Anyone locally installing Asterisk based PBX systems?

[Bruce Dawson]

Steven C. Peterson wrote:
> hey on a similar not. I am looking for information on setting up a
> completely new network on mobile platform (U.S.T.S State of Michigan).
> I am currently at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy and we have received
> a new training vessel from MARAD. it is an ex navy ship so everything is
> MIL-SPEC
> it has been wired with cat 6 to all berthing spaces and the pilot house.
> they all currently terminate to one punch block with a total 48 ports.
> 
> what we need is network that can dynamically switch between a satilite
> Internet connection and a 802.11a/b/g (to be installed) wireless link to
> the academy building (about 120 feet off the stern, when she is in home
> port)
> 
> we also want to install wireless throughout the ship (altho that will be
> hard with steel walls every ware)
> and replace the dynamo driven DC-squawk boxes with a modern intra ship
> comunications system (I am thinking asterisk phone in most Berthing
> spaces and wireless hand sets for the captain, the chief and the watch
> officers)

I'd keep the squawk boxes and just not use them except when everything
else fails (which it will)...

wifi doesn't work in a steel ship - unless you're in the same
compartment as the AP. And even then, things can get "weird". I
definitely wouldn't want to rely on it in an emergency.

> when in port we want the cadets to be able to access the inter net via
> the wireless link. when at sea we only want email shuttled back and
> forth from the academy's Novell mail server over the satilite.

That's a simple firewall setup - you can even rig it so that the switch
occurs automatically when the 802.11g signal from shore is lost. There
are numerous antennas you can connect to any 802.11g router. But few, if
any, won't survive a sea journey.

> I have a little experience with this stuff but only on a very small
> scale (5-6 computers)

Setting up the ship-shore network isn't a problem of scale - its a
problem of dynamic aiming and survivable components.

> any help you all can offer would be great.