Asterisk 1. 6 : Build feature-rich telephony systems with Asterisk

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.An easy introduction to using and configuring Asterisk to build feature-rich telephony systems for small, medium and large businessesWhat you will learn from this book :Install, configure, and deploy Asterisk to build a fully-featured telephony systemInstall and use FreePBXConnect 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 holdDetermine how calls are routed through the Asterisk server by creating a dialplanCreate 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 logsInstall and use asterCRM (customer relation management solution) to streamline your business operationsGain 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 secureApproachThe book offers readers both a detailed description as well as step by step instructions on deploying software solutions as well as Asterisk configurations. Screenshots are provided in sections to give a visual perspective of the instructions. For Asterisk configurations actual sample code is listed in the book which can be directly inserted into your Asterisk solution.Who this book is written forThis book is aimed at anyone who is interested in building a powerful telephony system using the free and open source application, Asterisk, without spending many thousands of dollars buying a commercial and often less flexible system.This book is suitable for the novice and those new to Asterisk and telephony. Telephony or Linux experience will be helpful, but not required.