Asterisk

1
Asterisk The Open Source PBX
2
What we will discuss...

• Functionality of a PBX...
• What is Asterisk...
• Setting up your own PBX...
• Hardware needed
• Software needed
• What is asterisk_at_home/trixbox...
• Common features of the Asterisk PBX...
• AGI...
• Ideas for my Asterisk PBX...
• Links and documentation on the web...

3
Functionality of a PBX

• Discussed briefly in our class
• Allows multiple users in an organization to
  connect to others within the organization and the
  outside world
• Centralized voicemail
• Call forwarding
• Conference calling
• Automated answering services
• Music on hold
• etc...

4
What is Asterisk?

• An open source (free) software VOIP PBX that
  allows the common person to install and use a PBX
  in their home or office
• A powerful PBX that can be scaled to serve a
  small group or a large organization
• An adaptive PBX that is easily changed or
  manipulated to a user's needs
• A lot of fun to play with

5
What is the hardware/software needed for a small
system?

• Pentium III 450 Mhz with 128 RAM is sufficient
  (lying around at home, or nearly free on
  ebay/craigslist)
• VOIP phone, analog to digital adapter, or
  softphone (depends)
• SIP gateway service to the PSTN (almost free)
• Linux OS and asterisk software (free)
• Trixbox/Asterisk_at_home (free and easy)

6
What is Asterisk_at_home/trixbox

• Asterisk_at_home And trixbox are prebuilt ISOs that
  can be downloaded for free
• They can have a fully functional Asterisk PBX
  running on a Linux box with admin tools built in,
  in about a half hour
• Asterisk_at_home (The product I have built and
  played with at home) was recently replaced by
  trixbox
• These prebuilt cd images can be downloaded,
  burned as an ISO image to a CD, and installed
  very quickly
• Gets rid of all the manual installations required
  when installing the software by itself
• These ISO images make life very easy...

7
Common features of the Asterisk PBX

• Wake-up calls
• Ring groups
• Call forwarding
• Call blocking
• Automated Attendant
• Call parking
• Call recording
• Voicemail
• Music on Hold
• Local weather
• Blacklists

• Time telling service
• Dial by name
• Distinctive ringing
• Fax server
• Route by caller ID
• Three way calling
• Conference calls
• Call monitoring
• Do not disturb
• Call forward on busy
• Endless possibilities!

8
AGI Asterisk Gateway Interface

• The computer telephony integration
• Allows you to develop your PBX into virtually
  anything that you would like
• Credit card balances
• Airline delays
• Common programming languages can be utilized
• Perl
• Python
• Java
• PHP
• C
• Bash

Press 4 to check your balance...
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Ideas for my Asterisk PBX

• Townhouse rental
• Separate voicemail and ringing
• Call billing
• Call forwarding
• Call recording -)
• Home use
• Weather service
• Forward calls to other parts of the house
• Separate calls for home business
• Alarm clock
• Database and web interaction (traffic report,
  stock tips)
• Paging service

10
Links and Documentation

• www.asterisk.org Asterisk homepage
• www.trixbox.org Download asterisk at home or
  trixbox
• http//voipspeak.net/index.php?optioncom_content
  taskviewid33Itemid2 Oreilly book free
  download (creative commons license)
• http//chayden.net/Asterisk/SeUpAsteriskAtHome.htm
  -- Basic user Setup
• Lots more thanks to google!!!