Rather than using the existing extensions.conf file, a new file will be created in this lesson. Similar to moving the original sip.conf file in the previous section the extensions.conf will also be moved so that it may be reviewed at a later time. To move the extensions.conf file use the following command: sudo mv /etc/asterisk/extensions.conf […]

The configuration file /etc/asterisk/extensions.conf is often referred to as the “dial plan”. This configuration file controls the execution of phone operations and how the phone calls are routed. It also allows for programming to place conditions on the behavior of the system. The extensions.conf file should be organized by sections. Usually the first section is […]

As mentioned in the lesson about softphones and hardphones, the software Linphone will be used in this course to connect to the Asterisk server. It can be downloaded from linphone.org on a desktop or from the app store on a mobile device. It is free and open source software, which makes it a great pick […]

Adding the first peer In this lesson two peers will be added in the /etc/asterisk/sip.conf file so that a phone call can be made between the two. Using nano open the file for editing. Use the command: sudo nano /etc/asterisk/sip.conf Scroll to the bottom of the file and add the following information and save the […]

This lesson is the first look into one of the configuration files that will need to be edited in Asterisk. Most of the configuration files for Asterisk will be located in the /etc/asterisk/ directory. The SIP configuration file There should already be a sip configuration file located at /etc/asterisk/sip.conf. Although we could decide to modify […]

The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is the most common signaling protocol used in VOIP today to initiate, maintain, and terminate communication sessions, which include voice, video, and messaging. A session is a communication connection between two endpoints. These endpoints can be hardphones, computers, smartphones, or any other device capable of making call via the network. […]

IP Hardphones A hardphone is a physical digital phone that looks similar to conventional telephones. Physically the notable difference would be which type of cabling plugs into the phone. IP hardphones use an RJ45 network adapter and plug into the computer network, while original analog telephones used a smaller RJ11 telephone line adapter. Some hardphones […]

Install Asterisk on Ubuntu 16.04 There are two basic ways of installing Asterisk on Ubuntu. The first method is to download the software from http://www.asterisk.org/downloads/asterisk/all-asterisk-versions. Once downloaded on to the machine it will need to be built and installed. The second method is to download the software from Ubuntu’s repository. This is the method that […]

This lesson will focus on setting up a lab environment that will allow you to complete the lessons in this course. I will be downloading and installing the Ubuntu 16.04 server operating system. I recommend that you follow along with this series by either having a physical computer or by using a virtual platform to […]

Like many software applications, Asterisk uses version numbers to indicate changes within the software. A new major version of the software is released approximately once a year. Each release version has an end-of-life that indicates when the developers will no longer maintain that version of Asterisk. There are basically two different kinds of releases of […]