I’ve used many different versions of the Sonicwall’s that have been a COMPLETE nightmare with it comes to FReePBX / SIP trunking in general.
I am not taking on a client with about 10 users but will be heavily using the phones as they are a law firm.
I want to get something that will be reliable enough so that they don’t have dropped calls etc…
NOTE: The Asterisk system will be a HOSTED system on a public IP, while the law firm will be behind a NAT. I need a recommendation on which Router I can use for the firm that will be able to give me superior quality when it comes to FreePBX. I dont want to overkill the situation and spend too much on the router, but I want something decent and reliable.
I totally agree about Sonicwalls, few would disagree with a Cisco, ebay prices < $50 depending on ability, but with the right software load, they can be your sip trunk(s) also
I want this as an offsite hosted FreePBX system, I dont want to put Asterisk on a router. I want a router I can rely on that will be able to handle NAT RTP and all that other good stuff.
I don’t think I said to put asterisk on it , just let Cisco’s router/firewall take care of your SIP trunking and security, they still know what they are doing
We have many of these small law firms. You don’t want to use NAT at all. It’s never going to work as well as you want. Toss in call recording etc.
Anyway. Host with a provider that offers IPSec (VPN) connections to their hosting platform. If it’s your own data center space you should already have a VPN.
A quick plug, our company. Micro Advantage offers FreePBX hosting, by FreePBX certified technicians in a certified, tier III data center. A complete, managed security solution is offered that includes the site to site VPN. Please check us out at www.microadv.com on the voice tabl.
Cisco 2801 is a great router for any larger sized cable modem type connection. (50mbps)
They can be picked up on ebay for about $100.
The 1841 is a smaller router but has pretty good horsepower as well for a medium cable-modem type connection. (15-20 Mbps)
In fact, any of the ISR-G1 series is an excellent choice for VoIP.
The 2600 series can be picked up for much much less, however will run into CPU spikes causing packet loss on anything over a 10mbps connection, as they were designed for T1’s.
The main reason to use a Cisco router over a Sonicwall is the plain and simple fact that the Cisco router has a Priority-Queue, and the Sonicwall does not.
I have given up on Sonicwalls, even after writing the “Sonicwall Howto” guide that’s been passed around on the forums. I’ve asked several times with Sonicwall engineers and have gotten the reply of, “yeah we suck at voip”
So Cisco IOS based router, with proper MQC QoS policies that are properly sized based on your connection, and you should be good to go.
Check this PDF for some specs on router throughput: (QoS will cause some performance impact to overall throughput, depending on how traffic is being marked.) http://www.cisco.com/web/partners/downloads/765/tools/quickreference/routerperformance.pdf
We have watchguards deployed and they work amazing with sangoma phones with and without SIP ALG. If you have polycom a behind it do not use SIP ALG. Current watchguard models been used and tested
XTM25 & 33
All firebox series
And the M300 and above
