Asterisk\Elastix legacy PABX integration

[CAWJames]

Hi all,

 

Wild shot in the dark here, but I thought I'd ask.

 

I am playing with an Elastix system, and would greatly like it to integrate with our old NEC Aspire system over SIP. Mainly so I don't have to buy an FXO card, that will become obsolete when I beat, ahem, persuade our BDM into going fully VOIP across our centres.

 

For those that don't know, or want to know, the FXO card would let me connect analogue extensions from the SLIU card in the NEC and register them as extensions on the Asterisk box. Therefore using a 4 port FXO PCI-Express card in the Asterisk server and 4 of the analogue extensions on the NEC, I get 4 'trunks' between the systems. These cards though are not cheap, running £150 ish for a clone to multiple hundreds for the proper asterisk compatible card. This is the usual way to connect legacy PABX to Asterisk, but as both systems are supposedly IP(levelling that comment at the NEC), they should talk over SIP.

 

(Suppose I could buy the card with FXO modules, and then buy FXS modules later on and use it for fax machines etc, a bit of justification!)

 

Anyone tried this? I keep getting a 400 Bad Request from the NEC box when I try and add it as a trunk.

 

Although this problem is nothing compared with me always typing Asterix instead of Asterisk when Google searching!

 

Thanks

 

James

[Geoff]

The SIP implementation on the NEC is probably buggy/broken. Are there any firmware updates for it? Or is it past EOL?

 

You might want to break out Wireshark and see what the SIP messages are saying.

[CAWJames]

Thanks for the reply.

 

It's buggy, but not broken, as I can hook up x-lite to it over sip, and a host of other sip softphone, functionality varies though! Some wont call each other, but will ring normal extensions, some dont work, some are intermittent, etc. I would say NEC added SIP quickly and not very well to gain a few accolades as a hybrid switch.

 

Definitely EOL and newest firmware.

 

I will have to try and wireshark it, when I get some time to plug a server into a monitoring port on the switch.

 

Thanks again

 

James

[Geoff]

Good luck with Wireshark.

 

What about an E1 line between the boxes?

[CAWJames]

Still involves buying equipment! I have a spare PRI card for the NEC, just don't have the neccesary hardware for the new box.

 

I think I will end up going down the A400E/P route, and just reuse it to power the fax machines later on!

 

Thanks

 

James

[Geoff]

Yeah a Sangoma A101 will set you back about £320.