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foneBRIDGE2/foneBRIDGE2-EC  Quick Install Guide

(MOD-B TDMoE MultiFrame)

Updated January 30, 2008
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Hardware requirements:

Modern Server platform (P4,Opteron,512MBmemory,Ethernet interface).

A dedicated Ethernet interface is recommended as well as a managed switch if not connecting the fonebridge directly to your

Asterisk server. Server grade Ethernet NICs are also recommended.

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 Software requirements:

*Zaptel requirements: TDMoE MultiFrame (ztd-ethmf) enabled zaptel.
All versions of zaptel-1.2 and zaptel-1.4 under the following directory
are compatible;
http://support.red-fone.com/downloads/zaptel/

*foneBRIDGE software: fonulator-1.4 configuration utility,
fb_flash_util required if you wish to change the default IP addresses on
the Fonebridge.
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Install Overview:

1. Download and install Redfone zaptel source.

2. Configure zaptel.conf according to your implementation.

3. Download and install fonulator utility from Redfone.

4. Configure redfone.conf according to your implementation. 

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Download and Install Zaptel
 
1.  Download zaptel source from Redfone support site.
 
    # wget http://support.red-fone.com/downloads/zaptel/zaptel-
1.4.5.1.tar.gz  
 
2.  Unpack
 
   # tar -xzvf zaptel-1.4.5.1.tar.gz
 
3.  Change to zaptel-1.4.5.1 directory
 
   # cd zaptel-1.4.5.1
 
4. Configure, build and install zaptel
 
   # ./configure
   # make
   # make install
 
5. For zaptel-1.2 variants build instructions are as follows;
 
   # make
   # make install
 
6. On Redhat and variant distros (Fedora,CentOS,Trixbox,Elastix,etc.)
there is also a zaptel init.d script available that can be used to
start and stop zaptel services. It can be downloaded from here;
http://support.red-fone.com/downloads/zaptel/zaptel-redfone

Toward the top of the file there is one small parameter that needs to
be altered to fit the target system; ‘ETHERNET="eth1"’ Change this to
match the Ethernet interface used for communicating with the
Fonebridge.
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Download and Install fonulator (v1.4) configuration utility
 
1.  Install fonulator;
 
   # cd /usr/local/sbin
   # wget http://support.red-fone.com/downloads/fonulator/fonulator
   # chmod a+x fonulator

2.  Ensure fonulator executes properly by checking version number;
 
   # fonulator -V
     fonulator 1.4
     Copyright (C) 2007 Redfone Communications, LLC.
     Build Number: 11 
 
3. Add the fonulator utility to load automatically upon system boot
following the guidelines for your Linux distribution. Alternatively,
or for testing purposes the utility can be executed directly from
the command line. Ex.
 
# fonulator

For advanced fonulator command line options execute with the --help flag.

# fonulator --help

OPTIONAL Install Script (Debian & Redhat based systems)

*Downloads and installs all fonulator software libraries and their dependencies.

*The script will detect your fonebridge2, it's MAC address information and through an interactive guide

  build the redfone.conf and zaptel.conf config files.

*In order for it to work completely the fonebridge2 must be powered on and connected

  to an Ethernet interface on your Linux server. 

*Script does not install zaptel, asterisk or libpri nor does it configure zapata.conf or install any start up scripts.

*Script creates base configuration information in zaptel.conf and redfone.conf files that later may need to be

hand edited for some implementations. 

*It will copy the fonulator binary into /usr/local/bin

Download script and give it executable permissions and then execute;

# wget http://support.red-fone.com/downloads/tools/redfone_gen.sh

# chmod a+x redfone_gen.sh

# ./redfone_gen.sh

Follow the prompts. 

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Configure redfone.conf
 
1.  Download sample redfone.conf file to your /etc/ directory;
# cd /etc/
# wget http://support.red-fone.com/downloads/fonulator/redfone.conf
 
2.  The Fonebridge MOD-B firmware now uses IP based communication for
sending updates to the device. The default IP address of FB1 and FB2
are as follows:
 
a.  FB1=192.168.1.254
b.  FB2=192.168.1.253

3.  Configure the server’s Ethernet interface used to communicate with
the Fonebridge with an IP address from the same 192.168.1.X range.
Ex;
 
 # ifconfig eth1 192.168.1.200

Alternatively an alias IP address can be assigned to an existing IP interface;

 # ifconfig eth1:0 192.168.1.200 

NOTE: This IP should be made permanent and done with your Linux distro’s
normal utilities for setting IP addresses. 
 
4.  Edit the redfone.conf file with your favorite text editor (nano,
pico,vi, etc.)
 
5.  Under the [globals] section change the ‘server=’MAC address to
reflect the MAC address of your server’s Ethernet card that will be
communicating with the Fonebridge. You can determine the MAC address
of your interface by issuing the ‘ifconfig ethN’ command in Linux.
Ex;
 
# ifconfig eth1
eth1      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:16:36:76:09:91
 
6.  The ‘port=’ parameter designates which foneBRIDGE Ethernet port will be used
to communicate with your Asterisk server. Valid options are ‘1’ or ‘2’ and correspond to FB1 and FB2 on the device Ex;
 
port=1

7.  [spanN] parameters are used to set the individual configurations of
each T1/E1 port on the Fonebridge. Options per span include;
 
 framing= ccs,esf,sf
 encoding=b8zs,hdb3
 crc4= (used on some E1 lines)
 rbs= Used for CAS/RBS type lines on Channel Banks, E&M, etc.
 master/slave= timing/clocking as required by far end equipment
 shorthaul=0-4
 longhaul=0-3 (See LBO explanation at end of document)
 loopback= Loopback to far end telco equipment for line testing
 
A sample Quad T1 PRI redfone.conf might look like this;
 
[globals]
fb=192.168.1.254
port=1
server=00:11:22:33:44:55
 
[span1]
framing=esf
encoding=b8zs
slave
 
[span2]
framing=esf
encoding=b8zs
slave
 
[span3]
framing=esf
encoding=b8zs
slave
 
[span4]
framing=esf
encoding=b8zs
slave

A sample Quad E1 PRI redfone.conf might look like this;
 
[globals]
fb=192.168.1.254
port=1
server=00:11:22:33:44:55
 
[span1]
framing=ccs
encoding=hdb3
slave
 
[span2]
framing=ccs
encoding=hdb3
slave
 
[span3]
framing=ccs
encoding=hdb3
slave
 
[span4]
framing=ccs
encoding=hdb3
slave
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Configuring zaptel.conf
 
The zaptel.conf file follows all standard rules and syntax as other
zaptel based hardware with the only exception being the use of the
dynamic= parameter.
 
NOTE: If using a Quad port Fonebridge you must always specify 4 dynamic
spans in zaptel.conf even if you have only configured a single span on
the device. The same applies on the Dual port. 2 Dynamic spans must
always be specified even if only 1 span has been configured in
redfone.conf.
 
dynamic=ethmf,<ethN>,/<FB MAC address>,/<span number>,<numchans>,<timing>

A sample 4x T1 PRI configuration would like the following;
 
dynamic=ethmf,eth1/00:50:C2:65:D0:70/0,24,0
dynamic=ethmf,eth1/00:50:C2:65:D0:70/1,24,0
dynamic=ethmf,eth1/00:50:C2:65:D0:70/2,24,0
dynamic=ethmf,eth1/00:50:C2:65:D0:70/3,24,1
#
bchan=1-23
dchan=24
bchan=25-47
dchan=48
bchan=49-71
dchan=72
bchan=73-95
dchan=96
#
loadzone = us
defaultzone=us
 
In the above example, the Asterisk server is communicating on its eth1
with the fb address of 00:50:C2:65:D0:70. Span numbers start at 0. It
has 24 channels (E1 would be 31) and timing begins at 4.
 
A sample 2x E1 PRI configuration would look like the following;
 
dynamic=ethmf,eth1/00:50:C2:65:D0:70/0,31,2
dynamic=ethmf,eth1/00:50:C2:65:D0:70/1,31,1
#
bchan=1-15,17-31
dchan=16
bchan=32-46,48-62
dchan=47
#
# NOTE: Most E1 use alaw codec and this must be specified.
alaw=1-62
#
loadzone = us
defaultzone=us

Starting zaptel
 
After successfully installing zaptel, configuring redfone.conf and
zaptel.conf you can now load the necessary zaptel modules.
 
1. Load modules
 # modprobe zaptel
 # modprobe ztd_ethmf
 
2. Confirm modules loaded properly with zttool
 # zttool

If you do not see any spans you may need to execute 'ztcfg' and then check 'zttool'.


Once the Fonebridge device has been configured via the fonulator tool
you should see a YEL alarm at a minimum in zttool. If your PRI or other
telco equipment is already cabled and the Fonebridge has been updated
with the proper configuration parameters then you should see an ‘OK’
state in zttool.

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Configuring foneBRIDGE
 
Power on the fonebridge and once your redfone.conf file is complete you
will update the fonebridge by executing the fonulator utility. The
fonulator utility will read the information contained in your
redfone.conf and provided all IP addressing is correct, send it to the
fonebridge which will configure all of its spans as per your
parameters, come on line and begin transmitting TDMoE traffic in under
one second.
 
1.  Execute the fonulator utility from the Linux command line. Ex;
 
#fonulator
 
2. By default the fonulator will look for /etc/redfone.conf. You can
specify an alternative file name by affixing the full file name
path after fonulator. Ex;
 
#fonulator /etc/redfone2.conf
 
3. After executing fonulator you should notice immediately that both
LEDs on the fonebridge Ethernet port (FB1 or FB2) are turned on
solid indicating that TDMoE traffic is flowing. By executing
#zttool you can further determine if Alarms are cleared on your
Asterisk server. You can also query the device with fonulator to
determine what the current running configs are. Ex;
 
 # fonulator -vq
 
4. Please note that if power is cycled to the fonebridge it will
loose its current configuration and you will need to fonulate
again.
 
5. Configure /etc/asterisk/zapata.conf as per normal instructions
Additional configuration samples, information and technical support
can be found on the Redfone support forums;
 
http://support.red-fone.com/forum/

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Advanced Settings
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Longhaul and Shorthaul LBO Overview

*The 'longhaul' and 'shorthaul' parameters can be added under the [spanN] block of each span.

* These values should only be changed under advise from your TELCO.
* Aything with longhaul means the Adaptive Equalizer is ON!
* You can only choose longhaul or shorthaul, you cannot have both.
 
==================================================================
Longhaul Values (longhaul='value'):
0 => 0dB (No Attenuation, just turns on Adaptive Equalizer)
1 => -7.5dB
2 => -15.0dB
3 => -22.5dB
 
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Shorthaul Values (shorthaul='value':
0 => 0-133 feet
1 => 133-266 feet
2 => 266-399 feet
3 => 399-533 feet
4 => 533-655 feet

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Loopback

*The 'loopback' parameter, placed under the [spanN] block places that span in a loopback

mode to be utilized by the Telco to test the T1/E1 circuit all the way to the fonebridge device.

It is not useful for testing or debugging the Asterisk side of the connection or for running a local

loopback. 
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Echo Cancellation

On EC enabled foneBRIDGE2 the Echo Cancellation hardware is automatically configured based

on the span information in redfone.conf. If it is an E1, it will be configured for EC on E1 lines 

and the same for T1. The foneBRIDGE2 normally ships with the uLaw companding mode 

enabled in the DSP. When configuring E1 spans the first time it may cycle power to the 

foneBRIDGE2 core in order to reset the DSP to aLaw companding which is the default for E1. 

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Changing IP Address (fb_flash_util)

NOTE: This procedure should be done on only ONE foneBRIDGE2 at a time. Please make sure

only one device is connected and powered on if you are working with multiple fonebridges 

To change the default IP addresses of the foneBRIDGE2 you will need to install the fb_flash_util

which is done using the Install Script mentioned earlier.

1. Ensure your foneBRIDGE2 is connected to the Ethernet port and is NOT configured via fonulator.

If you are unsure, cycle power to the device and then proceed with step 2.

2. Execute fb_flash_util as follows;

    # fb_flash_util -c -i ethN -m MACADDRESSofFoneBridge

    # fb_flash_util -c -i eth1 -m 0050c265d1d2 

    When prompted for the first MAC address, enter the dash '-' symbol

    When prompted for the IP address, enter it in dotted quad format (eg. 192.168.1.1)

    For every other parameter (Enter flags, serial no., GPAK binary) enter the dash '-' symbol 

Once completed you will be presented with a printout similar to the following;

    Length set to 144164
    Calculated CRC (256 bytes): 0xDE3B
    Writing config struct to 0x1E0000

3. Cycle power to the foneBRIDGE2 

4. Confirm IP addresses have changed by querying the device with the fb_flash_util. Ex.;

    # fb_flash_util -i eth1