VoIP QoS in practice: About Network Congestion

by

My previous two articles explored QoS tagging of voice data packets using ToS/DiffServ values and of Ethernet frames using CoS or Priority values. QoS is often advocated as an essential part of any self-respecting VoIP solution and there is no doubt it can make a big difference in the right circumstances. However, it would be … Read more


VoIP QoS Settings – part 1

by

The QoS settings on VoIP phones and related equipment can be perplexing. Here, I will attempt to explain what parameters like CoS, ToS, DiffServ and DSCP really mean and offer practical suggestions for the values that should be assigned to them. Part 1 of this article starts with a broad overview and then focuses on … Read more


Setting up shared voicemail on Asterisk – part 2

by

Part 1 laid the foundations for creating and accessing a shared voicemail box. In this, part 2, I explain how the lamp on the BLF key is switched on and off to show there are messages waiting in the shared box. Note that this is separate from any existing MWI lamp used for personal voicemail. … Read more


Setting up shared voicemail on Asterisk – part 1

by

It’s a requirement that people often seem to ask for – a single voicemail box, taking messages for a department, that can be easily monitored and accessed by several different users. A typical application would be to record out-of-hours messages which are then checked in the morning by any of a number of users, perhaps just depending who … Read more


Using Custom Device States to control BLF lamps

by

Do you want to know how to use a custom device state to control the lamp on a programmable key of an IP phone? In this article I explain how to set up the hints and make any number of IP phones subscribe to a custom device state and how to switch the custom status from within the Asterisk dial plan. … Read more


When friendly-scanner gets aggressive

by

Not so friendly after all In my October 2010 articles about Asterisk IP-PBX security (linked here), I described how port scanning probes from the so-called “friendly-scanner” could be seen several times a day on a typical SIP server exposed to the Internet. Since then, I – or at least one of my clients – had the displeasure … Read more


Clustering OpenSIPS for High Availability – Part 3

by

In this, part 3, we examine how a virtual IP address can be switched between two Linux servers to provide an active/standby failover and how this impacts on OpenSIPS. Part 2 investigated the implications for far-end NAT traversal of clustering two OpenSIPS servers and concluded that the best solution is the use of a virtual IP address. … Read more


Clustering OpenSIPS for High Availability – Part 2

by

In this, part 2, we investigate the implications of using more than one IP address on an OpenSIPS server and how this impacts on far-end NAT traversal. We will also see how the use of a virtual IP address can overcome these problems when clustering two OpenSIPS servers. Part 1 reviewed why we might want … Read more


Clustering OpenSIPS for High Availability – Part 1

by

Why cluster OpenSIPS? Unlike Asterisk, a typical OpenSIPS server is able to handle a very large number of simultaneous SIP calls. It is generally very reliable and will keep running for many months, or even years, with little or no attention. As a consequence, it is the preferred choice for many VoIP service providers who … Read more