Tag Archives: VoIP

IPv6 enabled sites

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Thought I’d put together a list of IPv6 enabled websites I’m aware of

I noticed that Facebook is slightly faster over IPv6 because AARNet’s links to California has latency around 30ms less than Exetel’s own links via Verizon.

I do a bit of web hosting myself. I’m advised by two of my major hosting providers, iWeb & Jumba, that native IPv6 will be coming very soon.

I operate a VPN network for my business – so that I can remotely access client networks as if I’m directly connected to it. I’ve begun using AARNet to setup IPv6 as a secondary VPN network. So that hosts on these networks aren’t exploited I’ve also implemented software firewalls at all these sites so that only my own IPv6 subnets can access most services. This seems to be a mistake most people make when connecting to IPv6, something I will have to blog about later.

The most commonly used network software these days is already IPv6 enabled. Remote Desktop & File Sharing (CIFS) work fine over IPv6 on XP, Vista & 7. Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and most other web browsers are IPv6 enabled. Only instant messaging and VNC for Windows seem to be the apps not IPv6 enabled.

Today there are some reasonable uses for IPv6, and this will only increase.

Apparently none of the embedded network devices I commonly use like ADSL routers & VoIP ATA devices are IPv6 enabled as yet. I contacted Netcomm a few weeks ago requesting information on what devices they offer will be IPv6 enabled with firmware upgrades – yet to receive a response.

Asterisk and upgrading from Debian Lenny to Squeeze

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asteriskI upgraded my Asterisk machine to Debian last night and ran into a few issues. Lenny has Asterisk 1.4 in the apt repository, while squeeze has 1.6.2.

First of all incoming calls were getting immediately disconnected because I had used LookupCIDName in extensions.conf. I had to replace LookupCIDName with Set(CALLERID(name)=${DB(cidname/${CALLERID(num)})})

After that I also had some phones that would not ring at all and the Asterisk console had printed “No audio format found to offer.” This was actually caused by codecs. The affected phones used the G729 codec and I did not have a module compatible with 1.6.2 installed. So I downloaded a new module from asterisk.hosting.lv and restarted asterisk.

After those changes my Asterisk machine was operating as normal.

iiNet’s BoB Lite is insecure? And?

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iinetbobI read this article on delimiter this morning which pointed out the BoB Lite router shipped by iiNet has an insecure wireless setup. The article pointed out that by default wireless is turned on and has no password/encryption.

AND?

Dynalink/Netcomm are pretty bad at this. I know, I sell them. The RTA1046VW ships by default with wireless turned on and no password/encryption.

D-Link and Netgear are also fairly insecure. They do have encryption turned on by default but the passphrase is usually abcdefg.

So whats the big deal, Delimiter?

But I do generally agree – router manufacturers should consider shipping with better default security, and iiNet is a bad choice *chuckle*

Homes aren’t build for changing technology

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Lately I’ve been thinking how I can better adapt the cabling in my home to handle ever changing technology, and I’ve come to some interesting conclusions.

I’ve seen a couple homes that were built with ethernet cables and have been shocked at the quality of the work. All of them used CAT5 despite the minor difference in cost for the superior CAT6. They also had a small area set aside for switches, with a hole in the wall to allow a bunch of cables with RJ45 connectors crimped on the ends. Despite the 20+ ports at all of these sites, the largest switches I saw were 16 ports.

Understanding that CAT5 cables are telecom cables capable of carrying phone lines, the current booming adoption of VoIP technologies, the future of a converged line service (Internet/Phone/TV in one line), and the complete replacement of CAT5 for CAT6… all of these installations seem to be inappropriate.

There is no reason why all outlets cannot handle either phone or ethernet signals. It seems to make sense to have a patch panel so the configuration of the outlets can be changed simply, in case a phone is required in a different place. This also requires an equipment rack, such as the standard 19″ used heavily in the computer and telecom industry.

Essentially you’d have a rack mountable switch and a patch panel wired to your phone line services from the street. Splitters for multiple phone outlets could be wired before the patch panel to enable multiple future outlets, and ADSL filters could also be installed before the patch panel to have filtered & unfiltered ports. VoIP ATA devices could also be installed in the rack instead of at the handset. This would take care of the provisioning of wire services in the home.

All the outlets in the home would be wired to another patch panel and their location clearly labelled with a description of its location and a code on both the outlet & patch panel. This means in order to connect an outlet to ethernet or a phone line, a short cable needs to be installed in the rack.

Homes are also built to last many years, and CAT5 was replaced with CAT6. Any cable installations should bear in mind the eventual replacement of the cable. Seems to make sense to use PVC tube in some places as a cable conduit as well.