Table of Contents
WARNING! THIS INFORMATION IS OUTDATED!
Update 2010-12-15: sorry this stuff gets outdated so soon ;), I'll have a look into all the recent Asterisk changes soon.. Update 2023-02-280: yeah this is getting really ancient. Leaving it just for reference, but be warned that this will not work on recent versions of Asterisk!
Introduction
A step-by-step practical guide to installing & configuring Asterisk PBX
1.4, complete with fully commented dialplans and documentation, by
Sebastiaan Giebels [sgie bels_asteriskATpc probleemloos.nl].
This will probably always be 'Work in progress', but I think it's pretty usable. I would welcome any comments or corrections. By continuing reading you agree to the disclaimer.
I urge you to read 'Asterisk - The Future of Telephony' or 'Asterisk: The Definitive Guide' This guide will only provide some configuration examples, as I will assume you understand the Asterisk* basics.
You can find a lot of documentation here: http://www.voip-info.org There are a few video's online, the best I've seen is from SYStM http://revision3.com/systm/asterisk/ (I suggest you download the xvid 'large' version). A few others you can find by searching for 'asterikast' or 'fosdem 2006 asterisk'.
We are not endorsed by or affiliated with Digium, the company behind Asterisk.
Introduction
I work in Eindhoven (The Netherlands) at a local branch of the IT firm, PC Probleemloos, providing services ranging from computer installation/setup/maintenance/repair to harddisk data recovery (in cooperation with Data Recovery Centrale).
Because I'm pretty technical I'm able to help my customers configure their tv's & VCR's, installing phonelines, faxes & answering machines, where simply reading a manual is enough to get things up and running. Things got interesting there when some online services (like VoipBuster and other Betamax VOIP providers) started offering calling to regular phones over the internet (internet telephony) over the SIP protocol. I have used Skype in the past, but only to call other Skype users. With the new SIP providers, calling became cheaper than ever, and when I heard of Asterisk the first time (version 1.2 at the time), not only was I able to save costs for me and my company, PC Probleemloos, but I kept finding more and more uses for it since.
Installation
Installation is simple, configuration is a whole different story..
Basic configuration
To make things easy, I'll commence with very simple dialplans & sip devices, and from there I will add things like SIP hardphones/hardware, voicemail, call forwarding, etc. piece by piece along the way. For every example, I'll provide the configuration files (often only sip.conf and extensions.conf). Copy them to the asterisk configuration directory, restart/reload asterisk, and things should work.
This very basic guide should get you up and running, without worrying about all the advanced configuration option.
Step 1: Bare basics, Asterisk and the X-Lite softphone
http://asteriskvoip.blogspot.com/2006/02/help-article-configuring-x-lite-for.html
Download X-Lite at http://www.counterpath.com/xlitedownload.html (I'll be using v3.0 for Windows troughout this guide), install it and reboot if you're asked to On Linux/Gnome there is Ekiga, and probably some others.
Configure Asterisk*, files are in /usr/local/etc/asterisk/
sip.conf: <html> [general] bindaddr=0.0.0.0 ;use the IP address of your asterisk server, or 0.0.0.0 for any interface bindport=5060 ;port 5060 is standard for SIP, change only if you know what you're doing context=default ;when a call comes in from the internet to your asterisk server (=inbound)
;determines to which section in extensions.conf it is sent
;don't know what it's exacly good for: allowoverlap=no ; Disable overlap dialing support. (Default is yes)
[xlite1] type=friend ;allow user to make calls and to be called host=dynamic ;This device needs to register, no fixed ip secret=xlite1 ;password to register disallow=all ;disallow all codecs, except the following 3: allow=gsm ;GSM consumes far less bandwidth than ulaw allow=ulaw allow=alaw </html>
extensions.conf: <html> [general] static=yes writeprotect=no clearglobalvars=no
[globals]
[demo] exten ⇒ _X.,1,Answer ; Answer the line exten ⇒ _X.,n,BackGround(demo-congrats) ; Play a congratulatory message exten ⇒ _X.,n,Hangup ; Hang them up.
[default] include ⇒ demo </html> Restart asterisk to reload the new configuration.
Connect to the asterisk console, and set verbosity to level 3:
asterisk -rvvv
You'll see some messages, and on the last line you'll see the Command Line Interface (CLI) prompt: <html> freebsd62*CLI> </html>
Back to X-Lite, open it and go to the configuration Click 'Add..' <html> Display Name: X-Lite1 User name: xlite1 Password: xlite1 Authorization user name: <leave empty> Domain: <ipaddres.ofyour.asterisk.server> ?? Domain Proxy → Enable “Register with domain and receive incoming calls” Send outbound via: proxy, Address: <ipaddress.ofyour.asterisk.server> Dialing plan (default setting): #1\a\a.T;match=1;prestrip=2; </html> Click Apply/OK
The X-Lite window should show 'Ready - Your username is: xlite1', and in the asterisk console, you should see the following lines: <html>
- - Registered SIP 'xlite1' at <xlite.client.ip.address> port 33064 expires 3600
- - Saved useragent “X-Lite release 1011s stamp 41150” for peer xlite1
</html>
Now place your first call: Click on the green 'off hook' symbol, enter any multi-digit number and click the green symbol again. You should hear the 'Contratulations …' message, just like we programmed in extensions.conf.
Step 2: Adding another softphone
Making calls between softphones
Step 3: SIP providers
VoIP service connection FWD step 3: 1 softphones 1 hardphone
Step 4: Betamax SIP providers
VoipBuster, VoipCheap, VoipDiscount
Calling out Calls coming in CallerID Accounting(?) SMS
Step 5: Grandstream GXP-2000
1 hardphone 1 softphone?
Step 6: Linksys/Cisco/Sipura SPA-3000 (I'll refer to it as 'spa3k')
1 ata (spa3k) 1 softphone?
Step 7: CallerID
It's nice to see who is calling you.
Replace '^0031' with '0'? Replace known numbers with names? Allow some callers with specific CallerID's into an other menu Differentiate between area codes inside the dialplan
VoipBuster PHP script
I'm using voipbuster Asterisk routes my outgoing VOIP calls trough VoipBuster, a BetaMax service (I think they also run VoipCheap, VoipStunt, and a few other websites, which basically provide the same services, although with different pricing schemes)
Voipbuster is also usable when you don't have SIP phones: you can use the website to connect two ordinary landlines, and they even have a local telephone number here in the Netherlands, which you can call and from there call any number, enjoying cheaper rates.
They have a website (at www.voipbuster.com) where you can find the charges/rates for each number. Here you can also configure your account settings, send SMS messages, change forwarding settings, initiate outgoing calls, view your last calls, upgrade your prepaid-credit, etc.
Some more information about BetaMax: http://www.myvoipprovider.com/blogcategory/Betamax/
I've hacked together a PHP script for VoipBuster, which you can use to do all of the above things from either the command line, a website, or from within Asterisk itself (using AGI script functions). It will probably also work with VoipCheap, VoipStunt, and the other BetaMax services with just a few modifications.
Frequently Encountered Problems
Asterisk using up to 100% processor time: <html> 13592 root 1 132 0 26132K 400K RUN 503:11 97.56% asterisk </html>
http://www.dartsplayer.com/wi-fi/voip/linksys_dialplan.html
sip: gs2k (4x?) spa3k i/o voipbuster voor inkomend voipdiscount voor uitgaand
Budgetphone SIP configuration with SPA3K
October 2007 I terminated my KPN (largest dutch telco provider) account, and switched to VoIP. Budgetphone.nl is a service which took over the telephone number and makes it accessible trough SIP. The company does have some dial-out plan, but it's more expensive than some other sip services (sipstunt, sipdiscount), so I'll just configure Budgetphone for incoming calls.
Most of the settings here are discovered trough forum messages, no guarantees it's correct. Anyway: it works here. First I've tested the sip settings with X-lite. It's easier to configure X-Lite, as it has less settings. Configuring the Linksys SPA3000 with the budgetphone.nl SIP provider.
In The 'Line 1'-tab of the Sipura SPA web configuration (advanced view):
| Proxy and registration | |
|---|---|
| Proxy: budgetphone.nl | Use Outbound Proxy: yes |
| Outbound Proxy: sip.budgetphone.nl | Use OB Proxy In Dialog: yes |
| Register: yes | Make Call Without Reg: no |
| Register Expires: 3600 | Ans Call Without Reg: no |
| Subscriber Information | |
| Display Name: 31402431941 | User ID: 31402431941 |
| Password: <your password> | Use Auth ID: no |
| Auth ID: | |
| VoIP Fallback To PSTN | |
| Auto PSTN Fallback: no | |
(Fallback Wouldn't work anyway, as I terminated the KPN account for the non-VOIP pstn line service, and the line is solely used for ADSL/DLS right now)
Gateway Accounts
Gateway 1: sip.example.org GW1 NAT Mapping Enable: GW1 Auth ID: spa3k GW1 Password: <secret>
Dial Plan
Dial Plan: ? Enable IP Dialing: yes Emergency Number: <leave empty, we'll handle this trough Asterisk*
Softphones SIP VoIP FreeBSD
For FreeBSD, there are a few softphones. I've tried twinkle and ekiga, but both would make to the asterisk server running on the same host. I have tried adjusting the udp 5060 port in Twinkle, but it didn't start anymore.
If you want to give them a try, here's how:
Installing twinkle: portinstall twinkle
As root:
portinstall libosip portinstall ekiga
As regular user:
ekiga
The 'First Time Configuration Assistant' starts, select 'I do not want to sign up for the ekiga.net free service'
freebsd62*CLI> sip reload Reloading SIP
== Parsing '/usr/local/etc/asterisk/sip.conf': Found == Parsing '/usr/local/etc/asterisk/users.conf': Found == Parsing '/usr/local/etc/asterisk/sip_notify.conf': Found
freebsd62*CLI>
freebsd62*CLI> core set debug 9999 Core debug is at least 9999
http://www.voip-info.org/tiki-index.php?page=Asterisk%20config%20extensions.conf
Visual Dialplan (first look = great!, price = probably worth it) URL: http://www.apstel.com/products/vdp/vdp.jsp
- check the status of your own server's SIP registrations with “sip show registry”;
- obtain a list of clients that have registered with your server with “sip show peers”;
- after you make changes to your sip.conf file, get the SIP Channel Module to reload it with “sip reload”.
/* dig 1.4.9.1.3.4.2.0.4.1.3.e164.org. NAPTR works: dig 8.6.9.0.8.4.1.4.6.1.3.e164.org. NAPTR dig 1.4.8.4.4.8.8.4.8.1.3.e164.org. NAPTR dig 5.6.7.6.1.4.8.0.4.1.3.e164.org. NAPTR dig sebastiaan.pcprobleemloos.nl. NAPTR */
sip.conf: <html> [spa3k] type=friend username=spa3k secret=<password_for_spa3k_device> ;regexten=3000 ; When they register, create extension 3000 host=dynamic ; This device needs to register disallow=all allow=ulaw allow=alaw allow=gsm ; GSM consumes far less bandwidth than ulaw </html>
extensions.conf: <html> [spa3k] exten ⇒ s,1,Answer exten ⇒ s,2,Playback(tt-weasels) exten ⇒ s,n,Hangup </html>
asterisk -rvvv
<html> sip reload extensions reload </html>
SPA3k configuration page, tab 'Line1':
Gateway Accounts Gateway 1: spa3k@sip.example.org GW1 NAT Mapping Enable: no (I'm not in a NAT network) GW1 Auth ID: spa3k GW1 Password: <password_for_spa3k_device>
spa3k dialplan (replace sip.example.org with the address of your asterisk server): <html> (S0<:@gw1>)
or (S0<:3000@sip.example.org:5060>) but this doesn't do authentication
</html> Save & reboot the device
Go to asterisk,
sip show registry
As some people store passwords in their sip configuration files, it's wise to disable 'others' from viewing those files.
chmod o-r /usr/local/etc/asterisk/sip.con*
Basic configuration examples
Empty
extensions.conf:
[general] static=yes writeprotect=no
sip.conf:
[general] context=default port=5060 bindaddr=0.0.0.0 disallow=all allow=ulaw allow=alaw allow=gsm
Softphones
CounterPath X-Lite
SIP providers
VoipBuster
register => <username>:<password>@sip1.voipbuster.com [voipbuster] username=<username> secret=<password> type=friend ;I have a VOIP-IN number, so I'll be both receiving calls from, ; and sending calls to this SIP provider host=sip1.voipbuster.com context=<default> insecure=very qualify=yes
I've put the allow/disallow settings in [general], see below
make sure you use the right sip server (sip1.voipbuster.com, and not sip.voipbuster.com) make sure you have 'insecure=very'
? fromuser=<username>
Budgetphone
(http://www.budgetphone.nl/page.php?page=faq&q=119):
sip.conf (replace '31number' and 'mypassword' with your values.):
register => <31nubmer>@budgetphone.nl:<mypassword>:<31number>@sip.budgetphone.nl/<31number> [budgetphone] type=user ;I'll just be receiving calls from BudgetPhone, so just 'user' instead of 'friend' or 'peer' host=sip.budgetphone.nl fromdomain=budgetphone.nl fromuser=<31number> username=<31number> insecure=very secret=<mypassword> qualify=no port=5060 context=from-budgetphone
As I'll only be receiving calls through budgetphone.nl, I've set 'type=user' instead of 'type=friend'.
extensions.conf:
[from-budgetphone] exten => 31number,1,Answer exten => 31number,n,Playback(demo-congrats) ; Play a congratulatory message exten => 31number,n,Hangup
The 'context' doesn't seen to work properly though, calls come in at the 'default' section in extensions.conf. I've chosen to redirect them to the from-budgetphone,31number,1 section:
[default]
exten => 31number,1,Set(cNum=${SIP_HEADER(TO):5:11})
exten => 31number,n,GotoIf($["${cNum}"="31number"]?from-budgetphone,31number,1)
Asterisk Extensions.conf examples
Recording incoming and outgoing calls
Make sure you have 'sox' installed. It is needed to combine the 2 audio files (one for each side talking) into one file. For Debian & Ubuntu:
apt-get install sox libsox-fmt-all
Add these lines to your dialplan (replacing 's,n' with the correct extension & order):
exten => s,n,set(CallSavePath=/mnt/some/big/place/to/store/files/)
exten => s,n,set(CallTime=${STRFTIME(${EPOCH},GMT-2,%C%y%m%d%H%M)})
exten => s,n,Set(CALLFILENAME=${CallSavePath}${CallTime}${EXTEN})
exten => s,n,Monitor(wav,${CALLFILENAME},m)
I should turn this into a macro, once I know how they work. Change: '/mnt/some/big/place/to/store/files/' to the path where you wish to store the .wav files of each conversation. Make sure you have enough diskspace. Adjust 'GMT-2' in the second line too, and please verify the result (especially check if summer/winter time works ok)
Grandstream GXP-2000
sip.conf:
; /etc/asterisk/sip.conf [general] context=default ;If no context declared, use this as default. srvlookup=yes ; (why?) srvlookup=no ;budgetphone? canreinvite=no ;all audio goes trough asterisk, keeps asterisk in the ;audio path, instead of letting the two (trunks?) connecting directly to eachother. ; The settings below usually go into the individual sections, but because they are all the same, I put them in [general] port=5060 ; disallow=all ;disallow all codecs, then allow just the ones I like to use. allow=alaw allow=ulaw allow=gsm ; GSM consumes far less bandwidth than ulaw
[grandstream] type=friend ;calls in both directions username=grandstream secret=mypassword ;host=<full.hostname.com> ;no registration required, asterisk connects if required host=dynamic ; This device needs to register with asterisk. allow=gsm ;GSM consumes far less bandwidth than ulaw. context=default ;where in extensions.conf calls coming from the device should go.
todo: Grandstream screenshots of web configuration interface
Grandstream GXP-2000 Auto-pickup / auto-answer
You can have your Grandstream GXP-2000 to auto-answer incoming calls.
In the Grandstream web-interface, go to the correct account, and look for the following settings: Auto Answer: set to 'No' (=default) (unless you want to auto-answer ALL calls, then set it to 'Yes') Allow Auto Answer by Call-Info: set to 'Yes'. Save & reboot.
If you have disabled 'Auto Answer', but enabled “Allow Auto answer by Call-Info”, you can use the following commands in your dialplan to have the phone pick-up the call automatically:
exten => s,n,Set(__SIPADDHEADER=Call-Info: answer-after=0) exten => s,n,Set(__SIP_URI_OPTIONS=intercom=true) exten => s,n,Set(__ALERT_INFO=Ring Answer) exten => s,n,Dial(SIP/<your_grandstream_device>)
Give Asterisk a 'extensions reload' command, and test if it works.
todo: grandstream screenshots of web configuration interface
Nokia E51 VoIP over WiFi
I've got a new Nokia E51 phone, with WiFi and VoIP (over WiFi). It has SIP support, so I can connect it to my Asterisk PBX. I assume this works for the other E-series and N-series Nokia devices too.
;Configration URL's: ;http://www.voip-wiki.nl/doku.php?id=nokiae70 ;http://www.pdashop.nl/vragen/25862/31747 ; [nokia] username=nokia secret=<mypassword> host=dynamic ;This phone registers with asterisk, not the other way around type=friend ;2-way calls: from nokia to asterisk, and from asterisk to the nokia phone qualify=yes ;Important: Asterisk will regularly contact the nokia phone to make sure it's still there ;(in case your get out of range of the WiFi access point) notransfer=yes ;? disallow=all allow=alaw ;I wil just use 'alaw': because it's a wifi network, enough bandwidth is available context=<context> ;Adjust this according to extensions.conf configuration
Change <context> and <mypassword>. Make sure you use the same username and password when configuring your Nokia.
todo: nokia screenshots of configuration
PORTech GSM VoIP Gateway MV-370, MV-372, MV-374
I bought a MV-372 on Ebay, to send calls to my mobile number to Asterisk. I was convinced to spend money on it, as I've learned that the new firmware did have support for sending and receiving SMS messages (other manufacturers devices often lack this, in my view, essential feature). Their website (http://www.portech.com.tw) is in english, and even with the badly written instructions, I've managed to get it to send/receveive SMS text mesasges from my mobile number. To connect the 'voice' part with SIP to Asterisk, I used the following configuration in sip.conf:
;PORTech GSM VOIP Gateway MV-370 / MV-372 / ... [portech] username=<portech> fromuser=<portech> secret=<mypassword> ;Asterisk extension password type=friend ; ;regexten=portech ;When they register, create extension 'portech' call-limit=1 ;(?required?) Limit to 1 call max callerid=PORTech MV-372 ;(?required?) host=dynamic ;the device registers with Asterisk, not the other way around. nat=no ;My MV-372 is not behind a NAT router canreinvite=no ;Typically set to NO if behind NAT insecure=very qualify=yes dtmfmode=inband ;Very important for DISA to work ; disallow=all ;disallow all codecs allow=ulaw ;ulaw = prefered codec for DTMF detection allow=alaw context=<portech> ;Incoming calls context (does this work, or do calls still go to 'default'?
Make sure to use the same 'username'-, 'fromuser'-, and 'secret'-values as you've setup on the webinterface of the PORTech device. Adjust any other values between '<' '>' brackets.
todo: screenshots website PORTech mv-372 web configuration panel
= URLS: =
http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/Setup+MV-370+GSM+Gateway+with+Asterisk
http://www.trixbox.org/forums/trixbox-forums/trunks/portech-mv-372-trunk
Linksys SPA-3000
Formerly a product from a company named 'Sipura', now taken over by Linksys (which in turn is taken over by Cisco), the SPA3000 (or SPA3K as some call it)
[<spa3k>] username=<spa3k> fromuser=<spa3k> secret=<mypassword> type=friend ;I'll receiving incoming calls on this sip gateway, as well as sending calls out. host=dynamic ;This device needs to register, no fixed ip disallow=all ; need to disallow=all before we can use allow= allow=ulaw ; Note: In user sections the order of codecs allow=alaw ; listed with allow= does NOT matter! allow=g723.1 ; Asterisk only supports g723.1 pass-thru! allow=g729 ; Pass-thru only unless g729 license obtained allow=gsm context=<default> call-limit=2 ;?
todo: SPA-3000 web interface screenshots
Unsorted
Click To call/dial, an Asterisk Desktop dial script for (greasemonkey) Firefox
URLS: http://www.voipjots.com/2006/02/click-to-call-with-your-asteriskhome.html
http://www.yaptele.com/asterisk-firefox-click-to-dial-ajax-script
http://sipx-wiki.calivia.com/index.php/Main_Page
http://www.voipuser.nl/Sipura%20SPA%203000.htm +SPA3000 + voipbuster-out, budgetphone-in
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