[Linphone-users] Query about Linphone configuration, and SIP interoperability

[Bret Busby]

Hello.

I have, within the last day, installed Linphone on my computer, running 
Debian Linux 6.0.x amd64.

The installed version of Linphone, is 3.3.2, being the version stored in 
the packages repository for the particular version of Debian Linux.

I also have Ekiga installed, and Skype.

I havbe a brother who has an Apple computer (I am not sure of which 
operating system that he is running on his computer). He has Skype 
installed, but mostly uses FaceTime, which is only Apple to Apple, and 
he has told me that it is better quality than Skype.

The web page at 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_VoIP_software , shows 
Linphone to run on each of MS Windows, Linux, and Apple Mac OSX, which 
would, in theory, allow communication between all of the members, who 
would be interested in communicating using softphone software, of my 
immediate family, who mostly run MS Windows, apart from me running Linux 
and my brother using an Apple computer.

Ekiga does not yet run on Apple Mac OSX.

So, I thought that I would try Linphone, and find whether my brother 
would try it.

On the Ekiga users mailing list, is a discussion about interoperability 
between different softphone software packages, and it has been said that 
SIP packages should be able to communicate with each other.

The web page at http://wiki.ekiga.org/index.php/Ekiga_Interoperability , 
shows that Linphone and Ekiga, should be able to communicate with each 
other.

I have so far, had two attempts at calling Ekiga destinations from 
Linphone; the first to a person, and the second to the Ekiga Echo Test 
Call number; address@hidden .

On both occasions, while the Linphone call history, showed both calls to 
have been sucessful, I heard no sound from the other end.

So, the first question here, is, is Linphone interoperable with Ekiga; 
can Linphone and Ekiga, communicate between each other, with voice 
and/or video?

The second issue is, in setting up the Linphone SIP address, Linphone 
automatically, with no otherwise option, sets the SIP address as 
<account_name>@<account_holders_IP_address>, rather than, as Ekiga does, 
<account_name>@ekiga.net ; <account_name>@<SIP_provider>.

This means that any contact that I would make with anyone, using 
Linphone, and, any copying and pasting of an entry from my call history, 
such as

"
Outgoing call at Thu Feb 21 01:01:11 2013
From: "Bret Busby of Armadale, Western Australia" 
<sip:bret@ <IP_address> >
To: <sip:address@hidden>
Status: completed
Duration: 2 mn 1 sec
"

displays my IP address within my LAN here, which is not the kind of 
information that I want to publish on the Internet.

So, the second question is, can I set the SIP address within Linphone, 
to be other than my IP address, for example, can I set my SIP address 
within Linphone, to be of the same format as in Ekiga; like 
address@hidden ?

Thank you in anticipation.

--
Bret Busby
Armadale
West Australia
..............

"So once you do know what the question actually is,
 you'll know what the answer means."
- Deep Thought,
  Chapter 28 of Book 1 of
  "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:
  A Trilogy In Four Parts",
  written by Douglas Adams,
  published by Pan Books, 1992
....................................................