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<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"><title>Chapter 12. Using Voice over IP with Ekiga</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="susebooks.css" type="text/css"><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.75.2"><link rel="home" href="index.html" title="Documentation"><link rel="up" href="part.communication.html" title="Part III. Communication and Collaboration"><link rel="prev" href="cha.gnome.pidgin.html" title="Chapter 11. Instant Messaging with Pidgin"><link rel="next" href="part.internet.html" title="Part IV. Internet"></head><body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084" alink="#0000FF"><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header" border="0" class="bctable"><tr><td width="80%"><div class="breadcrumbs"><p><a href="index.html"> Documentation</a><span class="breadcrumbs-sep"> > </span><a href="book.apps.html">Application Guide</a><span class="breadcrumbs-sep"> > </span><a href="part.communication.html">Communication and Collaboration</a><span class="breadcrumbs-sep"> > </span><strong><a accesskey="p" title="Chapter 11. Instant Messaging with Pidgin" href="cha.gnome.pidgin.html"><span>◀</span></a> </strong></p></div></td></tr></table></div><div class="chapter" title="Chapter 12. Using Voice over IP with Ekiga"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a name="cha.ekiga"></a>Chapter 12. Using Voice over IP with Ekiga<span class="permalink"><a alt="Permalink" title="Copy Permalink" href="#cha.ekiga">¶</a></span></h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><p><b>Contents</b></p><dl><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="cha.ekiga.html#sec.ekiga.configure">12.1. Configuring Ekiga</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="cha.ekiga.html#sec.ekiga.ui">12.2. The Ekiga User Interface</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="cha.ekiga.html#sec.ekiga.firstcall">12.3. Making a Call</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="cha.ekiga.html#sec.ekiga.answer">12.4. Answering a Call</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="cha.ekiga.html#sec.ekiga.calladd">12.5. Using the Address Book</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect1"><a href="cha.ekiga.html#sec.ekiga.moreinfo">12.6. For More Information</a></span></dt></dl></div><a class="indexterm" name="idx.voip"></a><a class="indexterm" name="id534937"></a><a class="indexterm" name="idx.ekiga"></a><div class="abstract" title="Abstract"><p class="title"><b>Abstract</b></p><p>
Modern telecommunication means far more than just making a phone call. It
is also about text messaging 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.
</p></div><p>
Before starting, make sure that the following requirements are met:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="bullet"><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: disc"><p>
Your sound card is properly configured.
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: disc"><p>
A headset or a microphone and speakers are connected to your computer.
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: disc"><p>
For dialing in to regular phone networks, a SIP account is required. SIP
(<span class="emphasis"><em>Signaling protocol for Internet Telephony</em></span>) is the
protocol used to establish sessions for audio and video conferencing or
call forwarding. There are many VoIP providers all over the world. For a
quick start, have a look at the service that the Ekiga project provides
at <a class="ulink" href="http://www.ekiga.net" target="_top">http://www.ekiga.net</a>.
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: disc"><p>
For video conferencing, a webcam is connected to your computer.
</p></li></ul></div><div class="sect1" title="12.1. Configuring Ekiga"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sec.ekiga.configure"></a>12.1. Configuring Ekiga<span class="permalink"><a alt="Permalink" title="Copy Permalink" href="#sec.ekiga.configure">¶</a></span></h2></div></div></div><p>
On first start, Ekiga opens a configuration assistant that requests all
data needed to configure Ekiga. Proceed as follows:
</p><div class="procedure"><ol class="procedure" type="1"><li><p>
Enter your full name (name and surname).
</p></li><li><p>
Enter your <code class="literal">ekiga.net</code> account data or choose not to
sign up with <a class="ulink" href="ekiga.net" target="_top">ekiga.net</a>.
</p><p>
To add other accounts later, configure them using <span class="guimenu">Edit</span>+<span class="guimenu">Accounts</span>.
</p></li><li><p>
Enter your <code class="literal">Ekiga Call Out Account</code> data or choose not
to sign up with <a class="ulink" href="ekiga.net" target="_top">ekiga.net</a>.
</p></li><li><p>
Determine your connection type.
</p></li><li><p>
Choose the audio manager to use. Accept the default setting
<span class="guimenu">ALSA</span>, as it guarantees the best sound quality. Other
sound systems, like OSS, are not available on openSUSE.
</p><p>
By default, there is no ringing device set. If you want a ring tone,
change this to one of your available audio devices.
</p></li><li><p>
Choose the video input device, if available.
</p></li><li><p>
Check the summary of your settings and apply them.
</p></li><li><p>
If registration fails after making changes to your configuration, just
restart Ekiga.
</p></li></ol></div><p>
Ekiga allows you to maintain multiple accounts. To configure an
additional account, proceed as follows:
</p><div class="procedure"><ol class="procedure" type="1"><li><p>
Open <span class="guimenu">Edit</span>+<span class="guimenu">Accounts</span>.
</p></li><li><p>
Choose <span class="guimenu">Accounts</span>+<span class="guimenu">Add <account
type></span>. If unsure, select <span class="guimenu">Add a SIP
Account</span>.
</p></li><li><p>
Enter the <span class="guimenu">Registrar</span> 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
<span class="guimenu">User</span>, and <span class="guimenu">Password</span> according to
the data provided by your provider.
</p></li><li><p>
Leave the configuration dialog with <span class="guimenu">OK</span> and activate
the account. The status of your account displayed in the Ekiga main
window changes to <span class="guimenu">Registered</span>.
</p></li></ol></div></div><div class="sect1" title="12.2. The Ekiga User Interface"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sec.ekiga.ui"></a>12.2. The Ekiga User Interface<span class="permalink"><a alt="Permalink" title="Copy Permalink" href="#sec.ekiga.ui">¶</a></span></h2></div></div></div><p>
The Ekiga user interface has several tabs available. The first tab is
<span class="guimenu">Contacts</span>, the second is <span class="guimenu">Dialpad</span> and
the last one is <span class="guimenu">Call History</span>. In addition, there is a
<span class="guimenu">Call Panel</span> tab available, which displays pictures and
videos of local or remote webcams.
</p><div class="figure"><a name="fig.ekiga.main"></a><p class="title"><b>Figure 12.1. Ekiga User Interface</b><span class="permalink"><a alt="Permalink" title="Copy Permalink" href="#fig.ekiga.main">¶</a></span></p><div class="figure-contents"><div class="mediaobject"><table border="0" summary="manufactured viewport for HTML img" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="55%"><tr><td><img src="images/ekiga_main.png" width="100%" alt="Ekiga User Interface"></td></tr></table></div></div></div><br class="figure-break"><p>
The user interface has different modes. To switch between views, use the
tab line. By default, Ekiga opens the <span class="guimenu">Contacts</span> tab.
There, a local addressbook lets you quickly open connections to
often-used numbers. To get a full view with webcam support and audio
controls, activate the <span class="guimenu">Call Panel</span> with
<span class="guimenu">View</span>+<span class="guimenu">Show Call
Panel</span>.
</p><p>
At the bottom of the <span class="guimenu">Call Panel</span>, there are icons for
several controls like <span class="guimenu">Audio Settings</span>, <span class="guimenu">Video
Settings</span>, <span class="guimenu">Video Display</span> and <span class="guimenu">Hold
Call</span>. All icons provide a tool tip that is activated by the
mouse pointer hovering over the icon. Some settings like the
<span class="guimenu">Audio</span> settings may only be changed during a phone
call.
</p><p>
Many of the functions of Ekiga are available with keyboard shortcuts.
<a class="xref" href="cha.ekiga.html#tab.ekiga.shortcut" title="Table 12.1. Keyboard Shortcuts for Ekiga">Table 12.1, “Keyboard Shortcuts for Ekiga”</a> summarizes the most important
ones.
</p><div class="table"><a name="tab.ekiga.shortcut"></a><p class="title"><b>Table 12.1. Keyboard Shortcuts for Ekiga</b><span class="permalink"><a alt="Permalink" title="Copy Permalink" href="#tab.ekiga.shortcut">¶</a></span></p><div class="table-contents"><table summary="Keyboard Shortcuts for Ekiga" border="1"><colgroup><col><col></colgroup><thead><tr><th>
<p>
Ctrl Sequence
</p>
</th><th>
<p>
Description
</p>
</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">Ctrl</span>+<span class="keycap">O</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Initiate a call with the current number.
</p>
</td></tr><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">Esc</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Hang up.
</p>
</td></tr><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">Ctrl</span>+<span class="keycap">N</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Add a contact to your address book.
</p>
</td></tr><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">Ctrl</span>+<span class="keycap">B</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Open the <span class="guimenu">Address Book</span> dialog.
</p>
</td></tr><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">H</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Hold the current call.
</p>
</td></tr><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">T</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Transfer the current call to another party.
</p>
</td></tr><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">M</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Suspend the audio stream of the current call.
</p>
</td></tr><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">P</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Suspend the video stream of the current call.
</p>
</td></tr><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">Ctrl</span>+<span class="keycap">W</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Close the Ekiga user interface.
</p>
</td></tr><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">Ctrl</span>+<span class="keycap">Q</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Quit Ekiga.
</p>
</td></tr><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">Ctrl</span>+<span class="keycap">E</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Start the account manager.
</p>
</td></tr><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">Ctrl</span>+<span class="keycap">J</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Activate the <span class="guimenu">Call Panel</span> on the main user
interface.
</p>
</td></tr><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">Ctrl</span>+<span class="keycap">+</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Zoom in to the picture from the Web cam.
</p>
</td></tr><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">Ctrl</span>+<span class="keycap">-</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Zoom out on the picture from the Web cam.
</p>
</td></tr><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">Ctrl</span>+<span class="keycap">0</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Return to the normal size of the Web cam display.
</p>
</td></tr><tr><td>
<p>
<span class="keycap">F11</span>
</p>
</td><td>
<p>
Use full screen for the Web cam.
</p>
</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break"></div><div class="sect1" title="12.3. Making a Call"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sec.ekiga.firstcall"></a>12.3. Making a Call<span class="permalink"><a alt="Permalink" title="Copy Permalink" href="#sec.ekiga.firstcall">¶</a></span></h2></div></div></div><a class="indexterm" name="id535854"></a><p>
Once Ekiga is properly configured, making a call is straightforward.
</p><div class="procedure"><ol class="procedure" type="1"><li><p>
Start Ekiga using the menu or the command line.
</p></li><li><p>
Enter the SIP address of the party to call at the <span class="guimenu">SIP
address</span> prompt. The address should look like:
</p><div class="itemizedlist"><ul class="itemizedlist" type="bullet"><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: disc"><p>
for direct local calls: <code class="literal">sip:username@domainname</code> or
<code class="literal">username@hostname</code>
</p></li><li class="listitem" style="list-style-type: disc"><p>
<code class="literal">sip:username@domainname</code> or
<code class="literal">userid@sipserver</code>
</p></li></ul></div></li><li><p>
Click <span class="guimenu">Call</span> or press
<span class="keycap">Ctrl</span>+<span class="keycap">O</span> and wait
for the other party to pick up the phone.
</p></li><li><p>
To end the call, click <span class="guimenu">Hang up</span> or press
<span class="keycap">Esc</span>.
</p></li></ol></div><p>
If you need to tweak the sound parameters during a call, click on the
<span class="guimenu">Audio Settings</span> icon in the <span class="guimenu">Call
Panel</span>. A interface that holds the <span class="guimenu">Audio</span>
options for <span class="guimenu">Playback level</span> and <span class="guimenu">Recording
level</span> is displayed. Use the sliders to adjust the levels to fit
your needs.
</p></div><div class="sect1" title="12.4. Answering a Call"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sec.ekiga.answer"></a>12.4. Answering a Call<span class="permalink"><a alt="Permalink" title="Copy Permalink" href="#sec.ekiga.answer">¶</a></span></h2></div></div></div><p>
Ekiga can receive calls in two different ways. First, the user may be
called directly with <code class="literal">sip:user@host</code>. Conversely, make
your calls via an 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 be
alerted to an incoming call:
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl><dt><span class="term">Normal Application</span></dt><dd><p>
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.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Panel Applet</span></dt><dd><p>
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.
</p></dd></dl></div><p>
Once you have noticed an incoming call, just click
<span class="guimenu">Accept</span> to answer the call then start talking. If you
do not want to accept this call, click <span class="guimenu">Reject</span>. It is
also possible to transfer the call to another SIP address.
</p></div><div class="sect1" title="12.5. Using the Address Book"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sec.ekiga.calladd"></a>12.5. Using the Address Book<span class="permalink"><a alt="Permalink" title="Copy Permalink" href="#sec.ekiga.calladd">¶</a></span></h2></div></div></div><p>
Ekiga has the ability to manage your SIP contacts. All of the contacts
are displayed in the <span class="guimenu">Contacts</span> tab, shown in the main
window after startup. To add a contact or a new contact group, run
<span class="guimenu">Chat</span>+<span class="guimenu">Add
Contact</span>.
</p><p>
If you want to add a new group, enter the group name into the bottom
input field and press <span class="guimenu">Add</span>. The new group is then added
to the group list and preselected.
</p><p>
The following entries are required for a valid contact:
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl><dt><span class="term">Name</span></dt><dd><p>
Enter the name of your contact. This may be a full name, but you can
also use a nickname here.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">SIP Address</span></dt><dd><p>
Enter a valid SIP address for your contact.
</p></dd><dt><span class="term">Groups</span></dt><dd><p>
If you have many different contacts, add your own groups.
</p></dd></dl></div><p>
To call a contact from the address book, double-click this contact. The
call is initiated immediately.
</p></div><div class="sect1" title="12.6. For More Information"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a name="sec.ekiga.moreinfo"></a>12.6. For More Information<span class="permalink"><a alt="Permalink" title="Copy Permalink" href="#sec.ekiga.moreinfo">¶</a></span></h2></div></div></div><p>
The official home page of Ekiga is <a class="ulink" href="http://www.ekiga.org/" target="_top">http://www.ekiga.org/</a>.
This site offers answers to frequently asked questions as well as more
detailed documentation.
</p><p>
For information about the support of the <code class="literal">H323</code>
teleconferencing protocol in Linux, see
<a class="ulink" href="http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/H.323" target="_top">http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/H.323</a>. This is also a
good starting point when searching for projects supporting VoIP.
</p><p>
To set up a private telephone network, you might be interested in the
<code class="literal">PBX</code> software Asterisk
<a class="ulink" href="http://www.asterisk.org/" target="_top">http://www.asterisk.org/</a>. Find information about at
<a class="ulink" href="http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Asterisk" target="_top">http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Asterisk</a>.
<a class="indexterm" name="id536212"></a>
<a class="indexterm" name="id536219"></a>
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