Phones are expensive these days. Not the actual land-line based phones, the services that make the phones come to life. So recently I started playing around with SIP phones + Asterisk for Linux. SIP phones are lan-line, or local area network phones. I think we have at least 4 SIP phones + an unused Shuttle computer + internet access. This is all you need to get started. Ok, you don’t need that many phones, but it was a great deal on eBay! Instead of setting up Asterisk manually, I decided to use an ISO image named “PBX in a Flash“. PBX in a Flash is a highly optimized CentOS-based, complete bundle of Asterisk + support all rolled into one ISO image. Once you have the CD/DVD ready, simply reboot with the CD/DVD.
Once you have it all configured and running, have a look at SIP provider plans. There are a lot of good SIP providers out there. You will want to pay careful attention to the number of SIP channels you get (number of concurrent calls) and the pricing per DID (if you need more than 1 phone number). I decided to use NexVortex. NexVortex has great prices and nice people…what else could you ask for.
PIAF (FreePBX in a Box) comes with the freepbx control panel, meet-me conference hosting and services, webmin for linux control, reporting for comprehensive usage reports and FOP (Flash Operator Panel). FOP has been upgraded to a really slick new commercial version FOP2. FOP2 will only cost you $40 for a more than reasonable version. There is also a free version which allows for a minimal amount of items on the page. The free/trial version is great to look at to see if you really need FOP2. FOP2 is a nice switchboard panel that allows you to monitor, in real time, the phone system activity. FOP2 is simple to install. Integrating it with PIAF was a bit of a trick though. Although there are a few sites that walk you through the integration. I followed the instructions and in no time we had a fully functioning PBX at the house.
If you own a small or medium sized business, I would highly recommend PIAF + FOP2 for a killer phone system. This combination + a SIP provider is an inexpensive way to have voice communications and conferencing in one low cost package.
Here is a nice set of detailed instructions for installation: PowerPBX Instructions.
Here is a nice set of instructions for integrating FOP2 into PIAF: PBXInAFlash Instructions.
