[lug] VOIP setup advice

[Daniel Webb]

> Getting a phone line (either from a provider or from the first building) 
> to the second building is a piece of cake -- the devil is in the details 
> of exactly what features you want when you get done.  Free international 
> calling to 25 countries?  Support for SIP phones, including softphones 
> on your PC?  Conferencing?  Voicemail for multiple people via menu?  Via 
> DID's?  Integrated with e-mail?  Music-on-hold?  "Follow-me" call 
> routing that will ring all of your phones?  Access to community networks 
> like Free World Dialup?

Here's a really nice feature that we want:

http://www.voicepulse.com/features/advanced/DoNotDisturb.aspx

This allows you to easily switch between a "don't disturb unless this is
an emergency" and a normal mode by pressing a simple key combo on the
phone.  They claim they're the only provider with this feature.

We normally leave our phone ringers off about 10 hours a day, but that
certainly isn't ideal.

I already see problems with this "Do not disturb" feature that Asterisk
could address (I think).  This feature seems to block based on caller id
(they say "make sure the only wake up call you get is from someone you
know").  What if someone you know is calling from the police station?
The hospital?  Some other ways to do this might be a passcode to get
past the block, or even just a stern warning message that we're sleeping
and will be pissed off if it isn't an emergency, and press '1' to ring
us anyway.  The only way I see to get this kind of flexibility is to use
Asterisk.