How I learned to stop worrying.. (VoIP)

ntldr · 01-11-2012, 06:55 PM

After supporting 40+ paid Untangle installs over the years, I've come the conclusion that I know very little about VoIP. Customers are bringing in crappy PBX vendors who appear to no very little about basic IP networking, and even less about QoS. My goal is to be knowledgeable enough to have intelligent conversations with customers and vendors alike but not be a PBX installer. IT consulting demands that I not specialize too much in any one discipline

Here's my thought. For the cost of a single SIP trunk, I should be able to setup a PBX at home by supplying the hardware (I have lots of spares), Asterisk (free), FreePBX (free), and X-Lite. That should allow me to play with SIP/RTP, tinker with Asterisk, and use the trunk for outbound calls since Verizon service is spotty in my man-cave. Am I off-base here?

SIP Station (Bandwidth.com) seems to the easiest way to go, and is $25/mo. Is anyone aware of other places I can get a single trunk without any contract?

sky-knight · 01-11-2012, 07:27 PM

I suggest PBXinaFlash. And I do NOT suggest X-Lite... what a buggy...

That said, VoIP is largely overly complicated. If you understand how FTP works, and why you need that pasv port range you have enough brain power to deal with VoIP.

dmorris · 01-11-2012, 07:30 PM

Personally I've found the more I know about QoS the more complicated it gets.

ntldr · 01-11-2012, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmorris

Personally I've found the more I know about QoS the more complicated it gets.

That's what I'm afraid of, especially after reading some of the posts here. With increasing frequency though, I'm getting thrown into the middle between the trunk provider/ISP, the customer, and the supposed IP-PBX guru. I just need a working system that I can tinker and watch packets with.

My shrink-wrapped magicJack may never see the light of day at this rate.

proactivens · 01-16-2012, 04:18 PM

callcentric.com offers a pay per minute sip trunk thats rock solid. I've been using it for over a year now, no issues. Easy to follow instructions on how to setup the trunk can be found on their website. They have dirt cheap DID's as well. Great service, can't say enough about them. I had a sip station trunk for a while, it didnt work well.

hlarsen · 01-16-2012, 04:24 PM

i have callcentric at home; it's an inbound-only line that my apartment buzzer dials so i can let people in... it's cheap and i've never had any issues.

proactivens · 01-16-2012, 04:44 PM

I have it hooked up to asterisk pbx in a flash hosted in dallas for our 888 number and it just works and its cheap.

bigdessert · 01-16-2012, 08:25 PM

we use callcentric as rollover lines off of our main POTS telephone line. It works great most of the time, although I have run into a few geographic locations where it always has problems no matter what. We have a sip trunk going into 3cx pbx and it works great.

01-11-2012, 06:55 PM	#1 (permalink)
ntldr Master Untangler Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 135	How I learned to stop worrying.. (VoIP) After supporting 40+ paid Untangle installs over the years, I've come the conclusion that I know very little about VoIP. Customers are bringing in crappy PBX vendors who appear to no very little about basic IP networking, and even less about QoS. My goal is to be knowledgeable enough to have intelligent conversations with customers and vendors alike but not be a PBX installer. IT consulting demands that I not specialize too much in any one discipline Here's my thought. For the cost of a single SIP trunk, I should be able to setup a PBX at home by supplying the hardware (I have lots of spares), Asterisk (free), FreePBX (free), and X-Lite. That should allow me to play with SIP/RTP, tinker with Asterisk, and use the trunk for outbound calls since Verizon service is spotty in my man-cave. Am I off-base here? SIP Station (Bandwidth.com) seems to the easiest way to go, and is $25/mo. Is anyone aware of other places I can get a single trunk without any contract?

01-11-2012, 07:27 PM	#2 (permalink)
sky-knight Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Phoenix, AZ URLs submitted: 8 Posts: 15,460	I suggest PBXinaFlash. And I do NOT suggest X-Lite... what a buggy... That said, VoIP is largely overly complicated. If you understand how FTP works, and why you need that pasv port range you have enough brain power to deal with VoIP. __________________ Rob Sandling, BS:SWE, MCP Intouch Technology Phone: 480-272-9889 rob@intouchtechllc.com UntangleAppliances.com Phone: 866-794-8879

01-11-2012, 07:30 PM	#3 (permalink)
dmorris Untangle Junkie Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Mateo, CA URLs submitted: 10 Posts: 10,613	Personally I've found the more I know about QoS the more complicated it gets. __________________ Attention: Support and help on the Untangle Forums is provided by volunteers and community members like yourself. If you need Untangle support please call or email support@untangle.com

01-16-2012, 04:18 PM	#5 (permalink)
proactivens Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Greensburg, Pa Posts: 2,307	callcentric.com offers a pay per minute sip trunk thats rock solid. I've been using it for over a year now, no issues. Easy to follow instructions on how to setup the trunk can be found on their website. They have dirt cheap DID's as well. Great service, can't say enough about them. I had a sip station trunk for a while, it didnt work well. __________________ www.untangleappliances.com Toll Free: 866-794-8879 UNTANGLE PLATINUM PARTNER Follow us at spiceworks!

01-16-2012, 04:24 PM	#6 (permalink)
hlarsen Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: sfba URLs submitted: 1 Posts: 1,139	i have callcentric at home; it's an inbound-only line that my apartment buzzer dials so i can let people in... it's cheap and i've never had any issues. __________________ Attention: Support on the Untangle Forums is provided by volunteers and community members. If you need official Untangle support please call or email support@untangle.com.

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01-16-2012, 04:44 PM	#7 (permalink)
proactivens Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Greensburg, Pa Posts: 2,307	I have it hooked up to asterisk pbx in a flash hosted in dallas for our 888 number and it just works and its cheap. __________________ www.untangleappliances.com Toll Free: 866-794-8879 UNTANGLE PLATINUM PARTNER Follow us at spiceworks!

01-16-2012, 08:25 PM	#8 (permalink)
bigdessert Master Untangler Join Date: Apr 2007 URLs submitted: 1 Posts: 608	we use callcentric as rollover lines off of our main POTS telephone line. It works great most of the time, although I have run into a few geographic locations where it always has problems no matter what. We have a sip trunk going into 3cx pbx and it works great.