My First FreeSwitch OR Is this easy to do?
I apologize for the length I'm not sure yet what is "relevant" My partner and I run a small business out of our home and we're getting big enough that I want to take advantage of some "modern phone technology" primarily we're interesting in an auto-attendant at this point but more will come later I'm sure. We have two analog lines coming into the house (provided via Verizon FiOS) and then in every room we have two line capable analog phones. In our FiOS settings I have both lines ring both lines simultaneously (to emulate a hunt group) so if someone is on line 1 the incoming call still rings audibly on line 2 instead of just buzzing call waiting. I will be getting a (hand me down) TDM1600P V2 card which, in its current configuration, has four FXO and four FXS ports. So my plan was to install FreeSwitch and "splice in-line" where the phone lines come out of the FiOS box. So two lines would go into the FreeSwitch Box and two "extensions" would come out the other side. Whenever I rewire the house I'll decide then whether to run a data connection to each "endpoint" and get SIP phones, add more FXS modules to the TDM1600P, some mix, or whatever but I'm starting small (I think). As far the auto-attendant goes 95% of what I need now is to filter "non-humans". So I would set up a simple menu "Press 1 for Tech Support, Press 2 for Billing, Etc)". This should filter autodialers that want us to update our Google listing and so on... but I assume we can still have all of the options (until we hire on more staff) ring both extensions. Assuming this lets unanswered calls go to voice mail... On our analog phones though I'd really love to modify the Caller ID to show which option they selected. So instead of "Bob Customer / 234-567-8901" it might show "TS - Bob Customer / 234-567-8901" if they selected Tech Support. If possible I'd also like to "fill gaps" in Caller ID from a database because a few of our customers only show the number and not a name. Short term, I'm currently planning on downloading the Blue.box ISO and using that as my start point. Medium term I'd like to set up email notification of voice mails. Long term I'd love to integrate Google Voice and/or Skype. Really long term I might need to "convert" to a multi-tenant setup for Personal, Company (now with Employees) and Side Project Company. I think that's it... Any advice? Comments? Matt
Hi Matt, Welcome to the wacky world of VoIP! It's a wild ride, so hang on tight. If you're technically inclined but just new to the VoIP scene then your learning curve won't be so bad. I personally like the idea of a newbie downloading something like blue.box or FusionPBX in order to get started. Of the two, blue.box does more abstracting away of the underlying FreeSWITCH configs. It's really just a personal choice which way to go. However, if you're looking for a professionally designed system and don't mind spending a few bucks then you might want to check out www.cudatel.com- it's also powered by FreeSWITCH. Happy VoIPing! -MC On Tue, Jun 19, 2012 at 7:30 PM, Matt Neimeyer <matt@neimeyer.org> wrote:
I apologize for the length I'm not sure yet what is "relevant"
My partner and I run a small business out of our home and we're getting big enough that I want to take advantage of some "modern phone technology" primarily we're interesting in an auto-attendant at this point but more will come later I'm sure.
We have two analog lines coming into the house (provided via Verizon FiOS) and then in every room we have two line capable analog phones. In our FiOS settings I have both lines ring both lines simultaneously (to emulate a hunt group) so if someone is on line 1 the incoming call still rings audibly on line 2 instead of just buzzing call waiting.
I will be getting a (hand me down) TDM1600P V2 card which, in its current configuration, has four FXO and four FXS ports. So my plan was to install FreeSwitch and "splice in-line" where the phone lines come out of the FiOS box. So two lines would go into the FreeSwitch Box and two "extensions" would come out the other side. Whenever I rewire the house I'll decide then whether to run a data connection to each "endpoint" and get SIP phones, add more FXS modules to the TDM1600P, some mix, or whatever but I'm starting small (I think).
As far the auto-attendant goes 95% of what I need now is to filter "non-humans". So I would set up a simple menu "Press 1 for Tech Support, Press 2 for Billing, Etc)". This should filter autodialers that want us to update our Google listing and so on... but I assume we can still have all of the options (until we hire on more staff) ring both extensions. Assuming this lets unanswered calls go to voice mail... On our analog phones though I'd really love to modify the Caller ID to show which option they selected. So instead of "Bob Customer / 234-567-8901" it might show "TS - Bob Customer / 234-567-8901" if they selected Tech Support. If possible I'd also like to "fill gaps" in Caller ID from a database because a few of our customers only show the number and not a name.
Short term, I'm currently planning on downloading the Blue.box ISO and using that as my start point. Medium term I'd like to set up email notification of voice mails. Long term I'd love to integrate Google Voice and/or Skype. Really long term I might need to "convert" to a multi-tenant setup for Personal, Company (now with Employees) and Side Project Company.
I think that's it... Any advice? Comments?
Matt
_________________________________________________________________________ Professional FreeSWITCH Consulting Services: consulting@freeswitch.org http://www.freeswitchsolutions.com
FreeSWITCH-powered IP PBX: The CudaTel Communication Server http://www.cudatel.com
Official FreeSWITCH Sites http://www.freeswitch.org http://wiki.freeswitch.org http://www.cluecon.com
Join Us At ClueCon - Aug 7-9, 2012
FreeSWITCH-users mailing list FreeSWITCH-users@lists.freeswitch.org http://lists.freeswitch.org/mailman/listinfo/freeswitch-users UNSUBSCRIBE:http://lists.freeswitch.org/mailman/options/freeswitch-users http://www.freeswitch.org
I am technically inclined... to the point where I debated setting up a Gentoo box for this because that's what I'm used to administering but finally decided that the risk of grumbles from the household if it doesn't "just work" for them necessitated using something a little more "off the shelf". As to the blue.box vs FusionPBX... Since this is my first time around is the extra abstraction a good thing? I assume (dangerous I know) that if at some point later I change my setup I can copy my configuration and use it with a new GUI? Thanks, Matt On Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 12:22 PM, Michael Collins <msc@freeswitch.org> wrote:
Hi Matt,
Welcome to the wacky world of VoIP! It's a wild ride, so hang on tight.
If you're technically inclined but just new to the VoIP scene then your learning curve won't be so bad. I personally like the idea of a newbie downloading something like blue.box or FusionPBX in order to get started. Of the two, blue.box does more abstracting away of the underlying FreeSWITCH configs. It's really just a personal choice which way to go. However, if you're looking for a professionally designed system and don't mind spending a few bucks then you might want to check out www.cudatel.com - it's also powered by FreeSWITCH.
Happy VoIPing!
-MC
On Tue, Jun 19, 2012 at 7:30 PM, Matt Neimeyer <matt@neimeyer.org> wrote:
I apologize for the length I'm not sure yet what is "relevant"
My partner and I run a small business out of our home and we're getting big enough that I want to take advantage of some "modern phone technology" primarily we're interesting in an auto-attendant at this point but more will come later I'm sure.
We have two analog lines coming into the house (provided via Verizon FiOS) and then in every room we have two line capable analog phones. In our FiOS settings I have both lines ring both lines simultaneously (to emulate a hunt group) so if someone is on line 1 the incoming call still rings audibly on line 2 instead of just buzzing call waiting.
I will be getting a (hand me down) TDM1600P V2 card which, in its current configuration, has four FXO and four FXS ports. So my plan was to install FreeSwitch and "splice in-line" where the phone lines come out of the FiOS box. So two lines would go into the FreeSwitch Box and two "extensions" would come out the other side. Whenever I rewire the house I'll decide then whether to run a data connection to each "endpoint" and get SIP phones, add more FXS modules to the TDM1600P, some mix, or whatever but I'm starting small (I think).
As far the auto-attendant goes 95% of what I need now is to filter "non-humans". So I would set up a simple menu "Press 1 for Tech Support, Press 2 for Billing, Etc)". This should filter autodialers that want us to update our Google listing and so on... but I assume we can still have all of the options (until we hire on more staff) ring both extensions. Assuming this lets unanswered calls go to voice mail... On our analog phones though I'd really love to modify the Caller ID to show which option they selected. So instead of "Bob Customer / 234-567-8901" it might show "TS - Bob Customer / 234-567-8901" if they selected Tech Support. If possible I'd also like to "fill gaps" in Caller ID from a database because a few of our customers only show the number and not a name.
Short term, I'm currently planning on downloading the Blue.box ISO and using that as my start point. Medium term I'd like to set up email notification of voice mails. Long term I'd love to integrate Google Voice and/or Skype. Really long term I might need to "convert" to a multi-tenant setup for Personal, Company (now with Employees) and Side Project Company.
I think that's it... Any advice? Comments?
Matt
_________________________________________________________________________ Professional FreeSWITCH Consulting Services: consulting@freeswitch.org http://www.freeswitchsolutions.com
FreeSWITCH-powered IP PBX: The CudaTel Communication Server http://www.cudatel.com
Official FreeSWITCH Sites http://www.freeswitch.org http://wiki.freeswitch.org http://www.cluecon.com
Join Us At ClueCon - Aug 7-9, 2012
FreeSWITCH-users mailing list FreeSWITCH-users@lists.freeswitch.org http://lists.freeswitch.org/mailman/listinfo/freeswitch-users UNSUBSCRIBE:http://lists.freeswitch.org/mailman/options/freeswitch-users http://www.freeswitch.org
_________________________________________________________________________ Professional FreeSWITCH Consulting Services: consulting@freeswitch.org http://www.freeswitchsolutions.com
FreeSWITCH-powered IP PBX: The CudaTel Communication Server http://www.cudatel.com
Official FreeSWITCH Sites http://www.freeswitch.org http://wiki.freeswitch.org http://www.cluecon.com
Join Us At ClueCon - Aug 7-9, 2012
FreeSWITCH-users mailing list FreeSWITCH-users@lists.freeswitch.org http://lists.freeswitch.org/mailman/listinfo/freeswitch-users UNSUBSCRIBE:http://lists.freeswitch.org/mailman/options/freeswitch-users http://www.freeswitch.org
Neither interface, afaik, can yet suck-in old configs. So you could use the old configs, but not manage them fully from within the interface. -Avi On Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 8:30 PM, Matt Neimeyer <matt@neimeyer.org> wrote:
I am technically inclined... to the point where I debated setting up a Gentoo box for this because that's what I'm used to administering but finally decided that the risk of grumbles from the household if it doesn't "just work" for them necessitated using something a little more "off the shelf".
As to the blue.box vs FusionPBX... Since this is my first time around is the extra abstraction a good thing? I assume (dangerous I know) that if at some point later I change my setup I can copy my configuration and use it with a new GUI?
Thanks,
Matt
On Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 12:22 PM, Michael Collins <msc@freeswitch.org> wrote:
Hi Matt,
Welcome to the wacky world of VoIP! It's a wild ride, so hang on tight.
If you're technically inclined but just new to the VoIP scene then your learning curve won't be so bad. I personally like the idea of a newbie downloading something like blue.box or FusionPBX in order to get started. Of the two, blue.box does more abstracting away of the underlying FreeSWITCH configs. It's really just a personal choice which way to go. However, if you're looking for a professionally designed system and don't mind spending a few bucks then you might want to check out www.cudatel.com - it's also powered by FreeSWITCH.
Happy VoIPing!
-MC
On Tue, Jun 19, 2012 at 7:30 PM, Matt Neimeyer <matt@neimeyer.org> wrote:
I apologize for the length I'm not sure yet what is "relevant"
My partner and I run a small business out of our home and we're getting big enough that I want to take advantage of some "modern phone technology" primarily we're interesting in an auto-attendant at this point but more will come later I'm sure.
We have two analog lines coming into the house (provided via Verizon FiOS) and then in every room we have two line capable analog phones. In our FiOS settings I have both lines ring both lines simultaneously (to emulate a hunt group) so if someone is on line 1 the incoming call still rings audibly on line 2 instead of just buzzing call waiting.
I will be getting a (hand me down) TDM1600P V2 card which, in its current configuration, has four FXO and four FXS ports. So my plan was to install FreeSwitch and "splice in-line" where the phone lines come out of the FiOS box. So two lines would go into the FreeSwitch Box and two "extensions" would come out the other side. Whenever I rewire the house I'll decide then whether to run a data connection to each "endpoint" and get SIP phones, add more FXS modules to the TDM1600P, some mix, or whatever but I'm starting small (I think).
As far the auto-attendant goes 95% of what I need now is to filter "non-humans". So I would set up a simple menu "Press 1 for Tech Support, Press 2 for Billing, Etc)". This should filter autodialers that want us to update our Google listing and so on... but I assume we can still have all of the options (until we hire on more staff) ring both extensions. Assuming this lets unanswered calls go to voice mail... On our analog phones though I'd really love to modify the Caller ID to show which option they selected. So instead of "Bob Customer / 234-567-8901" it might show "TS - Bob Customer / 234-567-8901" if they selected Tech Support. If possible I'd also like to "fill gaps" in Caller ID from a database because a few of our customers only show the number and not a name.
Short term, I'm currently planning on downloading the Blue.box ISO and using that as my start point. Medium term I'd like to set up email notification of voice mails. Long term I'd love to integrate Google Voice and/or Skype. Really long term I might need to "convert" to a multi-tenant setup for Personal, Company (now with Employees) and Side Project Company.
I think that's it... Any advice? Comments?
Matt
Professional FreeSWITCH Consulting Services: consulting@freeswitch.org http://www.freeswitchsolutions.com
FreeSWITCH-powered IP PBX: The CudaTel Communication Server http://www.cudatel.com
Official FreeSWITCH Sites http://www.freeswitch.org http://wiki.freeswitch.org http://www.cluecon.com
Join Us At ClueCon - Aug 7-9, 2012
FreeSWITCH-users mailing list FreeSWITCH-users@lists.freeswitch.org http://lists.freeswitch.org/mailman/listinfo/freeswitch-users UNSUBSCRIBE: http://lists.freeswitch.org/mailman/options/freeswitch-users http://www.freeswitch.org
_________________________________________________________________________ Professional FreeSWITCH Consulting Services: consulting@freeswitch.org http://www.freeswitchsolutions.com
FreeSWITCH-powered IP PBX: The CudaTel Communication Server http://www.cudatel.com
Official FreeSWITCH Sites http://www.freeswitch.org http://wiki.freeswitch.org http://www.cluecon.com
Join Us At ClueCon - Aug 7-9, 2012
FreeSWITCH-users mailing list FreeSWITCH-users@lists.freeswitch.org http://lists.freeswitch.org/mailman/listinfo/freeswitch-users UNSUBSCRIBE:http://lists.freeswitch.org/mailman/options/freeswitch-users http://www.freeswitch.org
_________________________________________________________________________ Professional FreeSWITCH Consulting Services: consulting@freeswitch.org http://www.freeswitchsolutions.com
FreeSWITCH-powered IP PBX: The CudaTel Communication Server http://www.cudatel.com
Official FreeSWITCH Sites http://www.freeswitch.org http://wiki.freeswitch.org http://www.cluecon.com
Join Us At ClueCon - Aug 7-9, 2012
FreeSWITCH-users mailing list FreeSWITCH-users@lists.freeswitch.org http://lists.freeswitch.org/mailman/listinfo/freeswitch-users UNSUBSCRIBE:http://lists.freeswitch.org/mailman/options/freeswitch-users http://www.freeswitch.org
I am technically inclined... to the point where I debated setting up a Gentoo box for this because that's what I'm used to administering but finally decided that the risk of grumbles from the household if it doesn't "just work" for them necessitated using something a little more "off the shelf".
hehe .... gentoo rocks!! but for voip systems i run centos because it's just got less update headaches. there are a bunch of hacks on the net for installing 3rd party scripts or web apps and they are more often than not running on centos as well...so following docs is easy. you'll really love voip /s if you are irc inclined, the fs irc channel is a good place too :) chris
On Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:22:52 -0700 Michael Collins <msc@freeswitch.org> wrote:
Of the two, blue.box does more abstracting away of the underlying FreeSWITCH configs.
Hmm, you also must be able to install it, which wasn't the case for me (Debian sid): I never even had the first screen (tested w/ nginx, lighttpd & apache2:( On the other hand, FusionPBX installation was a piece of cake. My €0.015743 JY -- Hate the sin and love the sinner. -- Mahatma Gandhi
My personal opinion is this: if you just want a basic pbx w/ pretty interface then use blue.box. If you want to learn more about the guts of FreeSWITCH then use FusionPBX. Fusion is based loosely on the default configuration of FS - the so-called "vanilla" config. It lets you see a lot more of what's going on. In some respects it's more "complete" in that it exposes just about everything you can do in FS. I would actually try them both out. I don't know how easily they can handle your TDM card, etc. as I've never done TDM with either of them. Hope this helps... -MC On Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 11:24 AM, Bzzz <lazyvirus@gmx.com> wrote:
On Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:22:52 -0700 Michael Collins <msc@freeswitch.org> wrote:
Of the two, blue.box does more abstracting away of the underlying FreeSWITCH configs.
Hmm, you also must be able to install it, which wasn't the case for me (Debian sid): I never even had the first screen (tested w/ nginx, lighttpd & apache2:( On the other hand, FusionPBX installation was a piece of cake.
My €0.015743
JY -- Hate the sin and love the sinner. -- Mahatma Gandhi
_________________________________________________________________________ Professional FreeSWITCH Consulting Services: consulting@freeswitch.org http://www.freeswitchsolutions.com
FreeSWITCH-powered IP PBX: The CudaTel Communication Server http://www.cudatel.com
Official FreeSWITCH Sites http://www.freeswitch.org http://wiki.freeswitch.org http://www.cluecon.com
Join Us At ClueCon - Aug 7-9, 2012
FreeSWITCH-users mailing list FreeSWITCH-users@lists.freeswitch.org http://lists.freeswitch.org/mailman/listinfo/freeswitch-users UNSUBSCRIBE:http://lists.freeswitch.org/mailman/options/freeswitch-users http://www.freeswitch.org
On Wed, 20 Jun 2012 11:43:10 -0700 Michael Collins <msc@freeswitch.org> wrote:
My personal opinion is this: if you just want a basic pbx w/ pretty interface then use blue.box. If you want to learn more about the guts of FreeSWITCH then use FusionPBX.
This was my conclusion too after testing the bb iso. -- Lao Tseu say: Man that scratch his butt at night awakes with stinking fingers.
participants (5)
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Avi Marcus
-
Bzzz
-
Chris Mylonas
-
Matt Neimeyer
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Michael Collins