Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

[Chuck McCown]

I use pbx in a flash with good results.  

From: Adair Winter 
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2017 7:03 PM
To: af@afmug.com 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

I programmed phone systems for almost 6 years as a career. Touched lots of 
different systems and I'd take the gui on freepbx any day over programming from 
a phone.  It's probably the equivalent of cli vs gui to us networking guys.  

I do wish freepbx was better laid out and more modules were linked together. 
But like anything, once you learn it, it's easy. 

The thing I'm constantly amazed at is the same (and more really) features I can 
get out of freepbx would cost someone $20-30k to have installed in the telecom 
world (assuming 30-40 phones).  Freepbx cost us less than $5k. (phones & 
freepbx licensing. We have about 30 phones). And I honestly feel like I have 
more flexibility than any traditional tdm pbx. 
Most other commercial voip products like, vertical wave, shoretel, zultys, NEC, 
avaya, Cisco, etc are good and probably just as flexible as freepbx but cost 
the same as traditional systems if not more. 

I think it boils down to if you are willing to learn on your own or you need 
someone to do it for you. 

Adair



On Aug 9, 2017 7:46 PM, "Nathan Anderson" <nath...@fsr.com> wrote:

  Personally, I agree with you on FreePBX.  For a PBX GUI, what I want to see 
is something that someone other than the original installer can navigate and 
manipulate.  Asterisk-GUI is somewhat inflexible (no plug-ins, so if there 
isn't a way to do what you want in the GUI, you still have to dive into the 
.conf files) and is largely deprecated now by Digium anyway, but at least the 
functionality it does present is presented in a straightforward manner that (I 
think) makes sense.  I can get around FreePBX myself just fine, but it feels 
more like what I would expect a GUI for Asterisk to look like if someone just 
decided to wrap a web interface around the Asterisk text configuration 
files...the design of it feels lazy to me.  Instead of just being familiar with 
general PBXisms, a user has to actually know Asteriskisms to get around in 
FreePBX (or at least it did the last time I played with it, which admittedly 
was several years ago).



  -- Nathan



  From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Adam Moffett
  Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2017 2:00 PM
  To: af@afmug.com
  Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones



  I don't care for FreePBX.  I think it makes certain hard tasks easy, but then 
makes tasks hard which were easy in vanilla Asterisk.

  The provisioning plugin is really nice as long as your phones are supported.



  Maybe the simplest thing would be one of those cloud based systems where they 
do everything for you.  You'll pay something recurring per phone, but all the 
hard parts are someone else's problem.  You'd have no problem being up in 2 
days, let alone 2 weeks.



  Second simplest is configure the phones individually with their web page (or 
whatever --I haven't used unifi phones) and buy an appliance with some tech 
support included.  As an example, Adtran Total Access 904 can be a SIP server 
for your VoIP extensions, and supports SIP, analog, or T1/PRI for your incoming 
lines.  There are certainly Asterisk appliances as well.  I think you'll also 
find that most PBX vendors support VoIP now...they'd be stupid not to right?  
You might pay for support, or maybe you'll get some post sale support for free, 
but either way somebody helps you with anything you're stuck on.



  Third simplest is PBX in a Flash or similar Asterisk+FreePBX distribution.  
You'll have the least capital invested, and the most labor.  



  Least simple: Vanilla Asterisk isn't so hard once you get some practice with 
it and as long as you have time to learn and experiment.



  My 2c



  -- Original Message --

  From: "Josh Reynolds" <j...@kyneticwifi.com>

  To: af@afmug.com

  Sent: 8/9/2017 4:27:36 PM

  Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones



PBX.



Simple? VoIP is not simple. FreePBX is as simple as it gets, and it's only 
simple because it is limiting.



For provisioning you will need a tftp server, the ability to set DHCP 
options, and a basic grasp of XML.



On Aug 9, 2017 2:35 PM, "Timothy Steele" <timothy.pct...@gmail.com> wrote:

Anyone Working With Unifi Phones?



going to island of Palau to re do a network and VOIP System if they do not 
get Bombed by north Korea first :( but anyway is there like a super simple BPX 
out there to connect with unifi phones would only have 2 weeks to get this all 
done soo looking for easy lol

Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

[Josh Reynolds]

Awesome! I'll have to look into that.

On Aug 9, 2017 7:40 PM, "Nathan Anderson" <nath...@fsr.com> wrote:

> Asterisk's res_phoneprov module can deal with this and I'm sure could
> easily be adapted to work with UniFi VoIP phones as well.  Polycoms work
> the same way: they request .cfg from the provisioning server.  In
> Asterisk, each extension is mapped to a particular MAC address, and when a
> Polycom phone asks for (e.g.) 0004f2abcdef.cfg from Asterisk's built-in
> HTTP server (a file doesn't actually exist anywhere on the filesystem),
> Asterisk knows which extension that phone should have and generates the
> configuration for it on-the-fly.
>
>
>
> -- Nathan
>
>
>
> *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] *On Behalf Of *Josh Reynolds
> *Sent:* Wednesday, August 09, 2017 5:20 PM
> *To:* af@afmug.com
> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones
>
>
>
> For what it's worth, UniFi provisioning doesn't happen via single config
> file. You will need to generate a config file with the Mac address as part
> of the file name. Search Google or UBNT.com for the article.
>
>
>
> I have some in my house. I use my edgerouter to provide the tftp source as
> my cloudkey, and my cloudkey has asterisk running on it.
>
>
>
> I could probably setup a system to generate a config on the fly by
> scraping info from the DHCP request and then generating a config file with
> the proper filename and inputting info from sip.conf for the user info if
> need be, I just haven't needed to.
>
>
>
> On Aug 9, 2017 7:08 PM, "Nathan Anderson" <nath...@fsr.com> wrote:
>
> I've put together an OpenWRT-based Asterisk VM (with Asterisk-GUI on top
> instead of FreePBX) that knows how to generate the provisioning files for
> Polycom phones from templates and offers them up via HTTP instead of TFTP.
> I can bang out a new PBX in an afternoon with it.  I still usually pair
> this with a MikroTik doing the DHCP server bit.
>
>
>
> If you have never done any VoIP before and perhaps need some hand-holding,
> I haven't personally used it, but 3CX, which is a commercial Windows
> product, seems to come highly recommended.  If you want something free,
> though, there is probably going to be a steeper learning curve.
>
>
>
> The other part you are going to have to consider is the hardware.  If you
> can get phone service handed off to you as pure SIP/IP, then great.  But if
> you actually need to take analog copper or TDM lines in from the phone
> company, then you are going to need to either get a PSTN <-> SIP device
> that meets your needs or purchase the necessary interface cards for the
> PC/server you are running the PBX software on.
>
>
>
> Good luck,
>
>
>
> -- Nathan
>
>
>
> *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] *On Behalf Of *Adam Moffett
> *Sent:* Wednesday, August 09, 2017 2:04 PM
> *To:* af@afmug.com
> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones
>
>
>
> I've used a Mikrotik as the provisioning server in a lab setup.don't
> think I ever did it in real life.  It can set the required DHCP options and
> can be a TFTP server, and that's what you really need.
>
>
>
> I liked the Sipura/Linksys/Cisco SPA phones because you could configure
> via the web page then export the XML config. Then duplicate and edit as
> needed.  It was hard to beat that for simplicity.  I'm a few years out of
> touch on VoIP, so I have no idea what phones are out there these days.
>
>
>
>
>
> -- Original Message --
>
> From: "Josh Reynolds" <j...@kyneticwifi.com>
>
> To: af@afmug.com
>
> Sent: 8/9/2017 4:27:36 PM
>
> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones
>
>
>
> PBX.
>
>
>
> Simple? VoIP is not simple. FreePBX is as simple as it gets, and it's only
> simple because it is limiting.
>
>
>
> For provisioning you will need a tftp server, the ability to set DHCP
> options, and a basic grasp of XML.
>
>
>
> On Aug 9, 2017 2:35 PM, "Timothy Steele" <timothy.pct...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Anyone Working With Unifi Phones?
>
>
>
> going to island of Palau to re do a network and VOIP System if they do not
> get Bombed by north Korea first :( but anyway is there like a super simple
> BPX out there to connect with unifi phones would only have 2 weeks to get
> this all done soo looking for easy lol
>
>

Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

[Adair Winter]

I programmed phone systems for almost 6 years as a career. Touched lots of
different systems and I'd take the gui on freepbx any day over programming
from a phone.  It's probably the equivalent of cli vs gui to us networking
guys.

I do wish freepbx was better laid out and more modules were linked
together. But like anything, once you learn it, it's easy.

The thing I'm constantly amazed at is the same (and more really) features I
can get out of freepbx would cost someone $20-30k to have installed in the
telecom world (assuming 30-40 phones).  Freepbx cost us less than $5k.
(phones & freepbx licensing. We have about 30 phones). And I honestly feel
like I have more flexibility than any traditional tdm pbx.
Most other commercial voip products like, vertical wave, shoretel, zultys,
NEC, avaya, Cisco, etc are good and probably just as flexible as freepbx
but cost the same as traditional systems if not more.

I think it boils down to if you are willing to learn on your own or you
need someone to do it for you.

Adair



On Aug 9, 2017 7:46 PM, "Nathan Anderson" <nath...@fsr.com> wrote:

> Personally, I agree with you on FreePBX.  For a PBX GUI, what I want to
> see is something that someone other than the original installer can
> navigate and manipulate.  Asterisk-GUI is somewhat inflexible (no plug-ins,
> so if there isn't a way to do what you want in the GUI, you still have to
> dive into the .conf files) and is largely deprecated now by Digium anyway,
> but at least the functionality it does present is presented in a
> straightforward manner that (I think) makes sense.  I can get around
> FreePBX myself just fine, but it feels more like what I would expect a GUI
> for Asterisk to look like if someone just decided to wrap a web interface
> around the Asterisk text configuration files...the design of it feels lazy
> to me.  Instead of just being familiar with general PBXisms, a user has to
> actually know Asteriskisms to get around in FreePBX (or at least it did the
> last time I played with it, which admittedly was several years ago).
>
>
>
> -- Nathan
>
>
>
> *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] *On Behalf Of *Adam Moffett
> *Sent:* Wednesday, August 09, 2017 2:00 PM
> *To:* af@afmug.com
> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones
>
>
>
> I don't care for FreePBX.  I think it makes certain hard tasks easy, but
> then makes tasks hard which were easy in vanilla Asterisk.
>
> The provisioning plugin is really nice as long as your phones are
> supported.
>
>
>
> Maybe the simplest thing would be one of those cloud based systems where
> they do everything for you.  You'll pay something recurring per phone, but
> all the hard parts are someone else's problem.  You'd have no problem being
> up in 2 days, let alone 2 weeks.
>
>
>
> Second simplest is configure the phones individually with their web page
> (or whatever --I haven't used unifi phones) and buy an appliance with some
> tech support included.  As an example, Adtran Total Access 904 can be a SIP
> server for your VoIP extensions, and supports SIP, analog, or T1/PRI for
> your incoming lines.  There are certainly Asterisk appliances as well.  I
> think you'll also find that most PBX vendors support VoIP now...they'd be
> stupid not to right?  You might pay for support, or maybe you'll get some
> post sale support for free, but either way somebody helps you with anything
> you're stuck on.
>
>
>
> Third simplest is PBX in a Flash or similar Asterisk+FreePBX
> distribution.  You'll have the least capital invested, and the most labor.
>
>
>
> Least simple: Vanilla Asterisk isn't so hard once you get some practice
> with it and as long as you have time to learn and experiment.
>
>
>
> My 2c
>
>
>
> -- Original Message --
>
> From: "Josh Reynolds" <j...@kyneticwifi.com>
>
> To: af@afmug.com
>
> Sent: 8/9/2017 4:27:36 PM
>
> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones
>
>
>
> PBX.
>
>
>
> Simple? VoIP is not simple. FreePBX is as simple as it gets, and it's only
> simple because it is limiting.
>
>
>
> For provisioning you will need a tftp server, the ability to set DHCP
> options, and a basic grasp of XML.
>
>
>
> On Aug 9, 2017 2:35 PM, "Timothy Steele" <timothy.pct...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Anyone Working With Unifi Phones?
>
>
>
> going to island of Palau to re do a network and VOIP System if they do not
> get Bombed by north Korea first :( but anyway is there like a super simple
> BPX out there to connect with unifi phones would only have 2 weeks to get
> this all done soo looking for easy lol
>
>

Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

[Nathan Anderson]

Personally, I agree with you on FreePBX.  For a PBX GUI, what I want to see is 
something that someone other than the original installer can navigate and 
manipulate.  Asterisk-GUI is somewhat inflexible (no plug-ins, so if there 
isn't a way to do what you want in the GUI, you still have to dive into the 
.conf files) and is largely deprecated now by Digium anyway, but at least the 
functionality it does present is presented in a straightforward manner that (I 
think) makes sense.  I can get around FreePBX myself just fine, but it feels 
more like what I would expect a GUI for Asterisk to look like if someone just 
decided to wrap a web interface around the Asterisk text configuration 
files...the design of it feels lazy to me.  Instead of just being familiar with 
general PBXisms, a user has to actually know Asteriskisms to get around in 
FreePBX (or at least it did the last time I played with it, which admittedly 
was several years ago).

-- Nathan

From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Adam Moffett
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2017 2:00 PM
To: af@afmug.com
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

I don't care for FreePBX.  I think it makes certain hard tasks easy, but then 
makes tasks hard which were easy in vanilla Asterisk.
The provisioning plugin is really nice as long as your phones are supported.

Maybe the simplest thing would be one of those cloud based systems where they 
do everything for you.  You'll pay something recurring per phone, but all the 
hard parts are someone else's problem.  You'd have no problem being up in 2 
days, let alone 2 weeks.

Second simplest is configure the phones individually with their web page (or 
whatever --I haven't used unifi phones) and buy an appliance with some tech 
support included.  As an example, Adtran Total Access 904 can be a SIP server 
for your VoIP extensions, and supports SIP, analog, or T1/PRI for your incoming 
lines.  There are certainly Asterisk appliances as well.  I think you'll also 
find that most PBX vendors support VoIP now...they'd be stupid not to right?  
You might pay for support, or maybe you'll get some post sale support for free, 
but either way somebody helps you with anything you're stuck on.

Third simplest is PBX in a Flash or similar Asterisk+FreePBX distribution.  
You'll have the least capital invested, and the most labor.

Least simple: Vanilla Asterisk isn't so hard once you get some practice with it 
and as long as you have time to learn and experiment.

My 2c

-- Original Message --
From: "Josh Reynolds" <j...@kyneticwifi.com<mailto:j...@kyneticwifi.com>>
To: af@afmug.com<mailto:af@afmug.com>
Sent: 8/9/2017 4:27:36 PM
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

PBX.

Simple? VoIP is not simple. FreePBX is as simple as it gets, and it's only 
simple because it is limiting.

For provisioning you will need a tftp server, the ability to set DHCP options, 
and a basic grasp of XML.

On Aug 9, 2017 2:35 PM, "Timothy Steele" 
<timothy.pct...@gmail.com<mailto:timothy.pct...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Anyone Working With Unifi Phones?

going to island of Palau to re do a network and VOIP System if they do not get 
Bombed by north Korea first :( but anyway is there like a super simple BPX out 
there to connect with unifi phones would only have 2 weeks to get this all done 
soo looking for easy lol

Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

[Nathan Anderson]

I meant to write (a file THAT doesn't actually exist anywhere on the 
filesystem) in the parenthetical.

-- Nathan

From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Nathan Anderson
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2017 5:41 PM
To: af@afmug.com
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

Asterisk's res_phoneprov module can deal with this and I'm sure could easily be 
adapted to work with UniFi VoIP phones as well.  Polycoms work the same way: 
they request .cfg from the provisioning server.  In Asterisk, each 
extension is mapped to a particular MAC address, and when a Polycom phone asks 
for (e.g.) 0004f2abcdef.cfg from Asterisk's built-in HTTP server (a file 
doesn't actually exist anywhere on the filesystem), Asterisk knows which 
extension that phone should have and generates the configuration for it 
on-the-fly.

-- Nathan

From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Josh Reynolds
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2017 5:20 PM
To: af@afmug.com<mailto:af@afmug.com>
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

For what it's worth, UniFi provisioning doesn't happen via single config file. 
You will need to generate a config file with the Mac address as part of the 
file name. Search Google or UBNT.com for the article.

I have some in my house. I use my edgerouter to provide the tftp source as my 
cloudkey, and my cloudkey has asterisk running on it.

I could probably setup a system to generate a config on the fly by scraping 
info from the DHCP request and then generating a config file with the proper 
filename and inputting info from sip.conf for the user info if need be, I just 
haven't needed to.

On Aug 9, 2017 7:08 PM, "Nathan Anderson" 
<nath...@fsr.com<mailto:nath...@fsr.com>> wrote:
I've put together an OpenWRT-based Asterisk VM (with Asterisk-GUI on top 
instead of FreePBX) that knows how to generate the provisioning files for 
Polycom phones from templates and offers them up via HTTP instead of TFTP.  I 
can bang out a new PBX in an afternoon with it.  I still usually pair this with 
a MikroTik doing the DHCP server bit.

If you have never done any VoIP before and perhaps need some hand-holding, I 
haven't personally used it, but 3CX, which is a commercial Windows product, 
seems to come highly recommended.  If you want something free, though, there is 
probably going to be a steeper learning curve.

The other part you are going to have to consider is the hardware.  If you can 
get phone service handed off to you as pure SIP/IP, then great.  But if you 
actually need to take analog copper or TDM lines in from the phone company, 
then you are going to need to either get a PSTN <-> SIP device that meets your 
needs or purchase the necessary interface cards for the PC/server you are 
running the PBX software on.

Good luck,

-- Nathan

From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com<mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com>] On Behalf 
Of Adam Moffett
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2017 2:04 PM
To: af@afmug.com<mailto:af@afmug.com>
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

I've used a Mikrotik as the provisioning server in a lab setup.don't think 
I ever did it in real life.  It can set the required DHCP options and can be a 
TFTP server, and that's what you really need.

I liked the Sipura/Linksys/Cisco SPA phones because you could configure via the 
web page then export the XML config. Then duplicate and edit as needed.  It was 
hard to beat that for simplicity.  I'm a few years out of touch on VoIP, so I 
have no idea what phones are out there these days.


-- Original Message --
From: "Josh Reynolds" <j...@kyneticwifi.com<mailto:j...@kyneticwifi.com>>
To: af@afmug.com<mailto:af@afmug.com>
Sent: 8/9/2017 4:27:36 PM
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

PBX.

Simple? VoIP is not simple. FreePBX is as simple as it gets, and it's only 
simple because it is limiting.

For provisioning you will need a tftp server, the ability to set DHCP options, 
and a basic grasp of XML.

On Aug 9, 2017 2:35 PM, "Timothy Steele" 
<timothy.pct...@gmail.com<mailto:timothy.pct...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Anyone Working With Unifi Phones?

going to island of Palau to re do a network and VOIP System if they do not get 
Bombed by north Korea first :( but anyway is there like a super simple BPX out 
there to connect with unifi phones would only have 2 weeks to get this all done 
soo looking for easy lol

Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

[Nathan Anderson]

Asterisk's res_phoneprov module can deal with this and I'm sure could easily be 
adapted to work with UniFi VoIP phones as well.  Polycoms work the same way: 
they request .cfg from the provisioning server.  In Asterisk, each 
extension is mapped to a particular MAC address, and when a Polycom phone asks 
for (e.g.) 0004f2abcdef.cfg from Asterisk's built-in HTTP server (a file 
doesn't actually exist anywhere on the filesystem), Asterisk knows which 
extension that phone should have and generates the configuration for it 
on-the-fly.

-- Nathan

From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Josh Reynolds
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2017 5:20 PM
To: af@afmug.com
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

For what it's worth, UniFi provisioning doesn't happen via single config file. 
You will need to generate a config file with the Mac address as part of the 
file name. Search Google or UBNT.com for the article.

I have some in my house. I use my edgerouter to provide the tftp source as my 
cloudkey, and my cloudkey has asterisk running on it.

I could probably setup a system to generate a config on the fly by scraping 
info from the DHCP request and then generating a config file with the proper 
filename and inputting info from sip.conf for the user info if need be, I just 
haven't needed to.

On Aug 9, 2017 7:08 PM, "Nathan Anderson" 
<nath...@fsr.com<mailto:nath...@fsr.com>> wrote:
I've put together an OpenWRT-based Asterisk VM (with Asterisk-GUI on top 
instead of FreePBX) that knows how to generate the provisioning files for 
Polycom phones from templates and offers them up via HTTP instead of TFTP.  I 
can bang out a new PBX in an afternoon with it.  I still usually pair this with 
a MikroTik doing the DHCP server bit.

If you have never done any VoIP before and perhaps need some hand-holding, I 
haven't personally used it, but 3CX, which is a commercial Windows product, 
seems to come highly recommended.  If you want something free, though, there is 
probably going to be a steeper learning curve.

The other part you are going to have to consider is the hardware.  If you can 
get phone service handed off to you as pure SIP/IP, then great.  But if you 
actually need to take analog copper or TDM lines in from the phone company, 
then you are going to need to either get a PSTN <-> SIP device that meets your 
needs or purchase the necessary interface cards for the PC/server you are 
running the PBX software on.

Good luck,

-- Nathan

From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com<mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com>] On Behalf 
Of Adam Moffett
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2017 2:04 PM
To: af@afmug.com<mailto:af@afmug.com>
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

I've used a Mikrotik as the provisioning server in a lab setup.don't think 
I ever did it in real life.  It can set the required DHCP options and can be a 
TFTP server, and that's what you really need.

I liked the Sipura/Linksys/Cisco SPA phones because you could configure via the 
web page then export the XML config. Then duplicate and edit as needed.  It was 
hard to beat that for simplicity.  I'm a few years out of touch on VoIP, so I 
have no idea what phones are out there these days.


-- Original Message --
From: "Josh Reynolds" <j...@kyneticwifi.com<mailto:j...@kyneticwifi.com>>
To: af@afmug.com<mailto:af@afmug.com>
Sent: 8/9/2017 4:27:36 PM
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

PBX.

Simple? VoIP is not simple. FreePBX is as simple as it gets, and it's only 
simple because it is limiting.

For provisioning you will need a tftp server, the ability to set DHCP options, 
and a basic grasp of XML.

On Aug 9, 2017 2:35 PM, "Timothy Steele" 
<timothy.pct...@gmail.com<mailto:timothy.pct...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Anyone Working With Unifi Phones?

going to island of Palau to re do a network and VOIP System if they do not get 
Bombed by north Korea first :( but anyway is there like a super simple BPX out 
there to connect with unifi phones would only have 2 weeks to get this all done 
soo looking for easy lol

Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

[Josh Reynolds]

For clarification, this is for UniFi VoIP.

On Aug 9, 2017 7:20 PM, "Josh Reynolds" <j...@kyneticwifi.com> wrote:

> For what it's worth, UniFi provisioning doesn't happen via single config
> file. You will need to generate a config file with the Mac address as part
> of the file name. Search Google or UBNT.com for the article.
>
> I have some in my house. I use my edgerouter to provide the tftp source as
> my cloudkey, and my cloudkey has asterisk running on it.
>
> I could probably setup a system to generate a config on the fly by
> scraping info from the DHCP request and then generating a config file with
> the proper filename and inputting info from sip.conf for the user info if
> need be, I just haven't needed to.
>
> On Aug 9, 2017 7:08 PM, "Nathan Anderson" <nath...@fsr.com> wrote:
>
>> I've put together an OpenWRT-based Asterisk VM (with Asterisk-GUI on top
>> instead of FreePBX) that knows how to generate the provisioning files for
>> Polycom phones from templates and offers them up via HTTP instead of TFTP.
>> I can bang out a new PBX in an afternoon with it.  I still usually pair
>> this with a MikroTik doing the DHCP server bit.
>>
>>
>>
>> If you have never done any VoIP before and perhaps need some
>> hand-holding, I haven't personally used it, but 3CX, which is a commercial
>> Windows product, seems to come highly recommended.  If you want something
>> free, though, there is probably going to be a steeper learning curve.
>>
>>
>>
>> The other part you are going to have to consider is the hardware.  If you
>> can get phone service handed off to you as pure SIP/IP, then great.  But if
>> you actually need to take analog copper or TDM lines in from the phone
>> company, then you are going to need to either get a PSTN <-> SIP device
>> that meets your needs or purchase the necessary interface cards for the
>> PC/server you are running the PBX software on.
>>
>>
>>
>> Good luck,
>>
>>
>>
>> -- Nathan
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] *On Behalf Of *Adam Moffett
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, August 09, 2017 2:04 PM
>> *To:* af@afmug.com
>> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones
>>
>>
>>
>> I've used a Mikrotik as the provisioning server in a lab setup.don't
>> think I ever did it in real life.  It can set the required DHCP options and
>> can be a TFTP server, and that's what you really need.
>>
>>
>>
>> I liked the Sipura/Linksys/Cisco SPA phones because you could configure
>> via the web page then export the XML config. Then duplicate and edit as
>> needed.  It was hard to beat that for simplicity.  I'm a few years out of
>> touch on VoIP, so I have no idea what phones are out there these days.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -- Original Message --
>>
>> From: "Josh Reynolds" <j...@kyneticwifi.com>
>>
>> To: af@afmug.com
>>
>> Sent: 8/9/2017 4:27:36 PM
>>
>> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones
>>
>>
>>
>> PBX.
>>
>>
>>
>> Simple? VoIP is not simple. FreePBX is as simple as it gets, and it's
>> only simple because it is limiting.
>>
>>
>>
>> For provisioning you will need a tftp server, the ability to set DHCP
>> options, and a basic grasp of XML.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Aug 9, 2017 2:35 PM, "Timothy Steele" <timothy.pct...@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Anyone Working With Unifi Phones?
>>
>>
>>
>> going to island of Palau to re do a network and VOIP System if they do
>> not get Bombed by north Korea first :( but anyway is there like a super
>> simple BPX out there to connect with unifi phones would only have 2 weeks
>> to get this all done soo looking for easy lol
>>
>>

Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

[Josh Reynolds]

For what it's worth, UniFi provisioning doesn't happen via single config
file. You will need to generate a config file with the Mac address as part
of the file name. Search Google or UBNT.com for the article.

I have some in my house. I use my edgerouter to provide the tftp source as
my cloudkey, and my cloudkey has asterisk running on it.

I could probably setup a system to generate a config on the fly by scraping
info from the DHCP request and then generating a config file with the
proper filename and inputting info from sip.conf for the user info if need
be, I just haven't needed to.

On Aug 9, 2017 7:08 PM, "Nathan Anderson" <nath...@fsr.com> wrote:

> I've put together an OpenWRT-based Asterisk VM (with Asterisk-GUI on top
> instead of FreePBX) that knows how to generate the provisioning files for
> Polycom phones from templates and offers them up via HTTP instead of TFTP.
> I can bang out a new PBX in an afternoon with it.  I still usually pair
> this with a MikroTik doing the DHCP server bit.
>
>
>
> If you have never done any VoIP before and perhaps need some hand-holding,
> I haven't personally used it, but 3CX, which is a commercial Windows
> product, seems to come highly recommended.  If you want something free,
> though, there is probably going to be a steeper learning curve.
>
>
>
> The other part you are going to have to consider is the hardware.  If you
> can get phone service handed off to you as pure SIP/IP, then great.  But if
> you actually need to take analog copper or TDM lines in from the phone
> company, then you are going to need to either get a PSTN <-> SIP device
> that meets your needs or purchase the necessary interface cards for the
> PC/server you are running the PBX software on.
>
>
>
> Good luck,
>
>
>
> -- Nathan
>
>
>
> *From:* Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] *On Behalf Of *Adam Moffett
> *Sent:* Wednesday, August 09, 2017 2:04 PM
> *To:* af@afmug.com
> *Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones
>
>
>
> I've used a Mikrotik as the provisioning server in a lab setup.don't
> think I ever did it in real life.  It can set the required DHCP options and
> can be a TFTP server, and that's what you really need.
>
>
>
> I liked the Sipura/Linksys/Cisco SPA phones because you could configure
> via the web page then export the XML config. Then duplicate and edit as
> needed.  It was hard to beat that for simplicity.  I'm a few years out of
> touch on VoIP, so I have no idea what phones are out there these days.
>
>
>
>
>
> ------ Original Message --
>
> From: "Josh Reynolds" <j...@kyneticwifi.com>
>
> To: af@afmug.com
>
> Sent: 8/9/2017 4:27:36 PM
>
> Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones
>
>
>
> PBX.
>
>
>
> Simple? VoIP is not simple. FreePBX is as simple as it gets, and it's only
> simple because it is limiting.
>
>
>
> For provisioning you will need a tftp server, the ability to set DHCP
> options, and a basic grasp of XML.
>
>
>
> On Aug 9, 2017 2:35 PM, "Timothy Steele" <timothy.pct...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Anyone Working With Unifi Phones?
>
>
>
> going to island of Palau to re do a network and VOIP System if they do not
> get Bombed by north Korea first :( but anyway is there like a super simple
> BPX out there to connect with unifi phones would only have 2 weeks to get
> this all done soo looking for easy lol
>
>

Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

[Nathan Anderson]

I've put together an OpenWRT-based Asterisk VM (with Asterisk-GUI on top 
instead of FreePBX) that knows how to generate the provisioning files for 
Polycom phones from templates and offers them up via HTTP instead of TFTP.  I 
can bang out a new PBX in an afternoon with it.  I still usually pair this with 
a MikroTik doing the DHCP server bit.

If you have never done any VoIP before and perhaps need some hand-holding, I 
haven't personally used it, but 3CX, which is a commercial Windows product, 
seems to come highly recommended.  If you want something free, though, there is 
probably going to be a steeper learning curve.

The other part you are going to have to consider is the hardware.  If you can 
get phone service handed off to you as pure SIP/IP, then great.  But if you 
actually need to take analog copper or TDM lines in from the phone company, 
then you are going to need to either get a PSTN <-> SIP device that meets your 
needs or purchase the necessary interface cards for the PC/server you are 
running the PBX software on.

Good luck,

-- Nathan

From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Adam Moffett
Sent: Wednesday, August 09, 2017 2:04 PM
To: af@afmug.com
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

I've used a Mikrotik as the provisioning server in a lab setup.don't think 
I ever did it in real life.  It can set the required DHCP options and can be a 
TFTP server, and that's what you really need.

I liked the Sipura/Linksys/Cisco SPA phones because you could configure via the 
web page then export the XML config. Then duplicate and edit as needed.  It was 
hard to beat that for simplicity.  I'm a few years out of touch on VoIP, so I 
have no idea what phones are out there these days.


-- Original Message --
From: "Josh Reynolds" <j...@kyneticwifi.com<mailto:j...@kyneticwifi.com>>
To: af@afmug.com<mailto:af@afmug.com>
Sent: 8/9/2017 4:27:36 PM
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

PBX.

Simple? VoIP is not simple. FreePBX is as simple as it gets, and it's only 
simple because it is limiting.

For provisioning you will need a tftp server, the ability to set DHCP options, 
and a basic grasp of XML.

On Aug 9, 2017 2:35 PM, "Timothy Steele" 
<timothy.pct...@gmail.com<mailto:timothy.pct...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Anyone Working With Unifi Phones?

going to island of Palau to re do a network and VOIP System if they do not get 
Bombed by north Korea first :( but anyway is there like a super simple BPX out 
there to connect with unifi phones would only have 2 weeks to get this all done 
soo looking for easy lol

Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

[Adam Moffett]

I've used a Mikrotik as the provisioning server in a lab setup.don't 
think I ever did it in real life.  It can set the required DHCP options 
and can be a TFTP server, and that's what you really need.


I liked the Sipura/Linksys/Cisco SPA phones because you could configure 
via the web page then export the XML config. Then duplicate and edit as 
needed.  It was hard to beat that for simplicity.  I'm a few years out 
of touch on VoIP, so I have no idea what phones are out there these 
days.



-- Original Message --
From: "Josh Reynolds" <j...@kyneticwifi.com>
To: af@afmug.com
Sent: 8/9/2017 4:27:36 PM
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones


PBX.

Simple? VoIP is not simple. FreePBX is as simple as it gets, and it's 
only simple because it is limiting.


For provisioning you will need a tftp server, the ability to set DHCP 
options, and a basic grasp of XML.


On Aug 9, 2017 2:35 PM, "Timothy Steele" <timothy.pct...@gmail.com> 
wrote:

Anyone Working With Unifi Phones?

going to island of Palau to re do a network and VOIP System if they do 
not get Bombed by north Korea first :( but anyway is there like a 
super simple BPX out there to connect with unifi phones would only 
have 2 weeks to get this all done soo looking for easy lol

Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

[Adam Moffett]

I don't care for FreePBX.  I think it makes certain hard tasks easy, but 
then makes tasks hard which were easy in vanilla Asterisk.
The provisioning plugin is really nice as long as your phones are 
supported.


Maybe the simplest thing would be one of those cloud based systems where 
they do everything for you.  You'll pay something recurring per phone, 
but all the hard parts are someone else's problem.  You'd have no 
problem being up in 2 days, let alone 2 weeks.


Second simplest is configure the phones individually with their web page 
(or whatever --I haven't used unifi phones) and buy an appliance with 
some tech support included.  As an example, Adtran Total Access 904 can 
be a SIP server for your VoIP extensions, and supports SIP, analog, or 
T1/PRI for your incoming lines.  There are certainly Asterisk appliances 
as well.  I think you'll also find that most PBX vendors support VoIP 
now...they'd be stupid not to right?  You might pay for support, or 
maybe you'll get some post sale support for free, but either way 
somebody helps you with anything you're stuck on.


Third simplest is PBX in a Flash or similar Asterisk+FreePBX 
distribution.  You'll have the least capital invested, and the most 
labor.


Least simple: Vanilla Asterisk isn't so hard once you get some practice 
with it and as long as you have time to learn and experiment.


My 2c

-- Original Message --
From: "Josh Reynolds" <j...@kyneticwifi.com>
To: af@afmug.com
Sent: 8/9/2017 4:27:36 PM
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones


PBX.

Simple? VoIP is not simple. FreePBX is as simple as it gets, and it's 
only simple because it is limiting.


For provisioning you will need a tftp server, the ability to set DHCP 
options, and a basic grasp of XML.


On Aug 9, 2017 2:35 PM, "Timothy Steele" <timothy.pct...@gmail.com> 
wrote:

Anyone Working With Unifi Phones?

going to island of Palau to re do a network and VOIP System if they do 
not get Bombed by north Korea first :( but anyway is there like a 
super simple BPX out there to connect with unifi phones would only 
have 2 weeks to get this all done soo looking for easy lol

Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

[Adair Winter]

The end point manager for freepbx is awesome

On Aug 9, 2017 3:33 PM, "Mike Hammett" <af...@ics-il.net> wrote:

> There's a provisioning plugin for FreePBX, at least there was.
>
>
>
> -
> Mike Hammett
> Intelligent Computing Solutions <http://www.ics-il.com/>
> <https://www.facebook.com/ICSIL>
> <https://plus.google.com/+IntelligentComputingSolutionsDeKalb>
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/intelligent-computing-solutions>
> <https://twitter.com/ICSIL>
> Midwest Internet Exchange <http://www.midwest-ix.com/>
> <https://www.facebook.com/mdwestix>
> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-internet-exchange>
> <https://twitter.com/mdwestix>
> The Brothers WISP <http://www.thebrotherswisp.com/>
> <https://www.facebook.com/thebrotherswisp>
>
>
> <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXSdfxQv7SpoRQYNyLwntZg>
> ----------
> *From: *"Josh Reynolds" <j...@kyneticwifi.com>
> *To: *af@afmug.com
> *Sent: *Wednesday, August 9, 2017 3:27:36 PM
> *Subject: *Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones
>
> PBX.
>
> Simple? VoIP is not simple. FreePBX is as simple as it gets, and it's only
> simple because it is limiting.
>
> For provisioning you will need a tftp server, the ability to set DHCP
> options, and a basic grasp of XML.
>
> On Aug 9, 2017 2:35 PM, "Timothy Steele" <timothy.pct...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Anyone Working With Unifi Phones?
>>
>> going to island of Palau to re do a network and VOIP System if they do
>> not get Bombed by north Korea first :( but anyway is there like a super
>> simple BPX out there to connect with unifi phones would only have 2 weeks
>> to get this all done soo looking for easy lol
>>
>
>

Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

[Mike Hammett]

There's a provisioning plugin for FreePBX, at least there was. 




- 
Mike Hammett 
Intelligent Computing Solutions 

Midwest Internet Exchange 

The Brothers WISP 




- Original Message -

From: "Josh Reynolds" <j...@kyneticwifi.com> 
To: af@afmug.com 
Sent: Wednesday, August 9, 2017 3:27:36 PM 
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones 


PBX. 


Simple? VoIP is not simple. FreePBX is as simple as it gets, and it's only 
simple because it is limiting. 


For provisioning you will need a tftp server, the ability to set DHCP options, 
and a basic grasp of XML. 


On Aug 9, 2017 2:35 PM, "Timothy Steele" < timothy.pct...@gmail.com > wrote: 



Anyone Working With Unifi Phones? 


going to island of Palau to re do a network and VOIP System if they do not get 
Bombed by north Korea first :( but anyway is there like a super simple BPX out 
there to connect with unifi phones would only have 2 weeks to get this all done 
soo looking for easy lol 

Re: [AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

[Josh Reynolds]

PBX.

Simple? VoIP is not simple. FreePBX is as simple as it gets, and it's only
simple because it is limiting.

For provisioning you will need a tftp server, the ability to set DHCP
options, and a basic grasp of XML.

On Aug 9, 2017 2:35 PM, "Timothy Steele"  wrote:

> Anyone Working With Unifi Phones?
>
> going to island of Palau to re do a network and VOIP System if they do not
> get Bombed by north Korea first :( but anyway is there like a super simple
> BPX out there to connect with unifi phones would only have 2 weeks to get
> this all done soo looking for easy lol
>

[AFMUG] Best BPX to work with Unifi Phones

[Timothy Steele]

Anyone Working With Unifi Phones?

going to island of Palau to re do a network and VOIP System if they do not
get Bombed by north Korea first :( but anyway is there like a super simple
BPX out there to connect with unifi phones would only have 2 weeks to get
this all done soo looking for easy lol