Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?
Links: home · search · speed test · login · more ·

Links: Reply New Topic
Forums » Voice Over IP - VOIP » VOIP Tech Chat » Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?
page: 1 · 2
SR_guy @ 8th Apr 01:19PM:
Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

Out of curiosity, what kind of setup do other asterisk users out there use for your setup, and what do you pay monthly with your total setup (minus energy and pc maint costs).

Mine:

1. Callcentric - Main provider w/ my home phone number and on a PPM plan. Both US & Internatiional to Thailand when needed. With monthly fees and misc calls $7.32 per month or less.

2. Betamax, voipdiscount and Poivy, $20 every 6 months. Free calls to China, thailand, & US. Average $3.33 per month.

3. Future-Nine. Toll Free calls. Nothing per month.

4. FWD (while it lasts). Toll Free calls backup.

Total per month average: $10.65-11.00
reply

ChuckIL9 @ 8th Apr 02:32PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

1) Aretta - 1 DID @ $1.99/mo + $.0139/min incoming or outgoing. My primary outgoing domestic trunk.

2) Vitelity - 3 DID's at variable cost ($.50-$3/mo) + $.0139/min outgoing and variable ($.011-$.025/min) incoming. I use this as my backup outgoing domestic trunk, primary international trunk, free toll-free outgoing trunk.

3) Gizmo Project - free incoming on GrandCentral DID

I have 4 users and and we use only about 750 minutes/mo. So costs for each of us are about $5/mo for DID's and minutes used. My asterisk server is remotely hosted by Aretta, and I pay $40/mo for a virtual server that can handle 4 simultaneous G711 calls.
reply

llast08 @ 8th Apr 02:40PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

For trixbox/pbx-in-a-flash installs:

VoicePulse Connect - I recommend customers go with them for inbound/outbound. They're a whopping $11/DID, but you get 4 channels for that, which is perfect for small offices or households. Their US/intl rates are great too.

If the customer does some research on their own and wants to use another provider, I recommend they use the VoicePulse Flexrate module to save some money between two providers.

But I warn them that other providers should be used at their own risk. There is flat-out no one with a support team as responsive as VoicePulse's.

As far as rates, their US rates as all below $0.02/min, often as low as $0.005/min. Their international rates are not the cheapest, or the most expensive, but it's justified by their superior support folks.
reply

mazilo @ 8th Apr 02:47PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

My asterisk (hosted on my LaFonera WiFi router running on OpenWRT SVN firmware) has been configured with the following VoSPs using friend type:

sip show peers reported with (six extensions):

quote:
53 sip peers [Monitored: 0 online, 0 offline Unmonitored: 51 online, 2 offline]

Total cost/month average = electricity to run my LaFonera WiFi router (with WiFi disabled) + Cable Modem services + ATA devices + Cordless Phone units. :D
--
Mazilo always prays for FREEBIES!
US Phone: +1-678-601-0907
UK Phone: +44-703-194-2574

reply

SR_guy @ 8th Apr 03:18PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

Mazilo,

I have a question about OpenWRT. I have Buffalo WHR-G54S w/ 4mb internal RAM running DD-WRT. I tried loading OpenWRT on my router but couldn't get all the components that I wanted for asterisk on it.

What asterisk components have you loaded with OpenWRT? How much memory do you have in your router?
reply

mazilo @ 8th Apr 08:37PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

said by SR_guy :

I have Buffalo WHR-G54S w/ 4mb internal RAM running DD-WRT.

I believe you meant a 4 MB Flash.

I tried loading OpenWRT on my router but couldn't get all the components that I wanted for asterisk on it.

What asterisk components have you loaded with OpenWRT?

I compiled my own OpenWRT firmware (from SVN source) + asterisk-1.4.19 with the needed built-in modules, i.e. chan_gtalk, codecs (ilbc, lpc10, and speex), format-mp3, res-agi, res-crypto, and voicemail, for my Fonera WiFi router. The following two files (linux kernel + firmware with asterisk + modules) are used to flash my Fonera WiFi router:
And, here is the df dump from my Fonera WiFi router:

How much memory do you have in your router?

My Fonera 2100 unit comes with an 8/16 MB Flash/RAM.

--
Mazilo always prays for FREEBIES!
US Phone: +1-678-601-0907
UK Phone: +44-703-194-2574

reply

SR_guy @ 9th Apr 08:55AM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

There's the difference mazilo, you have a buttload of flash memory in your router. I researched the option of the Mod for using SD flash memory as additional storage, but my soldering skills aren't so great, and I don't want to fry my router.
reply

ropeguru @ 9th Apr 09:37AM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

Using callcentric for incoming DID, got a cheap DID in the area I wanted it, and using Voicepulse Connect for my outgoing long distance calls. I currently have a basic landline from AT&T because of my alarm system, so I make local calls through that.

Total DID cost: $5.32/month
LD Cost: about a penny a minute for US
reply

mazilo @ 9th Apr 09:37AM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

Get an Asus WL-500G Premium WiFi router that comes with two USB2 ports. Some other suggestions, i.e. see this, is to get some boards to run OpenWRT.
reply

SR_guy @ 9th Apr 10:23AM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

What would be the barebones that I would need w/ OpenWRT to have a functional PBX with a webgui for entering trunks and dialplans, and codecs? can it be accomplished on 4mb flash?
reply

mazilo @ 9th Apr 11:09AM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

said by SR_guy :

What would be the barebones that I would need w/ OpenWRT to have a functional PBX with a webgui for entering trunks and dialplans, and codecs? can it be accomplished on 4mb flash?

Honestly, I don't know. I would assume an OpenWRT SVN (mini/micro version) + an asterisk base package + WebIf2 package (don't know if there is a support for asterisk GUI) should fit within a 4MB boundary. If I were you, I would play with the OpenWRT SVN source to compile and produce a mini and/or micro OpenWRT firmware with a built-in asterisk + asterisk modules - asterisk VM - GUI to fit/flash into a 4MB Flash. Back in 2006, I had friends flashed their Buffalo WBRx-54Gx WiFi router with OpenWRT (WhiteRussian) + asterisk-1.2.x without any problem. These days, I believe an OpenWRT SVN (Kamikaze) and an asterisk-1.4.x will add up more codes to produce a larger firmware than the OpenWRT WhiteRussian + asterisk-1.2.x.

FYI, my OpenWRT firmware for my Fonera unit is well exceeding the 4MB boundary. This firmware only includes bare necessity for a WiFi pass through (no NAT/Firewall) + asterisk + some asterisk modules - GUI. As you can see from insert below, the asterisk + asterisk modules, i.e. chan_gtalk, codecs (ilbc, lpc10, and speex), format-mp3, res-agi, res-crypto, and voicemail, contributed to about 1.8MB data to the firmware. This includes the libgsm.so library for GSM CoDec.

--
Mazilo always prays for FREEBIES!
US Phone: +1-678-601-0907
UK Phone: +44-703-194-2574

reply

SR_guy @ 9th Apr 11:46AM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

I'm thinking of selling my buffalo and finding another router w/ 8-16mb space. Found a good site that lists open source compatible routers. research time for best product for the $$$

»www.myopenrouter.com/
reply

mazilo @ 9th Apr 01:06PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

AFAIC, Netgear made good WGT634U G-WiFi routers, except they have been discontinued due to lots of problems. Owners of WGT634U can probably tell you their routers don't exhibit any problems running any open-source firmware. I don't disagree with them. When I bought several units of refurbished Netgear WGT634UNAR WiFi router, they all came with problems; however, after flashing them with the latest (last) firmware, those problem went away. Also, when I decided to compile the firmware source (downloaded from Netgear) for this WiFi router without any modifications, I found some of its compiled/generated binary files, i.e. upnpd, were tainted with x86 codes. This probably explained why a lot of WGT634UNA owners had run into problems with their router under the stock firmware. That said, I don't know if Netgear has fixed the problem with its firmware source for other routers, i.e. WGR614L (as shown on the link). However, if you decide to get this router, you are advised to make sure this router will run openWRT firmware. Also, if the price of this router is comparable to an Asus WL-500G Premium WiFi router, I would suggest the Asus router that comes with a built-in of two USB2 ports is better. This way, you can attach some USB memory stick to store voicemail for your asterisk, etc.
--
Mazilo always prays for FREEBIES!
US Phone: +1-678-601-0907
UK Phone: +44-703-194-2574

reply

SR_guy @ 9th Apr 01:18PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

Actually i was wrong about my buffalo WHR-G54S

Bootloader: CFE
System-On-Chip: Broadcom 5352
CPU Speed: 200 Mhz
Flash size: 4 MB
RAM: 16 MB
Wireless: integrated Broadcom BCM4306 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Controller
Ethernet: ?
Serial: yes
JTAG: yes

Callcentric offers free VM, so I don't work about that.
reply

mazilo @ 9th Apr 01:22PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

said by SR_guy :

Callcentric offers free VM, so I don't work about that.

That is nice; however, if I were to run an asterisk PBX system, I sure would like to run my own VM through my asterisk. After all, it is a PBX system. ;)
reply

SR_guy @ 9th Apr 01:25PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

actually I am running asterisk 2.7 on a PIII. Oddly enough I haven't been able to get the VM to work properly on it.
reply

tommy13v @ 9th Apr 02:02PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

1. Vitelity 50 DID's 25,000 minutes per month. Rate varies but around 1 cent per minute.
2. Viatalk 1 DID 2,000 minutes per month. $8 a month.
3. TelaSIP 2 DID's about 1500 minute per month. $0 a month.
4. Voicepulse connect as a backup outgoing provider.

The Vitelity provider is for customers but am looking to switch to someone else that can be more reliable.
reply

SR_guy @ 9th Apr 03:02PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

Mazilo,

Which module in your snapshot is for the gui for Asterisk? Or are you refering to the router gui?
reply

ropeguru @ 9th Apr 03:18PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

said by SR_guy :

Mazilo,

Which module in your snapshot is for the gui for Asterisk? Or are you refering to the router gui?

I believe he is speaking of the router GUI. AFAIK the only GUI's available for asterisk are all third party and pretty big.
reply

mazilo @ 9th Apr 04:17PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

said by ropeguru :

said by SR_guy :

Mazilo,

Which module in your snapshot is for the gui for Asterisk? Or are you refering to the router gui?

I believe he is speaking of the router GUI. AFAIK the only GUI's available for asterisk are all third party and pretty big.

You are right. I may be wrong; however, I believe the current WebIf2 package on OpenWRT only supports router modules with no asterisk supports at all.

I have no doubt that GUI is nice, but it conceals all its operations from its operators. As such, if you really want my advice about operating an asterisk system, try to avoid those nice 3rd party asterisk distros with GUI. Such a system can be heavily loaded and requires a computer to run. To an average Joe like you and me, this system is probably an overkill and becomes a waste of resources, AFAIC.
--
Mazilo always prays for FREEBIES!
US Phone: +1-678-601-0907
UK Phone: +44-703-194-2574

reply

Usenet1 @ 9th Apr 05:02PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

said by SR_guy :

Mazilo,

Which module in your snapshot is for the gui for Asterisk? Or are you refering to the router gui?

I might be mistaken here, but I don't think you can get a GUI on the router images, simply because of the size requirements for the images to fit onto the flash memory of routers. Someone here can correct me if I'm wrong.

There is a version of Asterisk which is designed to be installed and configured via GUI. It's called AsteriskNow!

You can see screenshots of both the installation and configuration here:

Installation: »www.asterisknow.org/images/install
Setup Wizard: »www.asterisknow.org/image/tid/54
Configuration: »www.asterisknow.org/image/tid/55

But once again, these are for * running on a PIII box or better. This interests me because I too am interested in running openWRT on a Linksys WRT54G which I just acquired, and if there is some version which can run on the Linksys which has a GUI, then I too would want to know.

Regards,

--
Valentin
reply

mazilo @ 9th Apr 07:52PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

said by Usenet1 :

I might be mistaken here, but I don't think you can get a GUI on the router images, simply because of the size requirements for the images to fit onto the flash memory of routers. Someone here can correct me if I'm wrong.

I would say this is sort of YMMV. Some WiFi routers supported by open-source firmware have a USB2 port built-in to support an external USB mass storage to hold GUI and/or even voicemails. So far, I don't see if there is any work in progress on webif2 to support asterisk GUI, yet.
--
Mazilo always prays for FREEBIES!
US Phone: +1-678-601-0907
UK Phone: +44-703-194-2574

reply

SR_guy @ 9th Apr 09:11PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

I'm not refering to a beast of a gui. Just a simple web interface that writes dialplans & trunks and then writes it to memory after it is saved.
reply

mazilo @ 9th Apr 09:24PM:
Re: Asterisk census - What is your provider setup and how much?

said by SR_guy :

I'm not refering to a beast of a gui. Just a simple web interface that writes dialplans & trunks and then writes it to memory after it is saved.

Argh ..., I see your point. For OpenWRT, the GUI part is handled with XWRT package called webif2. I just checked the source code of the XWRT package on my OpenWRT SVN source (just updated), and there is some CSS files to deal with asterisk. Here is the Asterisk Simple Management GUI discussion on XWRT forum.

EDIT: See the above attached snapshot of webif2 editor page for asterisk .conf files under OpenWRT running on my Fonera.
--
Mazilo always prays for FREEBIES!
US Phone: +1-678-601-0907
UK Phone: +44-703-194-2574

Asterisk Simple Management GUI for OpenWRT