PCIe VoIP card
Driverless modular PCIe VoIP card
The same modules as the gateways, inside the server instead of next to it — and no driver to break on the next kernel.
Telephony cards used to mean a kernel module, and a kernel module means someone has to rebuild it every time the distribution moves. The beroNet PCIe card avoids that entirely: the host does not see a telephony card at all, it sees a Realtek network interface. Everything above that is SIP, exactly as with a gateway on the other side of a patch cable.
That makes the card interesting wherever the telephony has to live inside the machine rather than beside it — appliances built by PBX and fax-server manufacturers, unified communications boxes, hybrid systems that are shipped as one product. The interface mix is the same modular one as on the gateways: up to two add-on modules per card for BRI, PRI, FXS, FXO or the hybrid combination.
Where audio must not be touched — fax, modems, ISDN data services — two cards, or a card and a gateway, can be joined over the PCM bus. The audio then crosses in hardware, without a codec in the path, which is the difference between a fax that arrives and one that does not.
Two base cards define the capacity: BF400e handles up to 16 concurrent channels, BF1600e up to 64. Both carry two module slots, and the standard configurations simply ship with one of them already populated.
Features
- No drivers and no API needed: the system sees a Realtek network card and the card speaks SIP
- Up to two add-on modules per card, from the same BRI, PRI, FXS, FXO and hybrid range as the gateways
- PCM bus interconnection between two cards or a card and a gateway for transparent hardware bridging
- Suited to fax, unified communications and PBX appliances built by OEMs
- Managed through the same beroNet OS web interface and beroCloud as the standalone devices
Technical specifications
| Bus | PCI Express 1.1 compliant (Realtek 8111C); PCI 2.2 variant at 3.3 V (Realtek 8139CL), 5 V slot compatible |
|---|---|
| Module slots | Two per card; BRI, PRI, FXS, FXO and hybrid modules |
| Channels | BF400e up to 16 concurrent channels, BF1600e up to 64 |
| Voice | G.711 a/u on up to 128 channels; G.723.1 with Annex A, G.729 a/b and G.726 on up to 32; G.168/G.165 echo cancellation up to 128 ms |
| Fax | T.38 fax relay (V.27, V.29 and V.17) |
| Signalling | SIP user agent per RFC 3261 over UDP or TCP, optional TLS 1.2 |
| Bridging | TDM bridging between two beroNet devices over the PCM bus, 8.192 kbit/s |
| Compliance | CE per EN 55022, EN 55024 and EN 60950 |
Models and configurations
| SKU | PCIe VoIP card | Concurrent sessions | PSTN channels | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
BF400e | Base card, two free module slots | — | 16 | |
BF1600e | Base card, two free module slots | — | 64 | |
BF4002S02FXSe | Two BRI and two FXS, one slot free | — | 16 | |
BF4004S0e | Four BRI, one slot free | — | 16 | |
BF16001E1e | One PRI (E1), one slot free | — | 64 | |
BF4004FXOe | Four FXO, one slot free | — | 16 | |
BF400FXSe | Four FXS, one slot free | — | 16 |
Frequently asked questions
Is the PCIe card still manufactured?
The PCIe card has reached end of life. For projects with larger quantities, a dedicated production run can still be arranged on request.
Does the card need a new driver after a Linux kernel upgrade?
No. The host sees the card as a Realtek network interface, and the telephony runs on the card itself over SIP, so there is no telephony driver to rebuild.
Does the card work with Asterisk and FreePBX?
Yes. The card talks SIP to the PBX, so Asterisk and FreePBX work with it, and echo cancellation runs on board.