Kitz Forum

Broadband Related => Voice over IP (VoIP) => Topic started by: Weaver on October 24, 2021, 06:57:44 PM

Title: Firebrick VoIP
Post by: Weaver on October 24, 2021, 06:57:44 PM
If you have a Firebrick router, for example, why does one (possibly) need to use your Firebrick as a VoIP gateway ? Or is this not necessary? I wonder if this function is needed by those people who suffer from NAT, is that correct ? And since I don’t use NAT at all, I just have a hole in my firewall open towards my ISP, AA’s VoIP server and let traffic from there come in straight to my Siemens N300IP VoIP box. Is that a valid approach?
Title: Re: Firebrick VoIP
Post by: DaveC on October 24, 2021, 07:26:38 PM
Yes, I think the main reason is to avoid NAT - if you can give your N300IP a public IP, then no need to use the Firebrick. 

It does also offer some basic PBX features, mainly designed around a amall office scenario.
Title: Re: Firebrick VoIP
Post by: Weaver on October 24, 2021, 07:52:12 PM
I was having some difficulty get it going, but this means that at least my basic approach is not insane. The N300 has a globally routable IPv4 address. I’ll ask AA to help me get it sorted out.
Title: Re: Firebrick VoIP
Post by: burakkucat on October 24, 2021, 07:53:04 PM
. . . since I don’t use NAT at all, I just have a hole in my firewall open towards my ISP, AA’s VoIP server and let traffic from there come in straight to my Siemens N300IP VoIP box. Is that a valid approach?

Yes, that appears to be a viable method. Just make sure that the N300IP is using the latest released firmware image.
Title: Re: Firebrick VoIP
Post by: DaveC on October 24, 2021, 08:21:49 PM
I was having some difficulty get it going, but this means that at least my basic approach is not insane. The N300 has a globally routable IPv4 address. I’ll ask AA to help me get it sorted out.

It's quite well documented on their wiki.  Firstly, the N300 config:

https://support.aa.net.uk/VoIP_Phones_-_Gigaset_N300

and the required Firebrick rules to pass SIP traffic through to your N300's IP:

Code: [Select]
<rule name="SIP" source-ip="81.187.30.110-119 90.155.3.0/24 90.155.103.0/24" target-ip="1.2.3.4" target-port="5060" action="accept"/>
<rule name="RTP" source-ip="81.187.30.110-119 90.155.3.0/24 90.155.103.0/24" target-ip="1.2.3.4" target-port="1024-65535" protocol="17" action="accept"/>

(the above is taken from https://support.aa.net.uk/VoIP_Firewall#Example_FireBrick_Config - I've removed the ipv6 addresses as the N300 doesn't support it).
Title: Re: Firebrick VoIP
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on October 25, 2021, 01:32:39 AM
Yes, that appears to be a viable method. Just make sure that the N300IP is using the latest released firmware image.

Well that was scary, you reminded me to check so I triggered an update via the phone and it took AGES before the base station was available again.  I thought it had bricked.

After all that, it just updated from 42.250 (422500000000 / V42.00) to 42.259 (422590000000 / V42.00).

Can't find the changelog for the N300IP but the N510IP says:

Release date:

    July 2021
    Released for Professional and Retail devices

Improvements:

    XSI Broadsoft phonebook improvement
    Support of new handsets

BugFixes:

    Broadsoft CLIP/CNIP size
    Other minor bugfixes ...

Disappointed to see it hasn't added IPv6 support which would surely bypass a lot of this hassle?
Title: Re: Firebrick VoIP
Post by: Weaver on October 25, 2021, 06:19:33 AM
The problem I had was that my wife couldn’t get it talking to handsets. I set up the Firebrick so that AA can log into it remotely and scrutinise or fix things even.