Asterisk is a powerful and flexible open source framework for building feature-rich telephony systems. As a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) which connects one or more telephones, and usually connects to one or more telephone lines, Asterisk offers very advanced features, including extension-to-extension calls, queues, ring groups, line trunking, call distribution, call detail rerecords, and call recording.
This book will show you how to build a telephony system for your home or business using this open source application. 'Asterisk 1.6' takes you step-by-step through the process of installing and configuring Asterisk. It covers everything from establishing your deployment plan to creating a fully functional PBX solution. Through this book you will learn how to connect employees from all over the world as well as streamline your callers through Auto Attendants (IVR) and Ring Groups.This book is all you need to understand and use Asterisk to build the telephony system that meets your need. You will learn how to use the many features that Asterisk provides you with. It presents example configurations for using Asterisk in three different scenarios: for small and home offices, small businesses, and Hosted PBX.
Over the course of ten chapters, this book introduces you to topics as diverse as Public Switched Telephony Network (PSTN), Voice over IP Connections (SIP / IAX), DAHDI, libpri, through to advanced call distribution, automated attendants, FreePBX, and asterCRM.
With an engaging style and excellent way of presenting information, this book makes a complicated subject very easy to understand.
Install, configure, and deploy Asterisk to build a fully-featured telephony system
Install and use FreePBX
Connect your Asterisk server with your phone service (via PSTN, SIP, etc) as well as learn to deploy some basic PBX features such as queues, voicemail and music on hold
Determine how calls are routed through the Asterisk server by creating a dialplan
Create extensions, distribute calls in an orderly fashion using queues, and present callers with a greeting using automated attendants (IVR)
Install and learn how to monitor, record, and capture detailed call logs
Install and use asterCRM (customer relation management solution) to streamline your business operations
Gain knowledge of security precautions, network deployment recommendations as well as maintenance tips such as backups and preparing disaster recovery plans for keeping the Asterisk system running smooth and secure
This book is suitable for the novice and those new to Asterisk and telephony. Telephony or Linux experience will be helpful, but not required.