I'm not sure which category fits this thread the best, so feel free to move it, if there is a better one.
Since I still need a fax number that is provided to me via VoIP (SIP) and I am in the process of removing the telephone system that does the "conversion" between the analog fax machine and the internet, I am planning to use my home server for receiving fax messages.
The goal is that it will connect via the internet to the VoIP provider and wait for a call. When someone calls my fax number the software on the server should pick up and emulate a fax machine and receive the fax message. After the call ends, it should forward that message to me via e-mail.
So far I found software that does something very similar, but it's using FreePBX and Asterisk which is quite difficult to use for someone like me who has very little experience with software like that.
Does anyone know a simple(r) way of achieving what I want to do?
@comfreak I have done something like this. But I used Asterisk. The best way, without using an in house PBX, is using an eFax service. Which handles everything for you. Otherwise, to have a device that can both accept the phone call, receive the faxed document, then email it to you. Requires several pieces. Of which FreePBX or a bare bones Asterisk system cover all the bases.
That does sound like a good idea, but I already pay for the phone number that otherwise doesn't have a real use. Second, I would like to keep my fax messages local as much as possible.
That's the problem I have. That software is quite complex and finding good tutorials is quite difficult, especially for my use case.
Apart from that, I was trying to experiment with this, but it needs a modem in /dev. So if there was a simple piece of software that would turn a SIP client into a modem, I think I could achieve my goal that way.
The elements you need to address, are SIP device to connect to the active SIP phone line. FAX system that can accept and understand the facsimile in a digital format. A way to get said received fax into a digital format. SMTP server that can then send out an email with the fax attached.
Unfortunately for your situation you need all the pieces to work.
Most of the easier solutions don't cover all of them.
Asterisk is really the best solution. I'll help in whatever way I can. I found this, it may be helpful.
Thanks for your answer and sorry for my late reply.
I followed that tutorial, which seemed easy enough, on a Debian machine. After I changed the configuration files, I restarted Asterisk and there were no complaints in the log files. However, it seemed to me that Asterisk doesn't connect to the SIP server, since calling the number doesn't work.
I'm not sure if that is because of the much newer version 11.13 that I am using (the tutorial is for 1.8) or if I configured it wrong. I got a STUN server address from my ISP which I didn't have to enter anywhere according to the tutorial. My guess is that the tutorial assumes a different setup where my ISP would configure a static route to my IP and forward SIP traffic like that and my Asterisk install would then answer.
Maybe I am just missing the part with configuring a STUN server and the rest would work, however I have no idea how this works, since I am very new to this.