There are hundreds of distro’s of linux that you could run Asterisk on. There is even a Windows port out now. However I would hesitate running in on Windows as it’s still beyond buggy.

You could choose to run it on Knoppix (my personal favorite), or Slackware, maybe straight up Debian. Why not go for a Red Hat install? Or maybe even a Damn Small Linux perhaps? There are so many to choose from. The problem with choosing one is all about neccessity. Personally, I love to use Debian based OS’s. That’s why I choose Knoppix, or in the case of what I have installed now, a modified version called “Auditor“. It comes packaged with tons of penetration testing software which I find quite useful.

I would reccomend heading over to www.DistroWatch.com and finding a distro that woul work for you. Like I said before, it’s all about neccessity. If it’s got what you need, then use that version. I like having all the security tools, so I choose to use Auditor. If I didn’t need them, I would go with plain Knoppix, however it suits my needs. So go out there and look around. See what would fit you.