Does the SPA112 support ring groups?

[Rich-Engel]

Spoiler

I am trying to determine whether the SPA112 I recently purchased supports ring groups (aka simultaneous ring).I am using a bare bones SIP provider and they indicated they don't provide that capability and it would need to be provided by the ATA or PBX.  I like the NomoRobo call blocking but it requires simultaneous ring to function.

Anyone know if this is possible or have thoughts on how to implement?

-Thanks-

[Leo Laohoo]

SPA doesn't "understand" ring groups.
It is up to the call manager to "ring" what number or groups.

[Rich-Engel]

Leo,
    Thanks for the reply.  So right now, the SPA112 acts as a bridge
between my router's Ethernet connection and my analog telephone. When
you say 'call manager' can I assume that would mean either my SIP
provider?  And since they indicate they don't provide that service does
that mean I need some form of PBX software hosted on the same network
the SPA112 ATA is on?  From what I've read that could be my NAS (Network
Attached Storage), an old PC or a RPi (Raspberry Pi), correct?  Since I
have a Western Digital EX2 Ultra, I've seen software such as Asterisk
and FreePBX mentioned as potential solutions.  Is this a way of
implementing, and if so, how difficult would it be to implement?  I've
also seen some solutions for the RPi but some naysayers indicate that if
the SD card gets corrupted everything stops working.  Any thoughts as to
best, cheapest, easiest  solution to achieve this?

-Thanks-

[Dan Lukes]

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SPA112 acts as a bridge between my router's Ethernet connection and my analog telephone.

Yes, SPA112 is ATA - Analog Telephone Adapter.

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 'call manager' can I assume that would mean either my SIP provider? 

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Call manager is the device the SPA112 is connected to/driven by. Now it's a PBX of your VoIP provider. But you can install an own, local, call manager (connected to your VoIP provider).

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From what I've read that could be my NAS (Network
Attached Storage), an old PC or a RPi (Raspberry Pi), correct?  Since I
have a Western Digital EX2 Ultra, I've seen software such as Asterisk
and FreePBX mentioned as potential solutions.  Is this a way of
implementing, and if so, how difficult would it be to implement?

Somewhat complex question ...

You can use NAS/PC/RPi as long as the call manager of your choice can run on it.

Asterisk can be used here, it's free, it can run on cheap old PC (we are running it on PC) and if could run even on RPi (no personal experience here). Configuration of plain Asterisk requires at least basic experience with SIP telephony. But once you learn how to configure it, you can implement almost anything you wish. And even more if you will replace analog phone+ATA by native SIP phone like SPA30x or SPA50x.

FreePBX is not call manager by self, FreePBX is a web-based GUI that controls and manages Asterisk (PBX). In short - it's GUI that generates all those complex-and-cryptic-for-beginners configuration files for plain Asterisk behind. FreePBX+Asterisk is easier to configure, but you are limited to functions offered by the tool. Despite I have no personal experience with FreePBX I assume ring groups are supported.

[Leo Laohoo]

Phones, including ATAs, do not understand the concept of "ring groups" or "pickup groups" -- it is "way over their head".
The call manager, be it Cisco-branded or Asterisk-based, decides which extension(s) to ring.
The ATA is assigned an extension number. The ATA "joins" an Asterisk server. In Asterisk, the extension is either a "single" extension or is assigned to a ring group.
Does this make any sense?

[Rich-Engel]

Dan/Leo,

    Thanks for the replies.  I think that straightens things out for me.