Using VoIP to Connect Phones Between Offices?

virtualPhoneWire asks: "My office is expanding to include a new facility which is just a few hundred feet just across the parking lot. The building is just far enough away to make running cable a pain in the neck, so to get data over there, we're setting up an 802.11b link, and a couple of simple Linux routers to handle the traffic, no problem. Now, the people in this new building are going to need access to our phone system, a simple Avaya Partner II key system. I would like to think that there is a way that I can patch them into our switch using some kind of VoIP technology. The ideal being that we can issue a couple of IP phones that plug into the Ethernet back-bone, take their queue from my DHCP server, and linkup with a device on the other end that ties them into switch thus giving them access like any other phone. As an after thought, being able to give other people on our network, both inside the building and via our VPN, access to this gateway to make calls would be a real bonus. We're considering an upgrade to a real PBX, but we would like to do this without blowing the pension plan. We would like to having something scaleable, and open source, if possible. Any thoughts?"

Comments

Phreaks

[finity]

Calling all phone phreaks. Business setting up voip and opening it to anyone sitting in their parking lot with a laptop and 802.11b wireless card. If encryption _is_ used, you may have to sit a while. ;-)

Success Story

[Anonymous Coward]

A local business, not satisfied with the fairly meager loss in productivity when their wireless network is hacked, made a bold move and chose to make their phones depend on it too. A wise choice, this way their employees, when the network is down, really genuinely can't do much at all. Work is underway on a study that will somehow link the AC current to the wireless network. :-)

Re:Hardwire it

[s.fontinalis]

If it's the sales staff occupying the building they'd like you to treat *every* call as important as 911.

I can see it now:

[Hard_Code]

You. Have. Thirty. One. Thousand. Three. Hundred. and Thirty. Seven. Messages. Last. Message. From. "HAXXOR" At. Two. AM. To. Hear. Message. Press. One.