect to the Telephone Company or Channel Banks that can break out to many analog devices. The foneBRIDGE has costs ~$2200 which costs more than a Quad T1 PCI adapter but it isn't locked to any specific server. If more than 4 T1s are desired, additional foneBRIDGE devices can be added. Asterisk's parent company Digium makes PCI T1 and E1 adapters which are natively supported in Asterisk.
Channel banks
Channel banks allow you to break a T1 line in to 24 independent FXS or FXO ports. So if you bought 1 foneBRIDGE that used up a T1 to connect to the Telco and used 3 T1 connections to link up to 3 24-port Channel Banks, you would be able to serve 72 analog telephone or fax devices. Here is a great resource that breaks down some of the Channel Bank solutions and vendors. 24 port Channel Banks range in pricing from $700 to $1500. Considering the cost of Power-Over-Ethernet, powered FXS analog ports are about half the price of a powered IP phone port. If you don't need so many analog ports and you're not interested in building redundant Asterisk servers, you can skip the foneBRIDGE and the big Channel Bank by going with a USB device like the Astribank 8. An FXS port on a Channel Bank allows you to plug an analog phone in to it and the FXS will supply power to the phone. An FXO port on a Channel Bank allows uplink to a telephone company which is providing you an FXS port in the form of an RJ-11 jack. Either of the following connection scenarios are valid. Phone (FXO) - (FXS) Channel bank (FXO) - (FXS) Telco Phone (FXO) - (FXS) Telco
4 of 7
2/25/2008 9:32 AM
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-6089178.html
could be a physically separate switch or an isolated VLAN on a switch. The internal LAN segment and the VoIP segment are separated by a router/firewall device. Having the firewall is highly recommended if you don't want your phones and phone system hacked or infected. The TDMoE (Time Division Multiplexing over Ethernet) LAN segment is for PBX-Voicemail and PBX-Channel Bank communications. In the past, TDM communications between these devices used expensive T1 cards, but this has been vastly improved by sending TDM communications over inexpensive Ethernet.
Analog phones
Analog phones are the regular phones we've been using for a hundred years. They are simple, inexpensive, and well understood. They don't have as many features as an IP phone, but they do a great basic job for many people. An analog phone has an FXO RJ-11 port that connects directly to a power-providing FXS port on a Channel Bank or provided by the Telco on the wall socket.
Analog faxes
While server based faxing has revolutionized faxing in the office place, there are times that a simple fax machine is still needed. A fax machine like the analog phone has an FXO RJ-11 port that connects directly to a power-providing FXS port on a Channel Bank or provided by the Telco on the wall socket.
T1 wiring (red)
T1 wiring is used to connect T1 ports between PBXs, Channel Banks, and the Telco. A T1 carries 24 standard telephone channels which is why a single T1 port can be split in to 24 individual FXS or FXO ports or a combination of FXO/FXS ports. A T1 connected to a Telco can carry 24 simultaneous calls.
5 of 7
2/25/2008 9:32 AM
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-6089178.html
Router/Firewall devices
A router connects multiple Ethernet segments. Having an integrated Firewall or at least a simple router ACL can limit the traffic flow between two Ethernet segments. For security reasons, it's always a good idea to restrict traffic flow to a minimum.
IP Phones
IP phones are actually special purpose dedicated computers that run VoIP software. IP phones cost anywhere from $70 for a very basic unit to $700 units that have large color LCDs for customer applications. IP phones can be powered via Ethernet with the 802.3af POE (Power over Ethernet) standard or Cisco's proprietary POE for Cisco IP phones or a separate AC Adapter. Adding POE to an Ethernet Switch costs an extra ~$50 per port over the cost of a regular Ethernet Switch. Here is a good list of vendors that offer IP phones.
6 of 7
2/25/2008 9:32 AM
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1035_11-6089178.html
Telco cloud
The Telco cloud represents any generic telephone company. Companies can connect to a Telco over a simple single-channel pair of copper cabling via the RJ-11 jack on the wall or they can trunk 24 channels over a single T1 line. This is still the most common approach in Telco connectivity. There is a new breed of telephone companies that operate over the Internet and let you connect directly to them using a cheaper Internet connection. One unique benefit of Asterisk is the fact that it has its own IAX (Inter Asterisk Exchange) protocol which allows the efficient multiplexing of multiple VoIP channels. This allows you to multiplex over 180 VoIP conversations over a single T1 Internet or Frame Relay connection whereas a normal T1 can only carry 23 voice channels.
Copyright 2008 CNET Networks, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
7 of 7
2/25/2008 9:32 AM