I’ve recently been reflecting upon my history as an Asterisk user and the evolution of my preference for embedded systems (aka appliance) approach to Asterisk servers.
The path that I’ve followed is probably typical of a lot of people in many ways. Perhaps by sharing my experience I can help some people avoid some of the problems that I have faced, and understand how I arrived at my personal definition of an “Asterisk Appliance.”
A short while ago Nir Simionovich noted an interesting new piece of hardware on his blog. It’s the embodiment of a novel approach to adding GSM based cellular trunks to an Asterisk server. As opposed to a freestanding external SIP-to-GSM gateway that I installed last year, someone has devised a new TDM-GSM module that emulates that FXO daughter card on a Digium TDM400P card. According to the companies web site two modules can be installed to a TDM400P card, providing Asterisk with two GSM trunks. No drivers are required beyond those loaded for the TDM400P.