SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 SP4

Chapter 7. Using Voice over IP with Ekiga¶

Contents

7.1. Configuring Ekiga
7.2. The Ekiga User Interface
7.3. Making a Call
7.4. Answering a Call
7.5. Using the Address Book
7.6. For More Information

Abstract

Modern telecommunication means far more than just making a phone call. It is also about exchanging text messages and sometimes even video conferencing. Roaming enables you to be reachable under one phone number all across the world. Ekiga brings these features to your Linux desktop, allowing you to communicate over broadband Internet.

Before starting, make sure that the following requirements are met:

Your sound card is properly configured.
A headset or a microphone and speakers are attached to your computer.
For dialing in to regular phone networks, a SIP account is required. SIP (Signaling protocol for Internet Telephony) is the protocol used to establish sessions for audio and video conferencing or call forwarding. For a list of providers, refer to http://www.voipproviderslist.com/. Free trials are provided by http://www.voipbuster.com.
For video conferencing, a Web cam is connected to your computer.

7.1. Configuring Ekiga¶

On first start, Ekiga opens a configuration assistant that requests all data needed to configure your instance of Ekiga. To configure Ekiga, proceed as follows:

Enter your full name (name and surname).
Enter your ekiga.net account data or choose not to sign up with ekiga.net.
To add other accounts later, configure them using Edit+Accounts.
Determine your connection type.
Determine the type of firewall to use to enable you to make calls with Ekiga.
Choose the audio manager to use. Accept the default setting ALSA, as it guarantees the best sound quality and other sound systems, like OSS, are not available on SUSE Linux Enterprise.
Choose the audio input and output devices and test your settings.
Accept the video manager selection, V4L.
Choose the video input device and test your settings.
Check the summary of your settings and apply them.
If registration fails after you made changes to your configuration, just restart Ekiga.

Ekiga allows you to maintain multiple accounts. To configure an additional account, proceed as follows:

Open Edit+Accounts and select Add.
Choose an Account Name.
Select an appropriate Protocol depending on the type of account you use. Normally, you would select SIP here.
Enter the Registrar to which you want to register. This is usually an IP address or a host name that will be given to you by your Internet Telephony Service Provider. Enter User, and Password according to the data provided by your provider.
Leave the configuration dialog with OK and activate the account. The status of your account displayed in the Ekiga main window changes to Registered.

7.2. The Ekiga User Interface¶

All functions of Ekiga are available through the menu bar. Shortcuts to the most important functions are available in a toolbar to the left and by special key combinations.

Figure 7.1. Ekiga User Interface¶

The user interface has different modes. To switch between views, use View+View Mode and View+Control Panel or select the view mode icon on the left side of the GUI and the different tabs at the bottom. The Full View is shown in Figure 7.1, “Ekiga User Interface”. All icons in the toolbar provide a tool tip that is activated by the mouse pointer hovering over the icon.

At the bottom of the user interface, several tabs provide the functionality for Dialpad, Audio, Video, and Statistics. Some settings like the Audio settings may only be changed during a phone call.

Many of the functions of Ekiga are available with keyboard shortcuts. Table 7.1, “Keyboard Shortcuts for Ekiga” summarizes the most important ones.

Table 7.1. Keyboard Shortcuts for Ekiga¶

Ctrl Sequence	Description
Ctrl+O	Initiate a call with the current number.
Ctrl+D	Hang up.
Ctrl+G	Hold the current call.
Ctrl+T	Transfer the current call to another party.
Ctrl+S	Save the current picture to hard disk.
Ctrl+W	Close the Ekiga user interface.
Ctrl+Q	Quit Ekiga.
Ctrl+E	Start the account manager.
Ctrl+P	Open the Ekiga Preferences overview. This dialog allows you to do some fine-tuning to your Ekiga settings.
Ctrl++	Zoom in to the picture from the Web cam.
Ctrl+-	Zoom out on the picture from the Web cam.
Ctrl+=	Return to the normal size of the Web cam display.
Ctrl+F	Use full screen for the Web cam.
Ctrl+H	Display the history of your calls.

7.3. Making a Call¶

Once Ekiga is configured appropriately, making a call is straightforward.

Start Ekiga using the menu or the command line.
Enter the SIP address of the party to call at the SIP address prompt. The address should look like:
- for direct local calls: sip:username@domainname or username@hostname
- sip:username@domainname or userid@sipserver
If you have a SIP provider who accepts real phone calls, you may just enter the number like sip:<call number>
Click Call or type Ctrl+O and wait for the other party to pick up the phone.
To end the call, click Hang up or type Ctrl+D.

If you need to tweak the sound parameters during a call, click View+View Mode+Full View to show four tabs holding more options. The second one holds the Audio options for Playback level and Recording level. Use the sliders to adjust the levels to fit your needs.

7.4. Answering a Call¶

Ekiga can receive calls in two different ways. First, the user may be called directly with sip:user@host. Alternatively, make your calls via a SIP provider. Most SIP providers enable you to get calls from a normal landline to your VoIP account. Depending on the mode in which Ekiga is run, there are several ways in which you would notice an incoming call:

Normal Application: Incoming calls can only be received and answered if Ekiga is already running. You hear the ring sound on your headset or your speakers. If Ekiga is not running, the call cannot be received.
Panel Applet: Normally, the Ekiga panel applet would run silently without giving any notice of its existence. This changes as soon as a call comes in. The main window of Ekiga opens and you hear a ring sound on your headset or speakers.

Once you have noticed an incoming call, just click Accept to answer the call then start talking. If you do not want to accept this call, click Reject. It is also possible to transfer the call to another SIP address.

7.5. Using the Address Book¶

Ekiga offers to manage your SIP contacts. Start the address book with Tools+Address book. An empty list window opens. To add a contact, first select Personal with your mouse. Then right-click into the address window and select New Contact. Alternatively, just press Ctrl+N.

The following entries are required for a valid contact:

Name: Enter the name of your contact. This may be a full name, but you can also use a nickname here.
SIP Address: Enter a valid SIP address for your contact.
Email: Enter the e-mail address of your contact for your own reference.
Speed Dial: With a Speed Dial you can access often used numbers more easily. This is optional.
Categories: If desired, add your own categories if you have many different contacts.
Local Address Book: By default, you have a local address book with the name Personal available. If you need more address books, create them with File+New Address Book or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+B.

To call any contact from the address book, double-click this contact. The call is initiated immediately.

7.6. For More Information¶

The official home page of Ekiga is http://www.ekiga.org/. This site offers answers to frequently asked questions as well as more detailed documentation.

For information about the support of the H323 teleconferencing protocol in Linux, see http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/H.323. This is also a good starting point when searching for projects supporting VoIP.

To set up a private telephone network, you might be interested in the PBX software Asterisk http://www.asterisk.org/. Find information about at http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Asterisk.