Help me to configur asterisk in centos5.2

hello Friends,
I am pushed to configure astewrisk server on centos box.
actually i am a newbie in asterisk,really i dont know too much abt this server,
If anyone help me to figureout this that will help my career,
pls help to configure asterisk server also the hardware needed,s/w needed etc…

advanced thanks to all…

Step 1: Buy or download the following book.
http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596510480/index.html

Step 2: Read it cover to cover and follow along the samples on your own box.

Step 3: Slowly try your own experiments using the things you learned in the book as a guideline.

Step 4: if you have a specific issue with the examples in the book or your own issues ask specific questions here and we will be glad to help.

thanks for your reply
going to checkout this