What a big headline, you say. New PBX manufacturer on Asterisk? Not exactly, but the equipment is quite fresh and interesting.
Today I want to tell you about the Openvox unified communications system, and it seems that the manufacturer has his own vision of combining these same communications π
Hardware manufacturer OpenVox has been slowly but surely moving towards a fully modular structure. First, he made GSM equipment, where you could use different combinations of modules and their number, then analog gateways appeared, and finally a fresh platform was presented with support for almost all necessary telephone connection standards: FXO / FXS / E1 PRI / BRI / GSM / 3G/LTE
Anyone who is interested, please under the cut
So, there is a chassis - height 2 units, dimensions 43 cm x 33 cm x 8.8 cm, it has 11 slots for installing additional modules, each slot for one module. Slot numbering is presented directly on the front panel.
What types of modules exist at the moment?
E1 interface
The Openvox ET200X module allows you to connect from 1 to 4 E1 digital streams. Additionally, it can be equipped with an Octasic board for hardware echo cancellation.
ET200X modules
Model
ET2001
ET2002
ET2004
ET2001L
ET2002L
E1/T1 Port
1
2
4
1
2
Hardware echo pressure
Yes
No
Size
100 * 162.5mm
The weight
210 gr
216 gr
226 gr
202 gr
207 gr
The modules have 1 10/100 Mbps network port and a USB port for software disaster recovery, as well as LEDs to show connection status. Support PRI/SS7/R2 protocols, also available with a more detailed technical description. Inside there is, of course, Asterisk, as in the best traditions of Openvox.
Analog interfaces
The manufacturer has released 3 options for modules for connecting analog lines.
VS-AGU-E1M820-O for 8 FXO for connecting external lines.
VS-AGU-E1M820-S for 8 FXS for connecting internal telephones, faxes, for example, or inexpensive DECT base stations.
and mix VS-AGU-E1M820-OS for 4 FXO and 4 FXS lines
GSM interfaces
The most current GSM / 3G / LTE modules are supported: VS-GWM420G / VS-GWM420GW-E and VS-GWM420L-E, respectively.
I discussed them in more detail in a previous
Module with Intel Celeron VS-CCU-N2930AM processor
Yes Yes. This is a full-fledged 64-bit computer, based on the Celeron N2930 processor with 4 cores and a frequency of up to 2.16 Ghz. The default SO-DIMM memory stick is 2 GB, but you can expand DDR3L 1333 up to 8 GB.
The board has a 16 GB SSD. Two network interfaces are available, one for 10/100/1000Mb and one for 10/100Mb. One VGA output for an external monitor, and two USB interfaces, for example, for uploading backups or storing conversations.
If the internal memory is not enough for you, you can expand it using the VS-CCU-500HDD hard drive module, which looks like this:
500 GB are shipped by default by the manufacturer, I think it will be possible to install a disk with a capacity of up to 2 TB without any problems.
And now we are gradually approaching the installed software.
This module, like any other (3G / FXO / FXS / E1) in this chassis, is completely autonomous. Separately downloaded, updated and has a separate IP address. In the case of VS-CCU-N2930AM, even separate network interfaces.
Openvox promotes open unified communications Elizabeth, which is a fork of the Elastix project. I think there is no need to review Issabel, since in fact it is almost no different from the well-known Elastix.
Let me remind you for those who are not familiar with open telephone software:
1) Unlimited number of SIP subscribers
2) Unlimited number of external SIP trunks
3) Integration with external systems via API (AMI / AGI / ARI)
4) No payment for software and further support
5) The need for direct hands to install
issabel*CLI> core show version
Asterisk 13.18.5 built by issabel @ issabeldev8 on a x86_64 running Linux on 2017-12-29 18:27:48 UTC
In my opinion, FreePBX distro will be more functional and attractive due to the panel for users and extensions in the form of paid modules.
Officially, the list of operating systems is as follows:
Elastix 2.5x86_64
Elastix 4.0x86_64
Issabel-20170714x86_64
FreePBX-1712x86_64
But since we have a full-fledged X86_64 computer in front of us, albeit in such a compact design, you can easily install CentOS / Ubuntu / Debian along with pure Asterisk or, for example, OS from MIKO - Askozia.
When installing these modules in different chassis slots, the following manufacturer's table must be followed:
slot
available module
0
Network module (included)
1
a
2
a/b/d
3
a/d
4
a/b/d
5
a/b/d
6
a/b/c/d
7
a/d
8
<a/b/d
9
a/b/d
10
a/b/c/d
11
a/d
Where
A - these are modules for SIM cards and analog lines (GSM / FXO / FXS)
B are modules for E1 thread
C is HDD Expansion Module
D is a module with a Celeron processor
Use cases
This diagram shows that all plug-ins in the system have their own IP address, and are managed separately. In software (FreePBX / Asterisk / Issabel) you connect all lines: digital, analog or mobile via sip trunk.
This is extremely convenient, if suddenly in the future you want to use some kind of cloud-based PBX provider, then your infrastructure will already be ready for this.
Conclusion.
The system is compact and energy efficient, suitable for medium and large businesses that want to get an all-in-one device. At the moment, there is not enough automatic configuration of all these modules, that is, there is an acute shortage of proprietary PBX software.
I think that the right development vector is FreePBX with its own software add-on for automatically setting up your own gateways / phones / hardware modules.
The cost of the solution is quite affordable. Chassis ~$400, module with processor $549, E1 module $549, 4 GSM lines - $420, Module for 4 FXO and 4 FXS lines - $240
In total, for ~$2200 you get a full-fledged unified communications telephone system that does not tie you to the devices you use, or to monthly subscriptions or other equipment.
Source: habr.com