Excited newb needs help!

Asterisk Asterisk Support
1

Hello All!

First of all I would like to thank the Asterisk team for a very well documented spec and allowing such a software to be open source. As a programmer with 6 yrs of professional exp., I recently came into contact with companies asking me if I knew of “Asterisk” and would be willing to work on it’s development…

As such I decided to join this community, however as a total n00b to the scene, I have a few questions:

a) I am to be given a project of setting up an office with a pbx based system and having them use VoIP to lower the costs between the 2 locations (branch to main office)

b) after the above task is complete, the branch office is asked to become a “calling card” company for people wanting to make international calls. In more detail they want to have a 1800 number for people to call, then get a dial tone so they can call whereever the heck they want.

Now for both options, I am clueless :smiley: Isn’t that grand??? Hehe… Seriously tho folks I have been given 90 days to come up with a proof of concept/learning curve. Can anyone here please point me in the right direction? What books are available out there for me to read up on? What companies shall I talk to for hardware cost analysis? Since the project has been assigned the “1 man job” cap, at this point I am kinda freaking out… And since it is my job on the line, I need all the help I can get. I know how to plug a phone into an existing system reading it’s manuals etc. but I have never “built” one before. I am clueless as to the procedures that follow regarding setting up VoIP and PBX in general. And since they want a “cost-effective” solution, telling me to use “open source” is all the “business side” cares about!

At this point I am looking for all the information I can absorb folks! So pleaaaaaaaaassssseeeeeee help me :smile: I’ll buy ya dinner or sumthin if you in VA :smiley: Seriously tho, if it is on a “consultancy” basis you prefer to help me, I am game with that as well. PM me for details please!

Sincerely,
knightmare

P.S. I didn’t see a manual regarding forum rules admin! So I am kindly asking not to throw the “RTFM” at me if I breached your rules in any way!

2

Have a look at these pre-built apps:

voip-info.org/wiki/view/Aste … plications

Also, you might look at someone like teliax.com to provide the 800# via IAX2 for you.

We all start out clueless at some point…

You need to pick up this book ASAP:

voip-info.org/wiki/view/Aste … +Telephony

You may find much of the information on line by having a look at the Wiki (referenced in my signature below) or via Google. The place to buy TDM harware is Digium (digium.com), the sponsors of Asterisk.

The O’Reilly book will give you a good starting point on both a VoIP/telephony and Asterisk basis.

3

Asterisk is pretty cool isn’t it?

You can do EXACTLY what you want with Asterisk, and you don’t even need anything special really to try it…it’ll do it straight out of the box.
I had to do something similar and this is the code pulled straight out of my extensions.conf

Put the follwoing lines in your extensions.conf file

This one was with a bunch of other includes near the top:

  include => ext-disa

This one can pretty much go anywhere in the same .conf file

[ext-disa]
exten => 4199,1,Answer ;answer the call
exten => 4199,2,DigitTimeout(5) ;sets the timeout for entering digits
exten => 4199,3,ResponseTimeout(5)
exten => 4199,4,Authenticate(0421643)
exten => 4199,5,DISA(no-password|from-internal) ;if successful, then DISA is activated with the dialplan ‘from-internal’

In my example, i only used 1 number, but you can replace the (0421643) number with say (/etc/callingcards.txt) which would be a file that contains all your calling card numbers, one on each line. 4199 was just the extension number I used, you can substitute it for whatever you want. Also, the ‘from-internal’ is specific from Asterisk@home installation so that might require you to change it.

If you are a ‘newbie’ to the asterisk world, go and download Asterisk@home 1.5 and install it. It takes a LOT of the tediousness of installation away. You basically stick the CD in, press enter and go for lunch. It’ll be done when you get back.

Also DISA is a bit dangerous, so i would recommed you police it to make sure its not being abused.

4

@MuppetMaster:

Thnx a bunch on the tips! I will definitely pick up the book and start reading :smiley:

@DicksonC:

Dood that’s some cool include :smile: As soon as I figure out the whole “PBS” and “VoIP” I am doing JUST AS YOU ORDERED! hehehe :smile:

@All:

Thnx guys! This support really motivated me! If you will excuse me, I am gonna reaad the book then do as DicksonC suggested. Hopefully I won’t be considered to bad of lamer if I hit you all up with more questions as I face them!

Again, thanks all :smile:

–knightmare

5

@knightmare

Having been in the same boat a couple of months ago I know what you’re feeling.

Have a look at a post I put at forums.digium.com/viewtopic.php?t=85

Might be of some help.