ISDN support or SPA3000 equivalent?

[Schmich]

My connection has 1 ISDN line and 2 analogue. I might need to switch the analogue (house) phone-line to ISDN so I have a few worries:

Is ISDN not well supported? (i.e. is it worse for a newbie like me to change?). I have a SPA3000 that does exactly what I would want in the sense that if LMCE breaks down, the normal phone will still work like usual due to the connection being bridged. Is there anything similar to SPA3000 but for ISDN? The searching I have done leads me to think negatively on both questions but maybe I have missed something, hence why I'm asking. Thanks.

[hari]

I did not mess with ISDN for years.. but what about using an A/B adapter and the existing SPA3000? You should still get CID and probably don't need the additional ISDN features..

[Marie.O]

For ISDN you have two choices: Internal ISDN cards, or external ISDN/SIP gateways.

I have installed both, and prefer the external ISDN/SIP gateways. The gateways are more expensive most of the time, but are very stable, and you do not have any driver problems. Patton SmartNode come to mind. http://www.patton.com/products/product_detail.asp?id=452

[Schmich]

what about using an A/B adapter and the existing SPA3000?

I am trying to find out what that exactly is. I assume it converts the ISDN line into an analogue signal? If so, the part where I'm confused is which one to buy. I search on Google/Ebay for something like that and I get all kinds of products including ISDN terminaladapters and some that don't mention any analogue ports at all. Unfortunately I don't know anything about ISDN except that it's digital so I don't know what I would get (I will do more reading!). Are "a/b terminal adapters" what I want?

The gateways are more expensive most of the time, but are very stable, and you do not have any driver problems.

As mentioned, I don't know much about ISDN. I'd go for the external since you recommend it, PCI lanes are scarce and whilst reading about ISDN I read a comment about PCI lane latency when you have multiple cards. If I buy the right model, would it be PnP and talk with Asterisk without having it configured by gurus like you? (I could configure the SPA3000 as it makes sense and there's a lengthy guide in the wiki ). Does it need to be anything specific or would any Patton ISDN Gateway work? Eg:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Patton-Inalp-SmartNode-4552-VoIP-BRI-Gateway-SIP-SOHO-ISDN-Voice-Gateway-Router-/290687294493?pt=DE_Computer_Peripherie_Netzwerk&hash=item43ae501c1d

Thanks for the replies. I'm trying to understand more to see which path I will take.

[hari]

wohnst Du in der Naehe Zuerich? Ich hab hier einen Cisco 800 den ich nicht mehr brauche, der fängt nur Staub. Ein Kumpel fährt nächsten Sonntag nach Zürich. Der 800er hat zwei A/B ports eingebaut..

[Marie.O]

[...]having it configured by gurus like you? (I could configure the SPA3000 as it makes sense and there's a lengthy guide in the wiki ). Does it need to be anything specific or would any Patton ISDN Gateway work? Eg:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Patton-Inalp-SmartNode-4552-VoIP-BRI-Gateway-SIP-SOHO-ISDN-Voice-Gateway-Router-/290687294493?pt=DE_Computer_Peripherie_Netzwerk&hash=item43ae501c1d

that would work too. They are not plug and play, but fairly easy to configure. From LinuxMCE's point-of-view, they act as your Voip Provider.

[Schmich]

wohnst Du in der Naehe Zuerich? Ich hab hier einen Cisco 800 den ich nicht mehr brauche, der fängt nur Staub. Ein Kumpel fährt nächsten Sonntag nach Zürich. Der 800er hat zwei A/B ports eingebaut..

Oh nice aber leider nicht. Ich wohne in Genf! My German is a bit rusty though, at least the writing, so I'll stick to English. Is there any possibility to send it? (even from Austria) I don't mind paying extra, especially not to you guys.

that would work too. They are not plug and play, but fairly easy to configure. From LinuxMCE's point-of-view, they act as your Voip Provider.

Ah okay, thanks. Might be something I'll try in the future or if I fail with an adapter.