Homebrew freePBX cloud with ATA

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I have residential analog infrastructure and magic jack. Looking to upgrade to a more powerful system with minimal cost.

I am thinking about going down one of two routes:

1: Buy the rasberry pi, an ATA, and use freePBX with a cheap sip provider.

2: Skip the Pi and put the PBX in the cloud instead of on a local box.

I have never used an ATA, but I am assuming that it will be configurable so that I can use the cloud PBX? Also, I am concerned about reliability and stability issues. I have Verizon FIOS.

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Based on my information, Verizon FiOS is very stable.

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Buy a regular used PC and do the same, but without the problems of the file system corrupting for no apparent reason.

Actually, there is an apparent reason - the “drives” that most Pi’s use aren’t meant for the kind of data churn that the PBX generates and they corrupt easily.

You don’t need a lot of computer horsepower to get this working - many of us are using machines that are literally 15 years old to run this system, but without the headaches associated with running a derivative. Also, by using a real computer and a Distro, you can add some commercial modules that will make your life easier.

From your description, I’m not sure I understand how this would work. If you want to keep the Magic Jack (which I don’t recommend in a PBX environment), then you are going to have to connect your PBX to an analog line on the Magic Jack through an FXS interface. Putting a server in the cloud IS Magic Jack, just with more options and less money. Now, I’m really old and was here for the first “networked server” revolution, so I’m reticent to make “that mistake again.” Lots of people love their cloud-based servers, but I’m still not convinced.

Yes you have - that’s all Magic Jack is.

There are lots of ways to do this and none of the answers are really wrong.

  • You can put in a PC with an FXO card and plug into your existing telephone lines in your house.
  • You can plug in an ATA and just go to a SIP provider.
  • You can go with a cloud PBX service and install an ATA in your local network (like the first one).
  • You can change your phones out for SIP phones and go with either a local server or a cloud server.

Honestly, there are lots of people doing any combination of these things. It all depends on what you want the final product to look like.

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