Teaching Asterisk to undergraduates

[leonnan]

hi
Currently i am devising a lesson plan to teach networking students about VoIP and Asterisk.
I would like them to be able to use an Asterisk system, but configuration etc would be too complicated for the time allowed.

What i am proposing is for them to register softphones at their stations with the Asterisk server and call each other whilst capturing the traffic using Ethereal etc.

Is ths possible and do i need to add enough extensions for each user ?
and will 1 aah box be able to deal with 20ish calls at once ?

thanks for any input, if you have any other suggestions i would be keen to hear them.
what would you liked to have known before you began your aah experience ?

thanks

[AlexanderBell]

Take a look at the Nerd Vittles roundup of projects for Asterisk@Home. There's plenty there to keep you busy for a full semester at least. With a $500 PC on a 100 mbit LAN, you should be fine with 20 calls. Each person will need their own extension.