What is Asterisk? It is a free open source framework for building communications applications. Asterisk turns any ordinary X 86 compatible computers into a communications server. Asterisk powers IP-PBX (Internet Protocol-Private Branch Exchange) systems, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) gateways, conference servers and other custom solutions. Asterisk is used by small and large businesses, call centers, carriers, and government agencies worldwide. (Asterisk, 2013)
It runs on most major Linux distributions like Red Hat and Ubuntu. Moreover, it can be tied to FreePBX GUI for Asterisk, and MySQL database for additional capabilities. Asterisk is an open source project initially released in 1999 by Mark Spencer and distributed under the GPL open source license. Today, Asterisk is maintained by the combined efforts of Digium and the Asterisk community. (Asterisk, 2013) The Asterisk community has been providing continuous development for the last 13 years with the latest version being 10.9.0. Digum the main sponsor of Asterisk also makes VoIP hardware that supports Asterisk and a turnkey VoIP solution called Switchvox. (Digium, 2013) This low cost PBX is installed on more than 1 million servers worldwide enabling VoIP and unified communications solutions. (Asterisk, 2013)
The Asterisk software provides its users with a low cost, full featured, entry level, VoIP and unified communications solution. Using tools such as AsteriskNow, a new server admin can have a functional VoIP solution up and operational in as little as 60 minutes with little to no training. Since the core of Asterisk is open source, anyone can download the source code and make changes to it, they can also upload their code to the Asterisk.org developer website to have it participate in a code review for inclusion in the core distribution. (Asterisk, 2012) This model lends itself to the enablement of rapid development of core features and redistribution of upgraded software.
Having personally used the last three major releases, I have noted the focus on ensuring the robustness of the core features and the rapid inclusion of new technologies from beta patches. The major disadvantages being, the inability to access the advanced features via anything other than the CLI (Command Line Interface). Moreover, Asterisk does not scale well beyond one serve for failover and load-balancing support. In addition, being open source it does not have organic technical support without a third party contract.
After using it for the last 4 years, I must say it has done everything I need of it and more. Basic setup is easy and will not give you many problems and with the right CLI skills you can really open up the systems possibility’s, as it has features that cost thousands of dollars on other PBXs. On the other hand, troubleshooting communications problems requires some in-depth knowledge of communications protocols, TCP/IP, SIP, and Linux. I would recommend this program to a friend, but I would tell them they need to consider the need for such a powerful communications system. Also the need to provide their own tech support, unless they are willing to spring for a third party support contract
Works Cited
Asterisk. (2012, nov 4). Developers. Retrieved nov 4, 2012, from asterisk.org: http://www.asterisk.org/community/developers
Asterisk. (2013, 05 18). Asterisk. Retrieved from asterisk.org: http://www.asterisk.org/
Asterisk. (2013, 05 18). Get Started. Retrieved from asterisk.org: http://www.asterisk.org/get-started
Digium. (2013, 05 18). Digium. Retrieved from digium.com: http://www.digium.com/en/
