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Where does Obi to Obi traffic go?

Started by ddvzlnz, April 17, 2012, 09:12:48 PM

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ddvzlnz

Obi newbie here.  These things are wonderful.

Q1. If I make a call from my obi 100 to my obi 110 over the obitalk network (just using the 9 digit code on each unit) does the voice traffic go from unit to unit or does it go from one unit to the obitalk servers and then to the other?

Q2. If the two obi end points are on the same subnet and the call is made the same way does the traffic go from end point to end point or does it go through the obitalk servers?

Q3. If the voice traffic is going through the servers is there a way to make a direct end point to end point call?

Thank you.

RonR

Obihai provides a proprietary server that handles the signaling between OBiTALK Service devices.  It accepts registrations from OBiTALK Service devices in order to know how to reach them and it also coordinates the establishment and termination of calls.  Only the audio side of the call is direct between the devices.  This occurs regardless of where the OBiTALK Service devices are located.

QBZappy

ddvzlnz,

This partially answers your qestions.

OBitalk servers are used to map the OBi units over the WWW. Once the OBi server handles the signling, which shows characteristics of a session border controller , PBX or softswitch, the actual call must be going out peer to peer, otherwise OBihai would be consuming bandwith for these calls. Simplified, the SIP port is used to make the phone ring and RTP ports are used for the conversation (call flow).

http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=3042.msg20330#msg20330

Re: Obi202 Direct IP (Peer to Peer) Dialing

Quote from: RonR on April 17, 2012, 12:58:39 PM
With no service provider configured on an OBi110/100...

I'm able to use Speed Dials (or the keypad) to make outgoing calls via SIP URI:

SP2(18005551212@sip.tollfreegateway.com)
SP2(18005551212@76.10.223.207)
SP2(883510000000091@sip.inum.net)
SP2(883510000000091@81.201.82.25)

And I'm able to receive incoming calls from DID's via SIP URI:

xxxxx@ronr.dyndns.org

There should be no reason an OBi202 can't do the same thing.

Owner of the 1st OBi110/100 units in service in Canada & South America. 1st OBi202 on my street. 1st OBi1032 in Montreal.

ddvzlnz

Thank you so much.  That is what I wanted to hear.  It confirms what I think I saw via wireshark.
 
My goal was to make an end to end encrypted phone call using off the shelf phones.  Here is what I did.

I took a TinyHardwareFirewall (from the website of the same name) and connected it to my macbook.  The THF has a wifi radio and an Ethernet port.  The THF wifi is associated  to an access point that goes to the Internet through a DSL modem. 

The THF Ethernet port is plugged into an Ethernet switch.  It feeds everything on the switch dhcp.  The laptop wifi is off and both it and an obi 100 are also plugged into the Ethernet switch.  A regular phone is plugged into the obi, and the obi is powered off.

I then instruct the THF to connect to the VPN (256bit openvpn) and verify Internet connectivity with the laptop.  Then I power on the Obi.  It connects and is happy.

I then walk into the next room where the setup is duplicated with the following changes: obi 110 instead of 100, I use my iPhone in personal hotspot mode as an access point for this THF, and I use my Ubuntu laptop.  Another regular phone is plugged in here.

I make sure to connect to the same vpn server as before and turn on the Obi 110. 

Here I should note that both Obi's have been previously registered on ObiTalk network.

I can make calls from one to the other via the 9 digit number on the bottom of each unit.  It sounds much better than I thought it would, great in fact, and it seems that with the exception of registration and signaling all voice data is fully encrypted end to end.

I am very happy.  I have done this before with other voip products but it required a LOT more hardware, software, time, effort and money.  I can fit all of this in my laptop case and it took less than an hour from unboxing to talking.

Full disclosure:  I am the president and founder of HotSpotVPN and TinyHardwareFirewall.  I have no ties with Obi other than being a happy customer.