System information

Temperature
Heat is the enemy of electronics. The cooler you keep your system, the more reliably
it will perform, and the longer it will last. If you cannot provide a properly cooled room
for your system, at a minimum ensure that it is placed in a location that ensures a steady
supply of clean, cool air. Also, keep the temperature steady. Changes in temperature
can lead to condensation and other damaging changes.
Dust
An old adage in the computer industry holds that dust bunnies inside of a computer
are lucky. Let’s consider some of the realities of dust bunnies:
• Significant buildup of dust can restrict airflow inside the system, leading to in-
creased levels of heat.
• Dust can contain metal particles, which, in sufficient quantities, can contribute to
signal degradation or shorts on circuit boards.
Put critical servers in a filtered environment, and clean out dust bunnies regularly.
Security
Server security naturally involves protecting against network-originated intrusions, but
the environment also plays a part in the security of a system. Telephone equipment
should always be locked away, and only persons who have a need to access the equip-
ment should be allowed near it.
Telephony Hardware
If you are going to connect Asterisk to any traditional telecommunications equipment,
you will need the correct hardware. The hardware you require will be determined by
what it is you want to achieve.
Connecting to the PSTN
Asterisk allows you to seamlessly bridge circuit-switched telecommunications net-
works
#
with packet-switched data networks.
*
#Often called TDM networks, due to the time division multiplexing used to carry traffic through the PSTN.
* Popularly called VoIP networks, although Voice over IP is not the only method of transmitting voice over
packet networks (Voice over Frame Relay was very popular in the late 1990s).
Telephony Hardware | 653