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AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

2 recommendations

AllThumbs

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[Asterisk] Incredible PBX for $10 Raspberry Pi Zero W

We've released an updated version of Incredible PBX for the Raspberry Pi that now supports the $10 Pi Zero W. Setup is a 2-minute procedure. Finding a Pi Zero W is the trick at the moment. Some tips and tricks as well as download and setup tutorial is available here: »nerd.bz/2mGpBxZ
MartyT
join:2004-09-03
Georgetown, SC

1 recommendation

MartyT

Member

Ward, good to see you are still up to your fantastic tricks! Just came back from the beach working with a customer at their rental house with VOIP phone and DirecTV Now services.
clouder
join:2017-03-21

clouder to AllThumbs

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to AllThumbs
wired internet is preferred for a pbx server.

if using wireless internet, I believe the voice quality should drop while concurrent calls increased, and single-core cpu might also get too busy if simultaneous calls with fax or voice recording

One question: does incredible PBX support Debian?
mazilo
From Mazilo
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join:2002-05-30
Lilburn, GA

mazilo to AllThumbs

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to AllThumbs
said by AllThumbs:

Finding a Pi Zero W is the trick at the moment.

Micro Center.
mazilo

mazilo to clouder

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to clouder
said by clouder:

if using wireless internet, I believe the voice quality should drop while concurrent calls increased, and single-core cpu might also get too busy if simultaneous calls with fax or voice recording

This is true. However, it is also true that the PBX (Asterisk?) can be configured to by-pass media (will probably disable FAX, voice recording, eavesdropping, etc.) so that it doesn't act as the man-in-middle (MiM) to forward the audio stream.

AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

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Haven't noticed any degradation with faxing or a couple of simultaneous voice calls. Obviously depends upon your WiFi throughput. To answer your other question, Incredible PBX for Wazo is a terrific Debian-8 based platform.
clouder
join:2017-03-21

1 edit

clouder

Member

My goal is always enterprise-class PBX. the voice quality couldn't be guaranteed when wifi gets busy or signal interference, especially in office environment. however RP0W should be OK for fun.

hapollo
join:2007-05-13
WesterOS

1 recommendation

hapollo to clouder

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to clouder
said by clouder:

single-core cpu might also get too busy if simultaneous calls with fax or voice recording

I've got a Pi zero, Pi2 and Pi3. After PI zero is configured with accessories, I don't see much price advantage for a zero. the $10 to $15 difference spent on a Pi3 is well worth it unless on a budget. During the holidays, some microcenter have $10 off $30 coupons bringing the differential down to $5 difference between Pi zero accessorized and Pi3.
clouder
join:2017-03-21

clouder

Member

Agree! RP2/3 would perform better as PBX even more dollars, however I run pbx on $15 orange pi pc ($10 orange pi with 512MB ram should be OK also), qualified as office use. just spend 40%/28% RP3 price to let pbx run well, save money for other projects, why not?

hapollo
join:2007-05-13
WesterOS

hapollo

Member

Also with a Pi3, if I want Wifi calls simply install CsipSimple or Zoiper and establish credentials for the extension over Wifi. I can still access a NAS, stream thru Plex and still have lower CPU load if a call comes in while streaming something on the Pi3. Can't do that with a Zero.
clouder
join:2017-03-21

clouder

Member

absolutely single-core cpu is not designed for multi-tasks, this is why I quit both zero and CHIP, and chose orange pi although many people complain the tech support and community contribution, but as mini server, it's enough.

brg
Premium Member
join:2001-01-03
Chicago, IL

brg

Premium Member

Folks seem to be slamming the Pi Zero W because it is not "Enterprise Grade." Or because a Pi3 (or something else) is "better."

Well "Doh!"

But -- having run a home PBX on similar or lesser for over 6 years -- it may be all you need.

Of =course= you can spend more and get more. That's not the point.

The point is: can you spend less and will it be "enough."

Methinks, in many cases, "yes."

hapollo
join:2007-05-13
WesterOS

4 edits

hapollo

Member

said by brg:

Folks seem to be slamming the Pi Zero W because it is not "Enterprise Grade." Or because a Pi3 (or something else) is "better."
But -- having run a home PBX on similar or lesser for over 6 years -- it may be all you need.

Of =course= you can spend more and get more. That's not the point.

The point is: can you spend less and will it be "enough."

Methinks, in many cases, "yes."

Yes, it will be "enough" but look at the below and tell me which you would choose given purchase prices?

I paid 99cents each for 2 Pi zeros but had to spent another $3 to get hubs for each in order to connect a LAN cable or give it USB ports and $2 for a clear case.

I bought my 2x Pi2 for $4 each when on sale for $24 at Microcenter with a $20 off coupon and $2 for a case.

I then got my 1st Pi3 for Free at Microcenter with a $30 of $30 coupon. $2 for a case.

Hmm, $6 for a Pi Zero or $2 for a Pi3 after discounts.

Cheapest PiZeroW is now $10 and wifi can be troublesome in crowded Wifi sprectrum.

I believe in spend less and get 4x more with stability.

Not knocking the Pizero but it certainly can't handle my NAS, Plex and VOIP even if I tried.

Otherwise, I'd have to by 3 PiZeros & Accessories to accomplish the same then which one cost more in the end?
danry25
Premium Member
join:2008-05-21
Seattle, WA

danry25

Premium Member

Why not just get an OrangePi or NanoPi for less? You get an ethernet port that way and much more CPU grunt, plus its ARMv7 which has distro support, unlike ARMv6.

brg
Premium Member
join:2001-01-03
Chicago, IL

1 recommendation

brg to hapollo

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to hapollo
said by hapollo:

Yes, it will be "enough" but look at the below and tell me which you would choose given purchase prices?

I hear ya, but I reply "apples and oranges."

You are comparing the super deals that you got vs current retail+ for the In high demand Zero.

And, what if someone doesn't want to/need run something to cover all those other services? me, fr'instance...

hapollo
join:2007-05-13
WesterOS

hapollo

Member

said by brg:

You are comparing the super deals that you got vs current retail+ for the In high demand Zero.

And, what if someone doesn't want to/need run something to cover all those other services? me, fr'instance...

To that I respond, since the PizeroW is in high demand, it won't cost just $10, I've seen them for $40+ on Ebay in which case for the $30-$35 normal price of Pi3 available in more places is still a better deal.

In that case, you're still better off with the Pi3.

Only if you can get the PiZeroW for $10, don't have wifi crowding issues and don't need hubs or USB; sure there's a place for that.
clouder
join:2017-03-21

clouder to danry25

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nanopi and orange pi use same CPU: Allwinner H3, but orange pi is cheaper. Although 512MB ram should be OK, either Nanopo or orange pi with 1GB ram is better for office use.
clouder

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wow! where did you get such good coupon?

hapollo
join:2007-05-13
WesterOS

hapollo

Member

Couple of new Microcenters opened last year and they mass mailed various coupons for promotions. The best one was $50 off $50, so basically anything up to $50 was free. By that time I had more Pizero, Pi2 and Pi3s than even I needed.
danry25
Premium Member
join:2008-05-21
Seattle, WA

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Yeah, the Allwinner H3 has good mainline kernel support. Also, you definitely don't need 512MB if your just processing a few calls. If you ramp up volume just use Freeswitch, should be able to push 20+ calls under 100MB of ram usage including Nginx with a web frontend.

This whole "I need more ram" trope is a bit much, its not as though you will be running Chrome with 10+ tabs or Firefox with 20+ tabs on these boards, though some people like myself may.

If your gonna do that, go buy an OrangePi 2e or at the very least an OrangePi PC Plus. The eMMC is going to be the main factor, mSD cards are crap in general.
clouder
join:2017-03-21

1 edit

clouder

Member

understood SD card issue, to avoid writing into swap frequently, this is why bigger ram is preferred. orange pi pc just for test purpose, agree "enterprise-class" product should install on eMMC, will try one in near future

tried freeswitch pc version many years ago, not impressive comparing with elastix/freepbx, will try it on arm devices later. freeswitch supports fax to email?
danry25
Premium Member
join:2008-05-21
Seattle, WA

danry25

Premium Member

Freeswitch is a whole different show today as compared to even 2 years ago. Opus support, Fax servers (webui, email, scriptable), SMS/MMS, SRTP/ZRTP, and multiple projects from Kazoo to FusionPBX based on it.

Wrt ram, even with 256MB your likely not gonna swap much. #1 issue is having a decent mSD card. Should do at least 20MB/s writes, and above 2MB/s for random I/O. Only 3 out of every 5 Samsung Evo 32GB cards actually perform above 10MB/s, other brands/product lines are even more of a crapshoot. Test every mSD when you buy it and return it if it doesn't meet the class 10 rating (which is 10MB/s) printed on it.
mazilo
From Mazilo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-30
Lilburn, GA

mazilo

Premium Member

said by danry25:

Freeswitch is a whole different show today as compared to even 2 years ago. Opus support, Fax servers (webui, email, scriptable), SMS/MMS, SRTP/ZRTP, and multiple projects from Kazoo to FusionPBX based on it.

And those are just a few to name.

Wrt ram, even with 256MB your likely not gonna swap much. #1 issue is having a decent mSD card. Should do at least 20MB/s writes, and above 2MB/s for random I/O. Only 3 out of every 5 Samsung Evo 32GB cards actually perform above 10MB/s, other brands/product lines are even more of a crapshoot. Test every mSD when you buy it and return it if it doesn't meet the class 10 rating (which is 10MB/s) printed on it.

I used a no-name 1GB microSD card w/ 10 MBps write on my PogoPlug Pro (128MB RAM) running on a self-built OpenWRT OS. to host FreeSWITCH + NAS + etc., and have encountered no problems to process 4+ Google Voice calls.

AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

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said by danry25:

Why not just get an OrangePi or NanoPi for less?

Short answer is you still need software to make the hardware work. Getting a stable OS loaded on one of these devices with the necessary hooks to support traditional PBX functionality is no small feat... as you will quickly learn after you buy one.

brg
Premium Member
join:2001-01-03
Chicago, IL

1 recommendation

brg to danry25

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to danry25
said by danry25:

Wrt ram, even with 256MB your likely not gonna swap much. #1 issue is having a decent mSD card. Should do at least 20MB/s writes, and above 2MB/s for random I/O. Only 3 out of every 5 Samsung Evo 32GB cards actually perform above 10MB/s, other brands/product lines are even more of a crapshoot. Test every mSD when you buy it and return it if it doesn't meet the class 10 rating (which is 10MB/s) printed on it.

And here again, "it depends."

I have been using a freebie MicroCenter 4GB thumbdrive in my Dockstar PBX since Feb 3, 2011 without a single problem. The cloned backup thumbdrive -- created in anticipation of a failure of the main thumbdrive -- sits unused.

Maybe the specs you cite are important if one were running a callcenter, or if the device were part of a mission-critical communications system. For my home PBX? Not so much...
SCADAGeo
Premium Member
join:2012-11-08
N California

SCADAGeo to danry25

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to danry25
said by danry25:

Freeswitch is a whole different show today as compared to even 2 years ago.

I'm curious if it's now possible to enable compiling of *all* FreeSWITCH modules during a build?
danry25
Premium Member
join:2008-05-21
Seattle, WA

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Its easier to get a normal unmodified distro on an Allwinner board than a Raspberry Pi, and I can actually run mainline Debian unlike on the Zero W. Not a fan of the frankendebian the Pi Foundation has created, the missing & broken packages riddled in its repos smear the Debian Project, whereas its just Raspbian being poorly maintained.

AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

AllThumbs

Member

Can't speak to other apps, but we've been using Raspberry Pi's since the first week of their release. Haven't ever experienced a problem with Raspbian packages insofar as VoIP and Asterisk compatibility and/or reliability.

dev_null
Pithy tag line goes here.
join:2002-08-14
New England
ARRIS S33
Asus RT-AC66U B1

dev_null to brg

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to brg
said by brg:

For my home PBX? Not so much...

Tell that to my wife...

(I know, I know. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the PBX business... but it's so fun!)

Edit: and I'd like to get my hands on a Pi0W, waiting for the stock to improve.

AllThumbs
join:2006-02-07
Charleston, SC

AllThumbs

Member

said by dev_null:

And I'd like to get my hands on a Pi0W, waiting for the stock to improve.

In stock here: »www.canakit.com/raspberr ··· ess.html