[Serusers] "Best practice" document, was Warning: sl_send_reply: I won't send a reply for ACK!!

[Simon Miles]

As someone who as started from nothing and ended up with a working
system I would totally agree with Paul.

If we describe a working scenario, i.e. the IP addresses of gateways,
Asterisk etc and then describe a ser.cfg then most users will take this
and learn how to deploy in their scenario.

I'm happy to pull this together.


Simon

-----Original Message-----
From: serusers-bounces at iptel.org [mailto:serusers-bounces at lists.iptel.org] On
Behalf Of Java Rockx
Sent: 20 February 2005 13:13
To: Greger V. Teigre; serusers at lists.iptel.org
Subject: Re: [Serusers] "Best practice" document,was Warning:
sl_send_reply: I won't send a reply for ACK!!


Greg,

How do you think it would be best to start a "best practices" document?
My feelings are that to make the most impact a fully functional ser.cfg
for a real world SIP proxy should be the basis because most folks on
serusers are just looking for a quick "how do I" answer.

I'd like to think that if I just posted my ser.cfg then the ball would
be rolling on this, however, I doubt that would happen for several
reasons:

* I'm not 100% convinced that my ser.cfg is error free.

* I doubt I've done things exactly correct (ie, I'm sure there are
better way to do some things I've done).

* I've got many inline comments, but a much deeper explaination of key
areas of my configuration are needed.

* My ser.cfg is deeply dependent on external factors, such as our
slightly modified version of Asterisk, which we only use for voicemail.
So I don't think just seeing the ser.cfg would answer too many questions
regarding how MWI works without including Asterisk integration
documentation.

Anyhow, that said I believe that an initial "best practices" document
would need to focus on these key areas:

* Basic ser.cfg structure
* Database usage (enabling/using MySQL)
* NAT traversal
* PSTN integration (ie, gateways)
* Asterisk integration for voicemail only (no call routing logic)

I think that this would solve many of the postings that appear on
serusers frequently.

Regards,
Paul

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 11:46:58 +0100, Greger V. Teigre <greger at teigre.com>
wrote:
> Thanks for your initiative, Paul.
> 
> I suggested in a previous post that a simple FAQ list could be created

> on the iptel.org site pointing to posts on mail.iptel.org that 
> addressed commonly asked questions.  Seeing the initiative now on TLS,

> I realize that maybe the only way to get something going is to do 
> something, submit it in some way, and then people will start to relate
to it.
>     Thus, I suggest that you, if you have the capacity to do so, 
> submit a starting point for a such a best practice document.  I will 
> promise to review and contribute where I can add value.  If people 
> fancy the document, it will be in the interest of the core developers 
> to submit their input ("priority by relevance").
> 
>     My company has decided to offer to host a "best practice site" (if

> it is of interest to the community) where the document, reference 
> ser.cfgs, as well as links to posts, resources, other people's non-cvs

> modules etc can be presented.  I find voip-info.org to be a good 
> resource, but picture a more structured and edited approach to 
> complement and provide easy access to resources.
>     Ser is an excellent open source software, but IMHO the project has

> not yet matured enough to be taken seriously for large service 
> providers (without somebody like us presenting .  Those of us who make

> a living that includes ser should really collaborate to make ser as 
> best as possible and (an even more) viable alternative to commercial 
> software.  We can and should compete on other things than who can make

> the ser.cfg work...
> 
>     The core developers are doing an excellent job, and I believe the 
> best way we can help them out is to start initiatives and see if they 
> catch on. I think it's in everybody's interest to build a large and 
> stable community around ser.
>     I see several initiatives now that point in the right direction, 
> as well as areas where work is needed:
> - "Best practice" initiative from Paul
> - My initiative suggesting a new website in this post
> - Andreas' work on scalability (discussed recently on this list)
> - The TLS initiative
> - Need for a viable, scalable voicemail implementation
> - Need for a scalability/redundancy reference design including load 
> balancing/multiple server centers
> - Need for database support beyond open-source DBs (ODBC/JDBC/LDAP)
> - Need for access to a repository of modules (beyond those in CVS). 
> Can be addressed on my suggested website
> - Need for more application level integration/capabilities (SIP 
> Servlets, JAIN, etc)
> - and probably many more
> 
> Well, let's start small. There is a  lot of activity and 
> implementations that are being done, partially exposed here on 
> serusers/serdev. By exposing and coordinating these efforts publicly, 
> people can concentrate on new and even more exciting things than just 
> figuring out how to handle NAT...
> g-)
> 
> Java Rockx wrote:
> > Guys,
> >
> > Since I just made very substantial changes to my ser.cfg I'd like to

> > test my full feature set before sharing it. I'm going to put a new 
> > post on serusers_at_iptel.org in a day or two seeking comments on 
> > establishing a "best practices" document for ser.cfg and in that 
> > post I'll attach my ser.cfg which perhaps could be used as a basis 
> > for beginning a dialog on this subject.
> >
> > At a minimum I'd like to see a more complete and complex ser.cfg for

> > which other can base their work.
> >
> > The problem with this is that it would require take some feedback 
> > from the ser core team to ensure the "best practices" are correct 
> > and properly reflect the designers intent. The reason I think this 
> > could be a problem is that Andrei, Jiri, Jan, and company are more 
> > than busy already.
> >
> > The bottom line is that as great as ser is, coding practices are 
> > mostly a mystry to developers seeking to install ser and when you 
> > get in to complex functionality such as call forwarding confusion 
> > stumps many users.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Paul
> >
> > On Sat, 19 Feb 2005 19:59:31 +0100 (CET), Medve Istvan 
> > <imedve at ew.hu>
> > wrote:
> >>> Perhaps I'll post my entire ser.cfg this week for anyone that 
> >>> wants it.
> >>
> >> Please send it to me.
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> imedve
> >>
> >>
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Serusers mailing list
> > serusers at lists.iptel.org http://lists.iptel.org/mailman/listinfo/serusers
> 
>

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