For an upcoming episode I think it would be a great to show how to build an IP PBX phone system u...

[G+_Cary Brown]

For an upcoming episode I think it would be a great to show how to build an IP PBX phone system using Open Source Software like Asterisk or some other free Windows versions with some IP phones or soft phone options. I work from home and have had a similar solution with Cisco SPA phones for several years now and it works great. Keep up the great work and great shows...

[G+_Cary Brown]

There can be a good degree of configuration required with the open source Asterisk versions but there are other Windows Based versions, like 3CX, that get your foot in the door and could be an easy solution for those looking to have no more than two Voice over IP gateway lines.  Perfect for home use.  If you have the time Asterisk is rock solid and I've successfully run it inside a VM (for very low usage).  Makes it very portable if you need to move your PBX between servers.

[G+_Cary Brown]

Aaron... I think it's fantastic that so much can be squeezed into a little Raspberry Pi but VoIP can often be processor intensive and faxing can be finicky and there is little tolerance for jitter in the VoIP protocol so my advice is to make sure you have enough Raspberry in your Pi :) to make sure the hardware can support the low latency needed for VoIP... Know How'er beware.... :)

[G+_Ryan Gard]

I'm going to weigh in here and suggest a solution that better utilizes FreeSWITCH, merely for the lightweight, albeit modular and extendable functionality it provides. Asterisk has definitely grown quite a bit over the years, but I've found FreeSWITCH to be lean and capable of handling itself in environments ranging from SOHO to Enterprise, and everything in between. Between the numerous XML gateways, the MongoDB support, and other APIs, you can get your phone system to do anything without putting a heavy load on the system in the way Asterisk does. FreeSWITCH also handles threading in a nicer fashion as well.

[G+_John Bhaktul]

It does sound like a good DIY project but sometimes it is just more economical to use a third party to handle these services. There are numerous companies that could set you up with VoIP, i.e. www.phonebooth.com.

[G+_Ryan Gard]

This is true. There are a plethora of providers out there. At the end of the day, the DIY factor of the project would tie into a lot of these providers and offer limitless expandability to what you can do with a phone line and phone system from simple call handling all the way to home automation and further. The sky becomes the limit in these cases, which makes a project like this so fantastic.

[G+_Aaron Freeman]

You guys are taking all the fun and independence out of it