Packt Publishing is offering a sample chapter from its newly-published book on the Linux-based AsteriskNOW IP PBX (Internet protocol private branch exchange) distribution. Nir Simionovich's AsteriskNOW explains how to install and maintain AsteriskNOW systems, with tips on phone configuration, routing… logic, and voice mail design.

(Click for larger view of the AsteriskNOW cover)

AsteriskNOW is a customized Linux distribution and open-source “software appliance” from Digium, the company that maintains the open source Asterisk telephony engine and tool kit. The GPL-licensed AsteriskNow appliance sports a web-based config/admin GUI (AsteriskGUI) and easy-install options for home users, and its Linux environment has been pared to a minimum, to reduce security threats, Digium says.

Designed for beginners, the AsteriskNOW book offers an overview of Asterisk and PBX technology in general, and shows how to install AsteriskNow and configure the required dial plan. Packt promises that the book will demonstrate how to set up the software appliance to provide the “flexibility, functionality and features that are available only in expensive proprietary business systems.”

Topics covered in the book include:

• The basic components of an AsteriskNOW telephony system
• Installing AsteriskNOW
• Building an office PBX using AsteriskNOW
• Using the AsteriskNOW web GUI interface
• Configuring an IP soft phone: CounterPath X-Lite
• Configuring an IP hard phone: LinkSys 941
• Configuring an IP adapter
• Configuring a connection for an IAX2 DID provider
• How to plan the routing logic of your PBX
• How to record your system announcements
• Building a menu using the GUI wizard
• Configuring and using conference rooms with the conferencing system
• Writing your own applications for Asterisk with the Asterisk Gateway Interface

Author Nir Simionovich has been involved with the open source community in Israel since 1997, says Packt. He co-founded a Digium distributor/integrator called Atelis, where he developed an Asterisk-based international operator services platform for Bezeq International. He is now a freelance Asterisk consultant and the co-founder of the Israel Asterisk users group.

Availability

The 204-page AsteriskNOW (March 2008) is available for $36, or $23.80 for the electronic version, at the Packt site.

Chapter Seven, and a brief author introduction, are available for free download as a PDF here. The chapter is called, “For Annoyance, Press 1 — Voice Menus and IVR.” It steps the reader through the do's — and the all too commonly-encountered “don'ts” — of voice mail design.

 
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