[App_rpt-users] Asterisk Allstar on the Raspberry Pi

[Ramon Gonzalez]

Interesting. Ill give it a try in a few days to see.

On Monday, March 10, 2014, Doug Crompton <doug at crompton.com> wrote:

> *Update on the Raspberry Pi Asterisk Allstar project*
>
> Great news, Allstar is running on the Raspberry Pi! I have been working on
> this over the last few months and testing now for several weeks. It seems
> to be stable. Audio is great using simpleusb. The project makes it possible
> to assemble a small, low power, and inexpensive Allstar server and node
> that fits in the palm of your hand minus the radio.
>
> The project was started by Mihhail, ES1BIS who successfully compiled the
> code on Pidora FC17 on the Pi. I took that code, optimized it, and made it
> work well in the real world. I later successfully compiled the code under
> the latest Raspbien release for the Pi. This was an important transition
> for a number of reasons as Pidora has been poorly supported recently and
> does not have direct overclocking and memory management capabilities. It is
> the Acid release except using Dahdi.
>
> The code is on a 16G SD card and while it would fit on an 8G card the
> added space at little additional cost are worth it. Using a larger size SD
> card is also purported to increase the life of the card giving more space
> for wear levelling. The Pi is run as a "headless" system with ssh access. I
> also have added the apache2 web browser and my lsnodes remote web display
> and control program which allows you to monitor and control the server
> remotely.
>
> The test system is running with a DMK URI USB interface but would work
> with an inexpensive modified sound FOB. An entire system could be built for
> around $50 in this way. It would also be possible to write code and build a
> small interface to allow the Pi GPIO pins control the PTT and COS.
>
> Asterisk typically uses about 10-20% of CPU on the Pi and other operations
> like web accesses and even a compile going on while Allstar is running
> caused no glitches. I currently run overclocking at modest (800mhz) but it
> could be run at much higher speeds if necessary. I have two nodes running
> on the Pi but only one connected to a radio. If you did not know it was
> running on the Pi you would not know the difference to any other server.
>
> Things to be done include -
>
>    Recompile under USB driver rewrite kernel
>    A script to install your node information and setup
>    Test use of a wireless card in the Pi
>    Test Mobile node applications
>    Test Additional nodes (2 or more simultaneous nodes)
>    Test usbradio (it might be possible for one node with overclocking)
>
> Item number one on this list is the most important right now. There is a
> problem running the USB at full (2.0) speed with USB audio. This shows up
> as unacceptable distortion in the receive (DAC) audio. Running in USB high
> (1.1) speed solves the audio problem but causes some minor delay problems.
> In the scheme of things this is acceptable but I am not completely happy
> with this and I want to get this running in USB 2.0 mode before I release
> it. There is currently a complete rewrite of the Pi USB stack going on that
> hopefully will solve this problem. My plans are to let things settle a
> little and pick up the new kernel and recompile very soon. So stay tuned
> for that.
>
> When I do make the image available it will not be plug and play. It will
> require IP address and port setup for your LAN and editing of rpt.conf and
> other configuration files. I will put together a checklist of tasks you
> will need to complete in bringing up your own Pi Allstar server. This is a
> server and node so you will have to transfer an existing server and node or
> set up a new one at allstarlink.org  If you don't feel comfortable
> mucking in Linux this might be a problem but the upside is that you will
> have the original image to go back to should you mess something up and need
> to start over. It is always a good idea to save additional image copies
> after you make significant changes and you are sure it is working. This
> allows you to go back to prior images that work rather than recreating
> things from earlier images.
>
> A quick note about SD card life since I know this is a big topic and a
> question you would ask. First I will say I have several IRLP Pi nodes, one
> running for 10 months straight, without a failure. I have never had an SD
> card fail period. Not due to power failure, longevity or any other cause. I
> also only buy good quality cards like the Sandisk Ultra class 10 or better.
> That is not to say one won't fail at some point but that is what backups
> are for and with an SD card it is easy, pop one out and put the other one
> that you have burned the image to in. Like anything else it is important to
> have a backup. I have done most everything practical to minimize writes to
> the SD card. Only time will tell how long it will last but I have
> confidence it will be a long time.
>
> I will be setting up a web page for this and there will be additional
> information as well as image downloads there when they are available. I
> would be glad to answer any questions you may have.
>
> And finally I saw this statement on an Asterisk site and I though it
> pointed out how far we have come in the past 15-20 years!
>
> * "I just received my Raspberry Pi and looking forward to running Asterisk
> on it. I've been in tech for 30 years and I can't believe what is in front
> of me. 15 years ago, as a department head, I signed off on a $200K project
> to upgrade a PBX system with a voicemail system that can email you the
> sound file and provide web access to your VM messages. Now, I am about to
> deploy a full PBX system for $50. Maybe a $75 if I buy a case for my
> Raspberry Pi."*
>
>
>
> *73 DougWA3DSPhttp://www.crompton.com/hamradio
> <http://www.crompton.com/hamradio>*
>


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