Hello and welcome... Most of what you want to know is available on the wiki located here... http://voip-info.org/tiki-index.php
Just scroll down to the "All Things Voip" section. Cheers, Wiley -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ed Pastore Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2005 2:33 PM To: asterisk-users@lists.digium.com Subject: [Asterisk-Users] Systems Admin; Telecom Newbie - What do I need? Hi, folks. I am planning on implementing Asterisk in 2006, and need to budget for it now, so I need to know what I'll need to get. My company has about 50 users, and is currently languishing on a very old Comdial PBX. All of our client computers are Macs; our servers are mostly OS X, with a couple Debians and a Red Hat. I am thoroughly experienced at systems administration, and can figure out most everything I need on the computer hardware and software side, but I am a complete telecom newbie and get lost when trying to figure out what else I will need. Here's what I think I need: - A server, running Debian Linux or OS X (our preferred operating systems here) - A good network. We're on switched 100 Base-T, but will move to gigabit next year. - A T1 or some dedicated channels of a T1 - Gateway PCI cards or devices (in the case of OS X, only devices I guess) - VOIP phones or phone software (I'd like to use software and USB handsets) Here's what I don't get: 1. How do I route between the internet and the telco network? (I said I was a telecom newbie, right?) I mean, if someone dials a phone number, what tells it to route to my gateway device? Do I need service from a telecom company? I need to get the phone numbers from somewhere, right? 2. Does my network need to be VOIP capable? I see some network switches which route additional layers of ethernet, including in some cases VOIP. Do I really need that? Or will any gigabit switches do the trick? If so, what's up with those VOIP switches? Is that just marketing? They sure cost a lot more. 3. What do I need in a T1? I currently have one T1 from Sprint, going into a Cisco router, which then goes to my firewall, then to my network. If I want, say 30 channels of another T1 for VOIP... can I just buy another Sprint T1? And where does additional hardware fit into that route in order to split out the VOIP channels from the data channels? 4. Do I pretty much need a vendor for implementation help, if this is all new to me? Or is there a path I can follow that will help me get through this? 5. What am I not asking that I should be? :) Any help, input, suggestions, etc. would be welcome. (But please no vendor calls yet... I'm in early budgeting, and will just ignore vendor input until I know more.) Thanks! _______________________________________________ Asterisk-Users mailing list Asterisk-Users@lists.digium.com http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users _______________________________________________ Asterisk-Users mailing list Asterisk-Users@lists.digium.com http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users