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Trixbox - Asterisk@Home v 2.7 with VarPhonex TrunkThis installation guide has been created using information from: http://asteriskathome.sourceforge.net/ We have included only the information considered necessary to perform a basic installation of Asterisk@Home with VarPhonex as the VoIP provider. You can always visit the above-mentioned link in order to learn about all the features provided, as well as additional information you may need. Just follow this installation guide step by step to install and configure your Asterisk@Home with our VarPhonex service in no time at all! Who can use Asterisk@Home?
What is Asterisk? Each phone is configured as an extension in the PBX, but the greatest advantage of Asterisk is that the extension does not have to be in the same physical location. This means that you can have extensions all over the world as long as there are connected to the Internet and properly configured with your server's information. Like any PBX system, Asterisk has features such as: voicemail, conferencing, and call distribution. One of the greatest advantages of Asterisk is that it will let you customize its Dial Plan and Code according to your needs. What is Asterisk@Home?
1 Pre-Installation Tasks1.1 Meet the minimum or recommended hardware requirementsThe faster the system being used to run Asterisk, the more simultaneous calls it will be able to handle. A 500MHz PIII with 128MB of RAM should easily meet the needs of average home use. 2Gb Hard Disk minimum. Keep in mind that these are the minimum requirements. If you are planning to use Asterisk in an office environment where voicemail and call monitoring will be used, we suggest the following: PIV CPU, minimum 512MB of RAM, and minimum 40GB hard drive.
1.2 Download the ISO imageDownload the latest ISO from http://asteriskathome.sourceforge.net/ and burn it to a CD. Note: this guide was written for Version 2.7. Most burning utilities can burn ISO images onto a CD. One program we can recommend for this is Alcohol 120% located at: http://trial.alcohol-soft.com/en/index.php
1.3 Setup your Router/Firewall in order for A@H to communicate with VarPhonex via SIP through NATFor Asterisk@Home to communicate successfully with VarPhonex using SIP through a NAT, be sure that your router/firewall will forward the ports listed below to your LAN/PrivateIP address assigned to the Asterisk@Home server. Also, verify that the LAN/Private address is statically assigned to the Asterisk@Home server and it is not assigned dynamically via DHCP. In your firewall's configuration forward the following ports to your Asterisk@Home's IP address:
**Note.- We do not support IAX or IAX2. We included them in the table as a reference.
1.4 Setup for changing (dynamic) Internet IP addressMost ISP's do not provide a “private static IP address” which would be recommendable to run Asterisk@Home. The average ISP provides Dynamic (DHCP) addresses, which makes it a little more difficult for users to run Asterisk@Home. The work around for this problem is “Dynamic DNS”. What is Dynamic DNS? This is solution can be used for servers connected to ADSL or dial-up connections where the address is changed periodically. Some Dynamic DNS providers provide a piece of software that can be installed in the server. This software works in the background and it tracks any change in the IP address and sends it to their database. This way the domain name will be always updated with the correct IP address as soon as it changes. There are some routers in the market that have this feature built in which makes unnecessary to install any software in the server. All you have to do is get an account with the provider and configure it in the router. How do I use Dynamic DNS with Asterisk@Home?
2 Installation2.1 Installing from an ISOInsert the CD you created using the ISO image and be sure that your Bios is configured to boot from a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM. Boot the computer and press ENTER when prompted. This will erase all the information on the hard drive and install your Asterisk@Home . Once your Asterisk@Home is installed, it will include all of the applications and the Operating System itself with default passwords; This is why we recommend that you unplug your server from the network in order to avoid any hacker problems. After Linux has loaded, the CD will eject. Remove the CD from the system and wait for the system to reboot. Booting the system might take a while, depending on the speed of your computer. Once this process is complete, log in to your new Asterisk@Home system with the following:
2.2 Setting up your Time Zone and Keyboard LayoutAt the CentOS command prompt, type in the following command: config
3 Securing your Asterisk@Home server3.1 Configure your Asterisk server with a Static IP addressIn order to change the default passwords, we need to assign your Asterisk@Home a Static IP address. At the CentOS command line type: netconfig 3.2 Changing your default CentOS PasswordThe default login for your CentOS operating system is: At the CentOS command prompt enter the following command to change your password for the root user: passwd (You'll be asked to enter the old password and then the new password twice)
3.3 Changing your default FOP passwordThe default password for the Flash Operator Panel is:
3.4 Changing your default meetme passwordTo change the default, enter the following into the CentOS command prompt:
3.5 Changing your default System Mail passwordTo change the default password, enter the following into the CentOS command prompt:
3.6 Changing your default Sugar CRM PasswordAccess SugarCRM from your web page by typing the following information into your web browser:HTTP://YourAsteriskIPaddressHere The default login and password:
3.7 Web Admin InterfaceInstructions from the Linux command prompt on your Asterisk box:
Note: For more documentation and the End-User Manual refer to: http://www.kennonsoft.org/2006/03/asteriskhome-dynamic-ui-v20.htm
3.8 Updating patches to CentOSIt is recommended that you install CentOS patches. From the CentOS command line, run the following command: yum -y update
4 Using AMP to configure your Asterisk@Home server4.1 What is AMP?Asterisk Management Portal makes Asterisk configuration easier by providing a graphical method (via a web browser). AMP allows you to configure the textual configuration files that Asterisk needs in order to function. AMP can configure the following in Asterisk:
SIP
NOTE: If the extension you are configuring does not connect remotely (outside the Local Area Network) you will need to change the NAT option to yes. Just create the extension, submit the changes and go back to edit it. You will see NAT=never; change it to NAT=yes Every time you make a configuration change and click “Submit” a RED bar will appear at the top of the screen “You have made changes – when finished, click here to apply them”. This bar will reload the .conf files. Click this bar in order for the changes to take effect. 4.3 Configuring trunk for inbound and outbound calls
4.4 Configuring Outbound RoutingYou will need to allow calls from your phone to go out on a specific trunk. When having more that one trunk, you will need to setup dialing rules (dialing patterns) in order to specify which calls should go out on which trunk.
4.5 Configuring Incoming CallsConfiguring incoming calls will allow calls from VarPhonex go someplace in your PBX. Using AMP (user: maint, pass: password)
Click Submit Changes and then click on the red apply bar at the top of the screen.
4.6 Configuring the digital receptionistThe digital receptionist works the same as any auto attendant in a PBX. You will be able to record your own voice prompts and create your own menu with your own options. To configure the digital receptionist follow these steps:
Now go to setup-incoming-call and associate this digital receptionist to wanted incoming calls. Other Tasks In order to optimize its performance and utilize limited bandwidth when making and receiving calls, we need to make the following configurations:
Install low bandwidth codecs http://kvin.lv/pub/Linux/Asterisk/ DISCLAIMER: You might have to pay royalty fees to the G.729/723 patent holders for using their algorithm. To install the codec, move the .so file into the /usr/lib/asterisk/modules directory in your Asterisk server. It is very important that you choose the codec according to the CPU your server has. In case you choose the wrong type, Asterisk will not load and give you an error message. All you have to do is remove the file and restart your server.Here is the command to remove files in CentOS (Linux): Once you determine the right file for your server, enter the following commands in your server's prompt and press enter Assuming that the file I need is codec_g729-gcc-pentium4-no-sse.so Enter the command: Replace “codec-file-you-need” with the actual file name In order to determine if you downloaded the correct file, run the following commands: asterisk –r [press enter] If the file was loaded correctly, you will see the translations under G729. Perform the same operation to install the G723 codec. Restrict the VarPhonex trunk to the above mentioned codecs.
5.3 Restrict Asterisk to use low bandwidth codecs for remote extensions.
NOTE: VarPhonex does not provide phone technical support for Asterisk. We only provide LIMITED email support through our ticketing system from within our website. |
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