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!
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