Category Archives: Asterisk

Asterisk

Want To Save $40,000?

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trixbox

Who doesn’t? Well, if you really want to save that much, you might want to consider switching over to VOIP for your business. It has long been acknowledged that VOIP services are far more cost efficient than traditional telephony services. This is, in fact, the main reason many individuals and businesses are now opting to make use of VOIP.

For Hail & Cotton, the experience is something to be proud of and share with others. Hail & Cotton is a tobacco distribution company in Springfield, Tennessee. When Tres Ransom, the IT director of the company, was tasked with the overhauling of their telephone system, he was faced with a decision. This was whether to either upgrade what they were currently working with or whether to totally trash the system and go with a new one – that is, VOIP.

As with many IT personnel, VOIP seemed like a very feasible option. Ransom had some concerns, however, as he was not sure of what he was getting into. More so, he was not sure that he could do the work all by himself. Still, he did some preliminary legwork and calculated the costs of each option.

If the company were to simply upgrade their current system, it would have cost them as much $64,000. On the other hand, his researched showed that the company would have to shell out only $25,000 with VOIP. Ransom did his research on Asterisk and Trixbox at this time. As a matter of fact, Ransom did not have to do all the work on his own as he had some outside help from Voice Pulse, a well known VOIP service provider. What happened was that Voice Pulse gave the company a free trial using Voice Pulse’s Connect for Asterisk and Trixbox 2.4 CE. Ransom was quite impressed with the free trial PLUS the fact that the whole package cost almost $40,000 less than his other option.

This is indeed a prime example of what VOIP can do for a business. I think it is important to note the important role of the VOIP service provider as well. If Voice Pulse was not able to provide a clear option for Hail & Cotton and if they were not able to provide that free trial which was what impressed the client, then the deal would not have been possible.

Asterisk Vulnerability Discovered

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Here is something for all Asterisk users out there.  Though we may all be very enthusiastic about Asterisk and the service it provides, we have to be practical and keep our eyes open for vulnerabilities.  Even the people over at Digium do not act like ostriches and keep their head buried in the sand – I guess most other service providers act the same way.  They are always on the look out for weaknesses that other unscrupulous individuals may take advantage of.

Recently, Joel R. Voss aka. Javantea reported a vulnerability in Asterisk systems that may result in denial of service.  Many other sites and blogs have subsequently spread the word about the possible problems that may arise from the vulnerability.  People over at Digium themselves have released an advisory about the issue.  They have also released work arounds that could help solve the issue and avoid potential problems that may arise from it.

Below is the description of the vulnerability as well as other important details that you may need to resolve the issue.  This was taken from Secunia:

Description:
A vulnerability has been reported in Asterisk, which can be exploited by malicious people to cause a DoS (Denial of Service).

The vulnerability is caused due to improper verification of ACK responses during IAX2 handshakes, which can be exploited to spoof an IAX2 handshake and cause a DoS via high bandwidth usage.

The vulnerability is reported in the following versions:
* Asterisk Open Source 1.0.x (all versions)
* Asterisk Open Source 1.2.x (all versions prior to 1.2.28)
* Asterisk Open Source 1.4.x (all versions prior to 1.4.19.1)
* Asterisk Business Edition A.x.x (all versions)
* Asterisk Business Edition B.x.x (all versions prior to B.2.5.2)
* Asterisk Business Edition C.x.x (all versions prior to C.1.8.1)
* AsteriskNOW 1.0.x (all versions prior to 1.0.3)
* Asterisk Appliance Developer Kit 0.x.x (all versions)
* s800i (Asterisk Appliance) 1.0.x (all versions prior to 1.1.0.3)

Solution:
Asterisk Open Source 1.2.x:
Fixed in 1.2.28.

Asterisk Open Source 1.4.x:
Fixed in 1.4.19.1.

Asterisk Business Edition B.x.x:
Fixed in B.2.5.2

Asterisk Business Edition C.x.x:
Fixed in C.1.8.1.

AsteriskNOW:
Fixed in 1.0.3.

s800i (Asterisk Appliance):
Fixed in 1.1.0.3.

Provided and/or discovered by:
Joel R. Voss a.k.a. Javantea

Original Advisory:
Asterisk:
http://downloads.digium.com/pub/security/AST-2008-006.html

AltSci:
https://www.altsci.com/concepts/page.php?s=asteri&p=2

Here’s to hoping that you will be able to take care of the vulnerability before anything adverse happens!

Asterisk Training For South Africa

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Are you based in South Africa?  Are you in IT?  Is your work focused on VOIP and related areas?  If your answer is yes to all of these questions, then you would be delighted to know that Connection Telecom is conducting a training course on Asterisk this month.  The idea is to inform and train individuals on how to install, configure, and maintain a complete Asterisk system.  I heard of this event from Tectonic.  The entry joyfully announces the training course:

Want to be an Asterisk guru? Then sign up for the first bootcamp to be run by Asterisk gurus Connection Telecom. The five-day course costs a whopping R23 400 but if you can get your company to cover the fees the course will be well worth attending. Connection Telecom has been involved with Asterisk since it first broke onto the IT scene.

Rob Lith, director of Connection Telecom, says this training course will assist participants with gaining a high-level knowledge of Asterisk and its potential, with particular focus on the SIP network. The course will focus on a combination of theory and practical labs, and participants will learn how to setup and configure Asterisk in a scalable enterprise or service provider network. Participants will also be able to achieve a dCAP-certification (Digium-Certified Asterisk Professional), a globally recognised programme that will be offered at the end of the Asterisk Bootcamp training course or can be taken separately, bringing a new skill set to their career or company. Various kinds of setups will be covered, giving participants insight into the design of real SIP networks using Asterisk, providing participants with a real competitive advantage in today’s demanding software environment.

The course will run from 14 to 18 April 2008 in Johannesburg.

Indeed, the course fee is a bit steep for an individual.  However, I think that if your company is even remotely interested in Asterisk and the potential that it offers your business, then I am pretty sure that you can convince your bosses to set you up for the course.  More so, compared to the potential savings that your company can make with Asterisk, the fee would become negligible.  Also, considering that this is the first ever training of its kind to be offered in South Africa, it is a very big thing to be able to complete this course.  It would definitely give an edge to the individual and to the company.

So what are you waiting for?  Visit Connection Telecom’s page for more information.

Asterisk USB Hub

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asterisk usb hub
If you are an Asterisk fan boy (or girl, for that matter), then chances are that you have a particular affinity for various kinds of gadgets as well.  If so, here is another toy that you can add to your ever growing collection of techie stuff – an Asterisk USB hub.  You may already have an Asterisk shirt (or two), you may even have a couple of Digium shirts.  I am sure you have at least one Asterisk book or even a mug, but I think this toy will beat them all!

I, for one, cannot seem to have enough USB ports.  My desktop PC has 2 in front and 2 at the back.  Naturally, I mainly use the 2 USB ports in front as they make for easy access.  Sometimes, though, when I have all my gadgets in use, the 2 are not enough.  My notebook computer is gifted with more – I have 4 in all.  Believe it or not, sometimes, I still need more.  What with all the gadgets that can be connected to the computer these days, this is not really surprising.  A mobile phone, a iPod, a flash disk, a digital camera, and so on – the list can be quite long!  I cannot imagine how people with only one USB port can manage!

Thank God for USB hubs – they can really come in handy.  The Asterisk USB hub, I think, is a big plus.  It not only provides you with the functionality you need but it also gives you that extra something when it comes to style and making a statement.  The Asterisk is colored a bright red (talk about making a statement!) and is shaped like – surprise! – an asterisk.  It also comes in a cool light blue shade, which I actually like as well but the red seems to have more “bang” in it.  It has four ports – greatly extending your USB capacity.

The Asterisk USB hub is the brainchild of industrial designer Joel Escalona.  I have not had the chance to get one for myself as of yet but based on the pictures that I have seen, it seems that this particular toy has a big edge over more conventional USB hubs.  How so?  It is because of the fact that the design of the USB hub makes for more space in between the four ports.  Compare this with some conventional USB hubs which do not leave much space in between the ports, making things a little cramped and tight at times, especially if you have 4 gadgets connected at a single time.  With the Asterisk USB hub, the spacing has been well thought of and does away with that complication.

What are you waiting for?

Digium Updates

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Switchvox

If you remember, I posted the press release on the Second Digium|Asterisk World a week ago. Well, that week is over and it seems that there are a lot of new and exciting things for Digium on the horizon. I visited their blog to see what’s going on and here are some bits and pieces:

There were three announcements that are exciting to Digium and they include a global Distribution partnership with Westcon to distribute the entire line of Digium products. Westcon’s new CollaborationPoint line of business is focused on open source solutions including Digium’s Switchvox IP PBX (http://www.digium.com/switchvox), the Asterisk Appliance (http://www.digium.com/en/products/appliance/), and Asterisk Developer Solutions and toolkits including all Digium’s telephony cards and Asterisk Business Edition (http://www.digium.com/en/products/).

I can see how the global distribution partnership can get our bloods pumping – this is something big for Digium and Asterisk. I don’t know how quick the growth will be but now that the international market is being opened, the possibilities are limitless!

On the software side, Digium announced the release of Switchvox SMB 3.5:

Tuesday Digium announced the Switchvox SMB 3.5 release, the new version of the award winning SMB software that already includes the Switchboard user panels with built in Salesforce.com, SugarCRM, and Google Maps web-based interface panels. These built in tools allow users to build outstanding customer and support relations with their target customers. New features include multi-level administration – unlimited levels, built in Phone Configuration tools which are great for resellers and larger systems allowing provisioning of Polycom phones in minutes using batch tools for DID assignments and caller IDs, and adding of extensions, and the ability to easily find users in the directory by simply typing the name and similar to your cell phones locates the name directly in as few keystrokes as possible. Also, the SMB 3.5 software automatically populates the users desktop Polycom phone directory with contact info from the Switchvox address book – a time saving tool and excellent user experience.

In line with this software release, Digium unveiled its latest appliance:

The Switchvox Appliance AA60 was also announced Tuesday and will be available with Switchvox SMB 3.5 software on March 31. The AA60 is a small footprint wall mountable package that offers higher reliability and lower costs and includes a standard 1 year warranty and an extended warranty option for 3 years.

I am liking the guarantee of higher reliability and lower costs and I am sure many other customers will do so as well.

Second Digium|Asterisk World Announced

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Here is a piece of news that would please a lot of VOIP enthusiasts out there.  Digium just announced that the second Digium|Asterisk World would be held from the 18th or March to the 19th of March.  Here is the press release:

Digium®, Inc., the Asterisk® Company, today announced plans for the second Digium|Asterisk World, a conference targeted at business executives responsible for voice and VoIP within their companies. The event, scheduled from March 18-19 at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, Calif., builds off the successful launch of Digium|Asterisk World last fall.

Digium|Asterisk World is the first Asterisk event focused purely on Asterisk for business. It will be co-located with Spring VON, the longest running and best respected IP communications event in the industry. Attendees will have access to both shows and be able to see demonstrations of the latest open source IP communications technology. The show will feature new announcements from Digium and Digium’s innovative Switchvox telephony system will be demonstrated on both days.
Digium Founder and CTO Mark Spencer will deliver the Digium|Asterisk World keynote address on Tuesday, March 18 at 12:30 p.m. The presentation, “Why does Digium|Asterisk World Exist?” will focus on the role Asterisk plays in successful businesses. Digium CEO Danny Windham will deliver a keynote address at VON, “An Open Source VoIP Primer,” on Wednesday, March 19 at 9:30 a.m. that will examine open source trends and business models.
“As more companies turn to open source IP, Digium|Asterisk World’s focus on Asterisk for business makes more and more sense,” said Windham. “The wide range of insights available at Digium|Asterisk World will be a treasure trove of information that service providers, VARs, systems integrators or anyone rolling out IP communications won’t be able to find anywhere else.”
Other topics to be covered at Digium|Asterisk World include:
•    Best business practices in implementing Asterisk solutions.
•    The strategic purpose of open source.
•    Wild and crazy things you can build with open source telephony.

Registration for Digium|Asterisk World is open at: http://www.digiumasteriskworld.com/2008/sanjose/web/

You still have a day left – go ahead and register!

Asterisk on the iPhone?

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I love Apple – what can I say? I know some of you may not agree with me but here’s a piece of news worth sharing. For all those iPhone fans out there, Asterisk Voicemail for the iPhone is coming out very soon. I ran across a developer’s announcement about his project on ChrisCarey.com. This is what he has to tell you:

Asterisk Voicemail for iPhone allows you to check your voicemail messages on your house or business line from your iPhone. You can think of it as “Visual Voicemail”, but for your Asterisk PBX numbers instead of your AT&T cell number. The technology behind it is Asterisk (The Open-Source PBX), with iUI, Joe Hewitt’s UI interface for iPhone. This software can be installed on any Asterisk server (though you will want to use one that is available via the Internet) and will allow you to check messages in multiple folders, listen to messages, delete messages, move messages, and change voicemail settings – all from your iPhone.

Contact me with any questions or comments.

This software is unreleased. Most of the features are fully functional, but I need to clean up certain portions of the code before releasing it in order to avoid public ridicule. This software will be released under the GPL or some other free license.

I know, it’s more of a teaser right now, but hey, with something like this, all you need is a teaser – for now. I am sure that hordes of iPhone fans using VOIP are going to be thrilled about this. In fact, I have seen several blogs and web sites already featuring Chris Carey’s announcement. It is not a surprise, really. For those who are already using Asterisk and have iPhones (I am not sure about the number of these people), this is something to look forward to.

So what is the potential of this development? I suppose you can describe it in one word –HUGE. Imagine being able to access your voicemail messages anywhere. With today’s trend of everything going mobile, this is the perfect solution to the traveling individual’s needs. Chris Carey, you rock!

Open Source VOIP – Going Strong

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communication
For many people, open source is the best way to go. However, we all know that there are some issues when it comes to open source software – particularly in regard to the execution. The whole idea of going open source suits most everyone except that in certain areas, software glitches and support can be a problem, especially where stability and reliability is concerned.

This is, in fact, one of the main points of those who have concerns about open source VOIP. This sector believes in the concept of open source VOIP but have doubts as to whether or not open source VOIP can meet the needs of businesses. Still, it seems that open source VOIP proponents do not have much to worry about – at least according to Carl Weinschenk of ITBusinessEdge. He posted an article on how open source VOIP continues to gain momentum on the 21st of February. He writes:

VirtualHosting.com provides some help with a look at what it considers to be the top 50 open source VoIP applications. The categories are Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) proxies; SIP clients; H.323 clients; inter-Asterisk (IAX) clients; Private Branch Exchange and interactive voice response platforms, stacks, and libraries; developers; and miscellaneous. The editors provide brief definitions of each category.

He also presents an example in Garrett Smith, an executive in the realm of VOIP, saying:

VoIP systems are selling like cyber hot cakes. While he doesn’t distinguish between open source and proprietary products, it’s clear that a good deal of what is selling is the former. A year ago, he says, one or two VoIP deals of 200-plus seats would be made per week. In a two-day span in mid-February this year, Smith said that he saw three 200-plus seat contracts, “a handful” of 50- to 75-seat deals, and deal of more than 4,000 seats in 26 locations. In addition, margins are better and deals are easier to close. He offers three reasons this may be happening: the technology is better trusted, businesses are better educated and sales people are doing their jobs better.

More so, BPOs and call centers are quickly looking into open source VOIP as a solution. In any case, if this article is any indication, then we can expect open source VOIP to become a major player in the realm of communications in the near future. There will always be detractors, of course. After all, you cannot please everyone.

Asterisk in Focus: What’s Great About It?

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As I was reading some old news and features on VOIP and related topics, I ran across a feature on Asterisk, which was published about a year ago. The title is “What’s So Great About Asterisk?” and it was an article published on VOIP-NEWS. The main point of the article about Asterisk is that it is open source and that means it is far cheaper than its mainstream counterparts. On the other hand, the article points out that support may not be as reliable for Asterisk as compared to the proprietary versions. This, of course, is an essential consideration for businesses.

The downloaded Asterisk software is community-supported through email and online forums and this works for many folks, Miller said. But for mission-critical businesses he recommends them using Digium’s Asterisk Business Edition for a “fully regression tested” version of Asterisk that comes with 24×7 tech support and complete maintenance and support programs.

Large enterprises will also have to be convinced that open source PBXs, which so far have mostly been used in small and medium sized businesses, will scale to the thousands of users they need the products for.

This point of view is understandable although I would say that since the article was published, a lot has changed (for the better) with Asterisk and open source PBX in general, don’t you think?

Another point that caught my interest in the article:

Does that mean open source PBXs will soon brush the proprietary versions aside? Unlikely, though as users get more comfortable with other open source solutions such as Apache, Linux and MySQL, which are in the mainstream now, they’ll also get more comfortable with Asterix and other open source PBX solutions.

Indeed, just because something is considered open source now does not mean that it will stay so forever. And more so, just because something is open source does not automatically mean that it will not be appropriate for “professional” applications! I am sure that there will be many others who will agree with me when I say that Asterisk works just fine for many business, especially those who lean towards the small scale.

Perhaps it is a matter of analyzing and determining one’s needs first. The next step would be to determine if Asterisk (and other open source systems) could provide an answer for these needs. Go over forums and discussion groups, though, and I am sure that you will see a lot of individuals and business owners testifying for open source systems.