[Eug-lug] Anybody put asterisk into production?

[Garl Grigsby]

So, I'm coming to a crossroads. In the next 3-6 months one of the 
companies I work with will need to add capacity to their existing phone 
system and it would be VERY helpful if they could accommodate some 
external (VPN) VOIP users. After looking into the costs of expanding 
their existing PBX [1] and adding VOIP capabilities, which amounted to 
serious ouch factor, I am looking for some real world, production 
experience with Asterisk. Has anybody put one of these systems into 
production (locally)? If so, I have a couple of questions:

    * How is the sound quality?
    * Do you/Have you had problems with echo?
          o If so, what did you do to fix it?
    * What handset did you use?
    * What type did it end up costing per extension?
    * Are you happy with it?
    * How much maintenance does it require?
    * How easy is to to maintain (add users, reset passwords, etc)?
    * How much time did it take to get the initial setup working?

The system I am looking at would probably be 25 hand sets with 1 or 2 
conference phones. Currently I have 4 incoming POTS lines, and that may 
need to be expanded to 6 in the near future.

Thanks,
Garl


[1] This system is one of the most obnoxious, poorly documented, pieces 
of **** I have ever had the displeasure to work with. Simple things take 
hours to figure out, if you can decipher the gibberish they call docs at 
all. Their 'interface' software is so arcane that and painful to use 
that I would almost rather staple my lower lip to my forehead than try 
to use it. Arggg. I hates it. It burns me....