User guide

The following table summarizes our findings and positions the IP04 from the Free Telephony Project as
the most mature low cost solution for embedded telephony today.
Product Arch HW SW Interfaces Power Features Status
(Nov 2007)
Price (USD)
IP04 Blackfin Open Open 1 Ethernet
4 FXS/FXO
very low MMC card Production 450
IP08 Blackfin Open Open 2 Ethernet
8 FXS/FXO
very low MMC card
USB
Prototype N/A
Asterisk
Appliance
Blackfin Closed Open 5 Ethernet
(4 LAN, 1
WAN)
8 FXS/FXO
low HW echo,
CF card
Production 1259
(VoIP only)
1859
(4 FXO)
Vdex-40 Mindspeed Closed Open 1 Ethernet
4 FXO
low HW echo Evaluation 695
Trixbox x86 Closed Open Any with
expansions
high 4 line LCD Production 1499
(4 FXOs)
Magiclink Blackfin Closed ?? 2 Ethernet
4/8 FXO
very low based on
IP04
Evaluation 899 (1+)
Astfin Blackfin Open Open 1 Ethernet
1 PRI
1 BR4
low MMC card,
HW echo
option
Prototype N/A
PIKA AMCC
Power PC
Closed Closed 1 Ethernet
1 USB
4 FXS/FXO
low Evaluation 1200
Table 1: Comparative chart of Asterisk-based appliances.
12.9 Conclusions
During the preparation of this document we have identified some of the factors that limit the
dissemination of open IP Telephony. Some of the reasons can be found in the lack of user friendly tools
and documentation in local languages. In the last year(s) we have seen three major trends that look to
facilitate the deployment of the technology.
The first trend is the growth of Voice over IP specific software distributions and graphical user
interfaces. The second is the possibility to virtualize such dedicated software avoiding the need of
having extra PC to test them. The third, and probably most interesting innovation in this area is the
availability of the first Asterisk-based appliances.
Page 50 TRICALCAR | www.wilac.net/tricalcar – Version: February 2008