Asterisk: The Future of Telephony Reviews

• Great admin guide and reference

  
  By A2E3F04ZK7FG66 on 2005-11-16
  In typical O'Reilly fashion, this is a very readable guide for installing and administering Asterisk, the open-source solution for Voice over IP that runs on Linux. Step-by-step instructions are given, which is very necessary in a very new product that is short on documentation. There are even a few chapters that discuss basic telephony technology and others that discuss where Voice over IP has been and where it may be going in the context of open source solutions such as Asterisk, so this is not just a dry boring instruction manual. I notice that Amazon does not have the table of contents available, so I show and describe that here:
  Chapter 1 "A Telephony Revolution" is just an introduction to Voice over IP and how it differs from computer integrated telephony solutions of just a few years ago.
  Chapter 2 "Preparing a System for Asterisk" is about selecting server hardware, telephony hardware, different types of phones, and Linux considerations.
  Chapter 3 "Installing Asterisk" tells you what packages you will need, how to obtain the source code, and how to compile, install, and update your source code.
  Chapter 4 "Initial Configuration of Asterisk" is about working with interface configuration files, FXO and FXS channels and their configuration, configuring SIP, and configuring inbound and outbound connections. Debugging issues are also raised.
  Chapters 5 and 6 are about dialplans. This ranges from dialplan basics and syntax to adding logic to a dialplan. Also expressions and variable manipulation as well as dialplan functions are discussed. Finally, the Asterisk database is discussed. These two chapters are what I consider to be the meatiest part of the book.
  Chapter 7 "Understanding Telephony" discusses general telephony technology. Both analog and digital systems are discussed. The digital circuit-switched telephone network and packet-switched networks are explained.
  Similarly, chapter 8, "Protocols for VoIP" discusses the need for VoIP protocols, the protocols themselves, codecs, the concept of quality of service and echo, and finally how Asterisk fits into VoIP.
  Chapter 9 is about the Asterisk Gateway Interface and how to write scripts for it in a variety of common languages. This is very interesting material for advanced users who enjoy programming.
  Chapter 10 is about advanced concepts and includes details on Festival, call detail recording, customized system prompts, and call files.
  Chapter 11, the final chapter, is about the future of telephony and how Asterisk might fit into that future.
  There are several useful appendices in the back of the book on VoIP channels, an application reference, an AGI reference, a section on configuration files, and finally an Asterisk command-line interface reference.
  
  
  
  

• Asterisk still lacks professional documentation

  
  By A1PA2QB7CGOTJV on 2005-10-21
  The few reviewers who preceded me were a little star-happy with this book, I believe, despite pointing out some serious shortcomings.
  
  I could probably say that this is the best book currently available on Asterisk, but then again, this is almost the only book available on Asterisk...
  
  The THREE authors produced a mere 208 pages; the remainder is in the form of appendices. And when you factor in the space consumed by scripting examples, you'll realize how you finished the book so quickly.
  
  Some of the chapters do warrant merit. A chapter on hardware requirements for Asterisk was helpful, and those pertaining to the dialplan and AGI scripting were supported with some useful sample code. But instead of delving into important areas like SIP and interfacing with service providers, the authors chose to write too much about Free World Dialup, for example. For those seriously considering Asterisk as a business communications platform, this hobbyist approach to the subject is not amusing.
  
  (One final complaint: O'Reilly should be ashamed for allowing so many typographical errors to make it into print.)
  
  Asterisk needs a thoroughly written manual for the telecom professional: this is not that book. However, if you are new to Asterisk and have never done any programming, this book is still recommended, if for no other reason than it's the only other (current) option apart from online material.
  
  

• Bleah

  
  By A1BDJK501QH72G on 2007-01-17
  This book really isn't all that great and leaves many a stone unturned for novice and professional alike, but I'll give it three stars anyway just because you can legally download an electronic copy for free right from the "Support" section of the main Asterisk website.
  
  If you want a book that's going to explain how to configure VoIP hardware that isn't sold by Digium, try "Switching to VoIP" and just stick to the online docs and sample config comments for Asterisk.
  
  

• The title of the book is slightly understated

  
  By AL0PUFZBBTHR1 on 2006-05-28
  I bought this book because I thought that having a small PBX-type system for my home/office would allow me to route faxes to my fax machine, provide voicemail to replace the limited answering machine, and auto attendant menus to route calls to 1 of 3 extensions that I would be able to configure. I saw a solution that would divide business and personal calls and also filter and perhaps stop once and for all those evil telemarketing calls.
  
  In reading the book and doing a little research I learned that my goals were modest indeed for what the system is capable of!
  
  While the idea is to provide a business-level PBX with inexpensive hardware, the same thing can be used as a killer phone appliance for the home or small office.
  
  Even though I am about a quarter of the way into it, I can tell you that this book is one of the best written technical guides I have ever read. It's easy to read and chock-full of practical information that considers several types of users in it's presentation.
  
  Don't expect to be a beginner and have an easy time of understanding how to install and configure an Asterisk PBX. Even for those with extensive computer experience there are a number of new terms, concepts, and technologies to learn. But if you have the interest and time to spend, you will be rewarded in taking full control of your phone system and be able to expand that control to home automation and other functions limited only by your imagination and programming skill.
  
  I think Asterisk is going to turn into a household name at some point and skills learned today could turn into a career tomorrow.
  
  

• Well written walkthrough and reference

  
  By A2QT0KPQU671OU on 2005-11-13
  I like how this book both walks you through setting up the system and programming it, but also has reference material at the end. That means that the book is a complete all-in-one source for Asterisk users.
  
  This book is well written and illustrated. Definitely a good value for your dollar.
  
  
• The Asterisk book you've been waiting for.
  By A37PP403DI46MB on 2006-01-06
  Right off the bat: this book is -not- meant to be all things to all people. If you're already well-versed in VoIP, then there's a plethora of reference material available on the web, and this book may not be something you want.
  
  If, on the other hand, you've tried to get started with Asterisk, and things just aren't clicking, and you find that the other documentation available -- including the "Yellow book" that preceded this one -- doesn't stack up, this is IT.
  
  With informative, well-documented steps, the authors lead you through the process of becoming familiar with VoIP, and Asterisk in particular. They take you through the creation of such arcane files as your extensions.conf, sip.conf, zapata.conf and zaptel.conf, explaining what goes where, and why. They don't shy away from advanced topics, either: there's a chapter on on AGI (the Asterisk Gateway Interface), lots of juicy reference stuff on commands, etc., in the appendices... this book is worth twice what it's selling for. And, no, I'm not taking kickbacks.
  
  I've tried for months to wrap my head around Asterisk -- and I come from both a telecom and Linux background, and it just wasn't clicking. A week with this book, and I now have a solid foundation on which to base going forward.
  
  [Note: there's another O'Reilly book, "Switching to VoIP", that is also very informative, and has lots of tips and tricks. It's a nice companion book to this one, but this is -the- book you need if you're having trouble getting started, or simply want a better understanding of Asterisk's goings-on.]
  
  
• Duh...What About Multiple Line Phones?
  By A11VJVGFNV5TZV on 2005-11-06
  Isn't the concept of a multiple-line phone with blinking lights pretty fundamental to any office use? This book mentions nothing about it. There is essentially no information about how Asterisk interacts with phones. This really makes me wonder how the authors do it on their systems. It seems to me that how office phones are hooked up to the PBX unit is about 50% of the entire technical problem. The failure to cover this is difficult to comprehend.
  
  
• Excellent Introduction to Asterisk
  By AXXD3G4VSANU7 on 2006-03-29
  Asterisk IS the future of telephony. I have been wanting to dive into the Asterisk world for over a year now, but never had the time until now. I have very limited telephony experience, and what little I know is from working on an old AT&T definity system, in a fairly passive role i.e. watching someone else do all the really cool stuff. Unfortunately, peons like myself weren't allowed to muck around on the PBX's. Lucky for me, Asterisk doesn't care who you are, you are encouraged to muck, and this book is an excellent place to begin.
  
  Asterisk, The Future of Telephony, walks you through a brief history of telephony, and the technologies that have defined the industry since the dawn of time (more or less). The book is entirely self contained, and assumes very little previous telephony knowledge on the part of the reader. Aside from the AGI section, where some programming experience is taken for granted, anyone with basic linux admin skills should be able to read this book, and walk away with a strong Asterisk foundation to build upon.
  
  The book is divided into 11 chapters which cover the full gamut of Asterisk's basic functionality. From preparing, installing, configuring and using an Asterisk system to writing customized scripts, connecting to VoIP gateways, and blocking telemarketers. If you need to do get something done, Asterisk is the PBX for you.
  
  When working with open source tools, you get used to the phrase "that's really cool", and while working with Asterisk, that phrase comes up even more than usual. Every time I got through a chapter, I would have dozens of new ideas that I wanted to implement on my server and play with. I must have bored some of my colleagues to death with my "This is awesome..." speeches, but I don't think I was overstating matters at all. Asterisk really is awesome, and if the PBX big boys aren't worried, they probably should be.
  
  If you are looking to setup a bunch of extensions in your house, leverage the power of VoIP, add capacity to your legacy PBX at the office, or do something entirely new, then this book is an excellent starting place and resource. My inner geek is very happy with the book, and I can easily recommend it to anyone w/even a passing interest in Asterisk.
  
  
• Better off researching the Internet for free
  By A1YLXLQMXBR1U0 on 2006-08-05
  This book makes a lot of assumptions. Such as, you'll be using ZAP channels. If you are using SIP and/or IAX only, you'll quickly find yourself lost trying to follow the examples since a critical part of the setup is done in zapata.conf (i.e. a useless file for SIP/IAX only deployments). If you aren't using ZAP and you skip that part of the chapter (like I did), you'll pull out hair you didn't know you had trying to get the example configs to work. Likewise, the example builds out even further in the next chapter about extensions.conf, riddled with more ZAP configuration with a smattering of SIP examples. And if you are looking for IAX config examples you can forget it. Indeed it seems that SIP and IAX were after thoughts in this book.
  
  If you are looking to setup a more traditional PBX using hardware line cards and PRIs, then this book is for you. Otherwise, keep looking.
  
  
• Good Introduction to Asterisk
  By A2OK0NOYTBRFTM on 2005-10-05
  Though the book explained most of the Asterisk modules it failed to give one solid example that ties together all the concepts.
  
  Information on certain channels were also scanty like the sip.conf file. The appendix only described settings related to the sip channels. Setting which come prior to the SIP channel definitions were not mentioned at all. An example of this is the domain variable. It also didn't show how to terminate calls to a SIP provider.
  
  Given the prominence of SIP today I expected much more on that topic than was covered in the book. The sip.conf file is the best place to look for information right now.
  
  The style of writing is excellent and generally a good read.
  
  
• The Definative Starter
  By A1GOHD0JFVFHL0 on 2005-11-10
  I found this book a great first step into the world of VoIP and Telephony with Asterisk. Following the instructions I was able to get my first Asterisk server up and running quickly and with minimal fuss. The Dialplan section had me trying a few more complicated things immediatly. It has successfully whetted my appetite. As said in Rocky Horror: "I want MORE (MORE,MORE,MORE)"
  
  I hope the authors consider doing a follow up in the vein of 'Asterisk: The Complete Reference'. Also a companion: 'Dial This: Dialplans Revealed'
  
  I have read many of the reviews of this book and am astonished at the amount of people who do not pay attention at what a book is trying to accomplish.
  
  Thank you to the authors for writing an enjoyable read and an eyeopening experience.
  
  
• Admin guide? Who are you people kidding?
  By A37L8DNN1S6XGG on 2005-11-21
  The content has been summarized by a number of people on here already, but I want to add that this book is no "admin guide." It has some value if you are tinkering around, but a telecom book that tosses an important PBX service like SMDR (call accounting) under a catch-all chapter entitled "Asterisk for the Uber-Geek" is not the serious approach that a 40-hour/week PBX person needs.
  
  What most annoyed me about this book is that there is no configuration information for setting up clients using a device like the IAXy2. Instead, under "Configuring Inbound IAX Connections," there's just configuration info for "Free World Dialup." Guess what guys, if I just wanted my ATAs to connect to FWD, I wouldn't need an Asterisk box!
  
  I can't wait for something better to come along. Please don't be fooled by these other reviewers who are giving this pamphlet far too much credit.
  
  
• Learn how to use Asterisk to set up dialplans, applications, speech synthesis and more
  By A14OJS0VWMOSWO on 2006-02-07
  Jim Van Meggelen, Jared Smith & Leif Madsen's Asterisk: The Future Of Telephony focuses on the open source application Asterisk, which allows for flexible dial plans to support all kinds of telephony applications, from analogs and trunks to VoIP services from standard providers. Learn how to use Asterisk to set up dialplans, applications, speech synthesis and more with a guide written by Asterisk's original creator and maintainer: you can't get more authoritative than this!
  
  
• Great reference, newbies and pros alike
  By A3K8RDC72GAEJ8 on 2005-12-09
  I have been a member of the Asterisk community for well over a year. In that time, I have seen some 100,000+ e-mails posted to the Asterisk-Users mailing list. If this book was available a year ago and was required reading BEFORE posting to the list, that number would be cut to less than 10,000.
  
  Simply put, I feel that this book covers %90 of the material that users (mostly new) typically have problems with. I only wish it was available when I started. It is much better than wandering through the wiki endlessly, perusing mailing list archives for hours at a time, and struggling with the provided Asterisk documentation.
  
  A year later, do I still find this book useful? Yes, but not as much. The worlds of Linux, telephony, and new and advancing VoIP protocols are very complicated yet gracefully integrated in Asterisk. I only wish my mind could remember it all, and "Asterisk: The Future of Telephony" serves as an excellent reference for the times I don't.
  
  
• Excellent
  By AVJAIVA2Q2CLH on 2005-10-19
  I've been playing with Asterisk for about a year, and I've been interested in it for twice that, pretty much since I started working with proprietary PBX systems. First was a Nortel, and now a Vodavi and an NEC. I can't understate the symplicity of having a computer-controlled (especially a Linux-based one) phone system.
  
  Jim, Jared and Leif have done an excellent job of summarizing Asterisk in 380 pages. Of course, there's no way to completely cover everything that can be done with Asterisk in such a (relatively) tiny volume, but what they wrote was quality. The dialplan examples will give firm foundations upon which readers can build much more complicated system. The coverage of protocols was thorough. I think my favorite part, though, was the extensive background of traditional telephony. Even though Asterisk is poised to eliminate a lot of it, implementers of Asterisk will certainly be required to interface with it. And with the vast array of voice protocols, it must have been quite the effort to pull it all together.
  
  The other portion of the book that piqued my interest was the Application Gateway Interface, AGI. Basically it's a way to write your dialplan in an external program which could be C, Perl, etc.. I've been meaning for some time to try my hand at an AGI script but never gotten around to it. This book has excellent examples and opens the door to programs which really can do anything.
  
  I have the feeling that sometime within the next two years I will be replacing our NEC phone system with Asterisk, and I'm excited about it. Nervous too, a little. One of my main hold ups is phones, which this book didn't cover much. We also will need to implement call queues and conferences, both of which were only lightly written about. I suppose the conferences are pretty simple so that's no big deal.
  
  
• Tremendous introduction to Asterisk
  By AYV8PKHXOH14F on 2005-10-24
  I picked up this book due to my interst in the telecom field. I was quite curious to see how this software base PBX can compare to today's Nortel and Avaya production PBXs.
  
  I am currently in the process of building my Asterisk PBX and see what its potential is. This book has guided me through the entire process. I must hand it to the authors, they took a step back and paid close attention to detail and the basics. However, the further you read on, you begin to really understand the capabilities of this powerful software.
  
  If you are a beginner or an advanced user, this book is surely to teach you something. Thank you to the authors who have opened my eyes to the breakthrough technology of VOIP.
  
  
• A must-have for Asterisk admins
  By A35B4EX938NX3M on 2005-10-26
  This book is excellent. I just wish I had it when I was starting out on my first Asterisk installation. It is well organised and provides detailed and accurate information on everything from getting started to complex configurations.
  
  I consider myself fairly new to Asterisk and VOIP, so there are a lot of topics in the book that I have yet to learn.
  
  Sure, most of the information is available online in one form or another, but I find that this book is always my first port of call.
  
  
• Leaves much to be desired
  By A335BKNH5HII7U on 2005-11-25
  It's tough to find good docs for Asterisk. I had hoped that buying this book would have allowed me to set up and configure all the basic stuff, but instead I'm consulting the online info just as much as ever.
  
  Although the bulk of people connecting remotely to an Asterisk box are probably wishing to do so from behind a NAT-enabled device on a DSL line or cable modem, this book sort of just assumes that you happen to have a T1 or something with a static IP. There's also no mention of analog telephone adapters or troubleshooting any of the many pitfalls that you will likely encounter.
  
  Have you tried connecting to Asterisk through SIP? Expect difficulties; don't expect any help from this book.
  
  This could have been a nice reference if the writer had chosen to fill at least twice as much paper. Only buy this if you know absolutely nothing at all about Asterisk and are just playing with it as a hobby.
  
  
• Great documentation of this software program
  By A1T6PXM2M3N84A on 2005-12-12
  The first thing of note with this book is that the appendixes are almost as long as the book itself. In this case it is a good thing. The appendixes contain all the detail reference you need to make Asterisk really work right. Asterisk is an open-source private PBX/VOIP software product. With the software and the addition of a couple of PBX cards to your computer you can setup your own telephony system. Asterisk supports voicemail, multiple lines, call-forwarding and everything else you think of when you think about a telephony system. The primary problem with Asterisk has been the difficulty of getting good documentation. This book resolves that problem as the authors walk the reader through everything everything they need to know to set up an Asterisk server. The book does not provide information on the many types of telephone hardware and how to setup a multi-line phone or similar equipment nor is that the intent of the authors. This is a book on the Asterisk software system only and it does an excellent job of explaining the details of the software. With very little documentation available on Asterisk this is a very welcome manual and a recommended read for anyone interested in using Asterisk to set up their own telephony solution.
  
  
• Another great O'Reilly book.
  By A5N9FJPKVQCGM on 2005-12-12
  I've been an Asterisk integrator for about three years and I still learned a great deal from reading this book! Like the many other O'Reilly books I have, this book provides and excellent balance between a reference and users' guide, so, I use it and the web to further my understanding of the program. And, even though Asterisk is a moving target, the authors obviously are involved enough with the community to be able to produce this very timely guide.
  
  In our consulting practice, we run into many people looking for an effortless and highly scalable solution. While asterisk is a very flexible component in such an architecture, don't expect this book alone to teach you every thing you need to build and operate such a solution. No book could possibly tell you everything, but this is an excellent reference for getting started, maintaining, or upgrading, an existing system.
  
  
• HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
  By A14SRPGP0XBL0G on 2006-02-22
  Are you new to Asterisk? If you are, then this book is for you! Authors Jim Van Meggelen, Jared Smith and Leif Madsen, have written an outstanding book that is for those who are familiar with basic Linux administration, networking, and other IT disciplines.
  
  Van Meggelen, Smith and Madsen, begin by providing some background about how Asterisk is going to change the world of telecom. Then, they cover some of the engineering considerations you should have in mind when designing a telecommunications system. The authors continue by covering the obtaining, compiling and installation of Asterisk. In addition, they describe the initial configuration of Asterisk. The authors also introduce the heart of Asterisk--the dialplan. Then, the authors discuss some of the more important technologies in use in the Public Telephone Network. Next, they discuss Voice over IP. Next, the authors introduce one of the more amazing components, the Asterisk Gateway Interface. Then, they briefly cover the features and functions of Asterisk. Finally, they predict a future where open source telephony completely transforms and industry desperately in need of a revolution.
  
  This excellent book is the realization of a desire from the authors to deliver documentation which introduces the most fundamental elements of Asterisk--the things someone new to Asterisk needs to know. In other words, this book was written for, and by, the Asterisk community alone.
  
  
  
• A useful overview of PBX design
  By A3T2VN0CM3CBN3 on 2006-11-19
  This book, typically enough for O'Reilly, is a wonderful overview of PBX design with Asterisk. While it does not treat the specifics enough to make a useful configuration straight from the book (it's not a "cookbook", in other words), it does give many ideas as to the capabilities of Asterisk. If you want to learn how to design your own PBX with asterisk (and you want to do it YOUR way), then start here. If you need to get the theory of PBX design down, start here. If you want a quick solution, then this is a great companion.
  
  
• Great book so far...
  By A1XEBPP19Y0AZP on 2005-10-17
  I have only had the book for a week and have been reading it carefully. I have finished chapter 4. So far it has been excellent, much better than other books I have read on Asterisk. I am relatively new to Linux and Asterisk, and the book has helped me put a lot of the pieces to the Asterisk/Linux puzzle together. I have read a lot about Asterisk on the Internet and another Asterisk book, but this book helped me understand a lot more! Now on to chapter 5! Highly recommended...
  
  
• Long Live the Asterisk Bible
  By AWKHYZI6TKMFK on 2005-10-24
  Had really boring weekend decided why not read this weekend .. i happen to get my new asterisk book i and gave it read.. just like reading the docs project without having to scroll.. Covers about everything you need to get system running and saves the trouble of visiting the wiki for info or #asterisk.. for people wanting to jump on the asterisk bandwagon this is the book to read.
  
  
• Good introduction to Asterisk
  By A17FUPSRQ30GZ1 on 2005-12-05
  Having no previous experience with Asterisk, I found this to be a very interesting and well-written book. Asterisk is an open-source telephony solution, allowing you great flexibility over your communication needs. This book is written for Asterisk newbies, it is not written for experienced Asterisk users. According to the preface, the authors believe that the major stumbling block for getting people to use Asterisk is the documentation. This book is designed to increase the documentation and make it easier to begin using Asterisk. I think the authors succeed admirably in this respect.
  
  This book assumes you have a basic knowledge of Linux administration, but does not assume any Asterisk experience and does a good job reviewing basic telephony concepts (e.g. you don't need to know what a PBX is to use this book).
  
  The authors take the reader through a simple Asterisk installation, including compilation, loading of directories, and dealing with updates. The authors continue this discussion by proceeding through an Asterisk configuration (including tips on debugging the application). Finally, there is a discussion on various Dialplan issues (which include voicemail). If that's all you're interested in reading, you'll have enough information to have Asterisk set up and configured. If you're interested in a little more information, the authors include some excellent material on telephony and VoIP. For the geek, the book includes a lot of very good documentation on the Asterisk Gateway Interface (AGI), which allows external programs to communicate with or control your Asterisk dialplan.
  
  I found this to be a very interesting book, well written, and easy to read. I would highly recommend this book if you're new to Asterisk.
  
  
  

• Switching to VoIP
• Building Telephony Systems with Asterisk
• VoIP Hacks: Tips & Tools for Internet Telephony (Hacks)
• Asterisk For Dummies (For Dummies (Math & Science))
• TrixBox Made Easy: A step-by-step guide to installing and running your home and office VoIP system