Book Image

Asterisk 1.6

Book Image

Asterisk 1.6

Overview of this book

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.
Table of Contents (15 chapters)
Asterisk 1.6
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewer
Preface

Summary


As we have seen in this chapter, Asterisk gives us the power to:

  • Record call information (CDR)

  • Monitor conversations (ChanSpy)

  • Record the conversations themselves

The purpose of these capabilities is to provide us with options for using our system effectively. It is our responsibility to use these powers appropriately.

There is no point recording all calls if you are never going to use those recordings. Similarly, a database is an overkill if you have no real interest in your calling history.

However, there are many reasons to use these features. For instance, to produce reports or answer questions that other users or departments have regarding the telephone system. The users of the system will know more about what they will need in order to carry out their day-to-day duties, which is why we spend time figuring out exactly what they need early in the deployment plan—to ensure the system provides everything that is needed.