On Sat, 2006-02-25 at 17:19 +0000, Chris Bagnall wrote: > > ...or if your > > asterisk server is also a file server (which should never be > > done) > > I know I'm attracting flames for disagreeing, but sometimes when you're > dealing with small business customers there simply isn't the budget to have > separate machines for doing x, y and z, and often one finds the asterisk > server is the only *nix box on-site. That makes it an ideal box to use for > light file serving duties: > 1) linux RAID1 support is pretty good, so you've got reasonable data > integrity without having to fork out for separate RAID controllers > 2) samba works fairly well as a domain controller > 3) you aren't buying another windows licence > > Of course, in an ideal world you'd have a separate box as a file server, but > even in that instance, the asterisk box makes a good choice for storing > backups to (especially if they're scheduled late at night from workstations) > when the phones are unlikely to be in use. > > It's a fascinating thread, this. > > Don't just rule out certain hardware or design choices because it isn't > what's normally considered a "professional" or "correct" way of doing > things. If you work with small businesses you'll often encounter scenarios > where you have to work within a very tight budget. That means you'll often > be making compromises that in an ideal world you wouldn't want to make - > cheap switches, reusing old hardware as routers, etc.. > > To give you an example: ever run a network over old 2-pair telephone wire? I > have, and in a fair number of cases it works. It's not something one would > do in an ideal world, it's sure as hell nowhere near cat5-compliant, but if > you're dealing with a listed building where trunking isn't permitted without > an extensive planning process, and lifting floorboards/ceilings is out of > the question, you may find yourself without an alternative. > > So, for all the criticism, I'll continue using cheap switches, recycled > hardware and GXP-2000s in scenarios where the customer's budget simply can't > stretch to anything else.
Hi Chris, I find the same thing often - what I'm curious about is how you deal with the situation when the 'less than ideal' solution doesn't work (or doesn't work consistently)? Rgds Pete _______________________________________________ --Bandwidth and Colocation provided by Easynews.com -- Asterisk-Users mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
