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New ncurses Asterisk Manager Interface

I am currently developing a asterisk ncurses interface using the manager API. The project is currently awaiting sourceforge's approval but I have a beta online at: http://sig.lange.googlepages.com/assman

The projects real home will be assman.sf.net. This project really consists of two parts, libassman is a C manager API and assman is the ncurses portion. It's still beta but I have been running it for quite some time on a production server w/o any major glitches. Soon as the sf.net approves the project I will have SVN and the latest versions online.

Feedback is welcome as well as requested features.

Thanks.

--
Sig Lange
http://www.signuts.net/

A2Billing (Asterisk2Billing) Release v1.1

Great day for the callingcard-fan ! Just a little mail to let you know that a new version of A2Billing 1.1 (Asterisk2Billing) is available! Many features have been added, lot of bugs solved and hundreds of good improvement made, so there we go -> http://www.asterisk2billing.org

The key newest features :
* Ecommerce product with API addons - Integration with OsCommerce
* Speeddial-support for UIs (Customer & Admin)
* Add DB backup/restore tool
* Currencies support management - yahoo financial (cront for auto update) Add new model for update currencies from Yahoo , now currencies are in Database in cc_currencies table. Remove rates.inc and any information about.
* Signup autocreates SIP/IAX
* New features for PEAK & OFF-PEAK
Add new model for ratecard , removing week day and adding starttime and endtime instead.
* Add Voip Provider
* Add the RATECARD SIMULATOR
* Add support for Jiax web phone
* notenoughcredit_assign_newcardnumber_cid
IF the CARD doesn't have enough credit, request to enter a new cardnumber.
* Assign the CallerID to the new cardnumber
* Predictive Dialer Features
* Manage Campaign, Phonelist, Import Phonelist.
* Customer Interface (Agent) have the ability to call a predefined amount of Phone numbers.
* Support call at Zero-Cost & Negative cost (plus param = maxtime_tocall_negatif_free_route)
* CallerID authentication improvement
- (new param : notenoughcredit_cardnumber ;
cid_auto_assign_card_to_cid ; cid_auto_create_card ;
cid_auto_assign_card_to_cid)
* Popup Select Card - avoids long load (issue for user that have create lot of cards)
* PAYPAL SUPPORT - IPN - Customer can buy credit through paypal
* DID SELLING SUPPORT + DID monthly billing - features to sell to your customer preconfigured DID.
Customer would have the opportunity to redirect those to his phonenumber and even deploy a Follow-Me
* and lot of bug fixed and much more fancy stuff...


Other good stuff as well :
- WIKI -> http://wiki.asterisk2billing.org/
I hope it will help to build quickly a serious user manual, I know
that it's pain in $%& to understand the soft.
- FORUM -> http://forum.asterisk2billing.org/
Damn !!! Que demande le peuple !!!
- DEMO -> http://demo.asterisk2billing.org/
- UNLIMITED FREE CALL ON PSTN -> ... forgot the link!


Seriously bit of helps (documenting, dev...) would be greatly appreciated so if someone is willing to help/contribute, please contact me directly! Enough talk it's time to enjoy this new version, have fun and don't forget to send me your comments :P

Cheers,
/Areski

Help Article: Configuring iax.conf for IAX2 clients

Break out your SSH terminals ladies. If you don't have a base setup don't read further and go back to look at my other help articles. When you are done with this article you should be able to set up an IAX2 soft client and configure Asterisk to route this call to our sip phones a the office. We will use GSM as the single codec to keep it simple. Our options in the iax.conf file will be tailored to low bandwidth connections.


1) Open a terminal window. If you need to access the server remotely Download an SSH (Secure Shell) client to access the Asterisk server. You can use Secure Shell from a vareity of Microsoft Windows clients freely available on the world wide web. If you have Linux or Mac OS X just read the man files from a terminal. From the shell change directory to the Asterisk config folder.

Example:

[matt@localhost ~]$ cd /etc/asterisk/



2) Change to root user and open up the iax.conf file with your favorite text editor. When you are done the iax.conf should look like below. What we are doing here is defining the base options for our remote soft phone to be able to register. Once we finish this we will move to the extensions.conf to add in an IAX context.

Example:

[matt@localhost asterisk]$ su
Password:
[root@localhost asterisk]#nano iax.conf

[general]
port=4569
bandwidth=low
disallow=all
allow=gsm
jitterbuffer=yes
tos=lowdelay

[9252]
type=friend
context=from-iax
secret=2005
host=dynamic
allow=gsm
auth=plaintext,md5,rsa
callerid=9252
mailbox=9252

3) Next we open up the extensions.conf, and add a route to the IAX user we just defined. Your extensions.conf will look like below. These are the same extensions as used in previous help articles.

Example:

[root@localhost asterisk]# nano extensions.conf
[general]

static=yes ; These two lines prevent the command-line interface

writeprotect=yes ; from overwriting the config file. Leave them here.

[bogon-calls]

exten => _.,1,Congestion

[from-sip]

exten => 9250,1,Dial(SIP/9250,20)
exten => 9250,2,Voicemail(u9250)
exten => 9250,102,Voicemail(b9250)

exten => 9250,103,Hangup

exten => 9251,1,Dial(SIP/9251,20)
exten => 9251,2,Voicemail(u9251)
exten => 9251,102,Voicemail(b9251)
exten => 9251,103,Hangup

exten => 2999,1,Voicemailmain()
exten => 2999,2,Hangup

include => from-iax

[from-iax]

exten => 9252,1,Dial(IAX2/9252,20)
exten => 9252,2,Voicemail(u9252)
exten => 9252,102,Voicemail(b9252)
exten => 9252,103,Hangup

include => from-sip

4) Finally, we need to add in our user to voicemail.conf.

Example:

[general]

format=wav
attach=no
[default]
9250=1000,matt, matt@somecompany.com
9251=1000,joel,joel@somecompany.com
9252=1000,gerald,gerald@somecompany.com

5) We're almost done we need to download a soft client. Get your speakers and microphone ready. Go to
http://www.laser.com/dante/diax/diax.html
. Download the latest version of Diax. After it is installed, right click on one of the small boxes that goes from right to left in numerical order. Each one of these boxes contains the possible servers the client can register too. In our case we have one server so we'll click on the first box and enter our login information. Remember that we orginally set up GSM as the codec. So select GSM and unselect the other codecs. Leave the context blank. Oh by the way, the name and number fields on the bottom are for Caller ID information.





Thats it folks. Fire up Asterisk and enjoy.


Note: My name is Matt Birkland, I work as a VoIP Engineer for VoiceIP Solutions an Asterisk Provider in Washington State. Every week I will be submitting a one page Asterisk/VoIP tip of the week on the blog.

Digium and Zimbra Bring Asterisk VoIP to there Collaboration Suite at Spring VON

Digium Inc., the original creator of Asterisk and pioneer of open source telephony, and Zimbra, a leader in open source next-generation collaboration and messaging, today announced the integration of Voice-over-IP calling capabilities into the Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS), by leveraging Asterisk. With this partnership, Digium and Zimbra are leading the way to the first open source Unified Messaging platform.

"We're really pumped that Zimbra and Digium are able to provide Unified Messaging this quickly by leveraging open platforms. Now, I can initiate a conference call with my engineering team, quickly access my voicemail or call home from the road - all through my e-mail," said Satish Dharmaraj, Zimbra co-founder and CEO. "What's beautiful about this is that it's all based on open standards. We've implemented a SIP integration with ZCS that has been tested and proven on Digium's open source Asterisk VoIP system."

Click Here for the Full Release

Esnatech Unveils Asterisk Based Real-Time Communication Solution



Esnatech, a provider of enterprise real-time communications solutions, today announced it has joined the Digium(TM) Partner Program to deliver enterprise based Unified Communications solutions integrated with Asterisk(TM) IP telephony platforms.

Esnatech's Telephony Office-LinX is a next-generation, real-time communications platform integrated within an organization's telephony network. The release of IP integration with Asterisk will provide small business organizations a truly Unified Communications platform incorporating IP telephony with integrated IP applications targeted specifically for the enterprise business marketplace.

Digium is the creator and primary developer of Asterisk, the industry's first Open Source PBX. Used in combination with Digium's PCI telephony interface cards, Asterisk offers a strategic, highly cost-effective approach to voice and data transport over TDM, switched and Ethernet architectures. The Digium Partner program is designed to promote Digium and Asterisk related products. The goal is to form a closer relationship between Digium and companies who have incorporated Digium and Asterisk technology into their products.

Esnatech's Asterisk integration provides pure SIP-based Unified Communications solution. It provides secure server-based wireless messaging with access to messages conveniently from virtually any communication device, including office telephones, cell phones, PDAs, PCs or any Web browser. It bundles a suite of communication solutions including location-based routing, fax, online and offline access to presence management and text messaging, speech-enabled routing and corporate dialing, desktop call control, IVR and CRM integration, all bundled into one integrated SIP based platform.

Click Here for the Full Release

Newbie’s Guide to Asterisk@Home 2.7: Unabridged Installation and Upgrade Guide

Excerpt: "Asterisk@Home 2.7 has hit the street with some new goodies and a new release of Asterisk. So here we go again. With this update, you get version 1.2.5 of Asterisk as well as the latest and greatest version of:

-Linux
-CentOS 4.2, the latest Festival Speech Engine (1.96)
-Latest version of the Asterisk Management Portal (1.10.010)
-Flash Operator Panel (version 0.24)
-Open A2Billing
-Digium card auto-configuration
-Loads of AGI scripts including weather forecasts and wakeup calls
-xPL Support
-Latest SugarCRM Contact Management System with the Cisco XML Services interface
-Click-to-Dial support
-Microsoft File Sharing and Networking support through Samba (3.0.10)
-Plus dozens and dozens of free utility software applications for Asterisk compliments of Nerd Vittles.

And, yes, Asterisk@Home 2.7 still fits on a single CD! By popular request, we've also added something new in this tutorial: some tips and tricks to assist those upgrading from a previous version of Asterisk@Home."

Click Here for the Full Nerd

Ekiga 2.00 aka “The Oberoi Release” available!

Ekiga is a SIP and H.323 compatible VoIP, IP Telephony, and Video Conferencing application that allows you to make audio and video calls to remote users with SIP or H.323 hardware and software. It supports all modern VoIP features for both SIP and H.323.

Ekiga is the first Open Source application to support both H.323 and SIP, as well as audio and video. Ekiga was formerly known as GnomeMeeting.

After more than one year of work, Ekiga 2.00 is finally available. Ekiga is now the first Open Source software to support both SIP and H.323 in the same application. GnomeMeeting was already a pioneer among the Open Source Voice over IP softphones, and we hope that Ekiga will continue in this path.
Among the features, you can find:

* Full SIP Support
* Full H.323 Support
* Audio and Video Support
* Call Transfer (SIP and H.323)
* Call Forwarding on Busy, No Answer, Always
* Call Hold
* DTMFs Support
* Basic Instant Messaging
* Ability to Register to Several SIP Accounts Simultaneously
* Possibility to Use an Outbound Proxy (SIP) or a Gateway (H.323)
* Message Waiting Indications (SIP)

Among the new features:

* Better Audio Quality
* Support for Wideband Codecs (16 kHz)
* Echo Cancellation
* Easier NAT traversal
* Improved camera Support
* Improved Video4Linux2 Support
* DBUS Support

Click Here for more Information

Vonage cries foul over Canada VoIP “Tax”

Note: This is a little off-topic for Asterisk but I felt you still needed to read this if you have not heard because it could affect us in the future.

Consumer IP telephony service Vonage has filed a complaint to Canadian regulators over plans by local telco, Shaw Cable, to charge a C$10 ($8.60) a month premium to customers of VoIP service. The charge ostensibly covers to cost of providing a higher quality connection to VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) users. Vonage describes the levy as a "thinly veiled" VoIP tax.

By using internet connections to make long-distance calls instead of conventional voice circuits users have the potential to make far cheaper calls. Vonage argues Shaw's fee undermines the healthy development of the market.

Click Here for the Full Article

ruby-agi-1.1.2 released

Release notes of: ruby-agi-1.1.2
March 07, 2006

In this release bug # 3722 has been fixed
Details of this can be found Here

Feedback, suggestion, feature request, bug report is always appreciated.

For more information, please visit projects homepage:
http://rubyforge.org/projects/ruby-agi/

To install ruby-agi,
% gem install ruby-agi
and to update exiting ruby-agi
% gem update ruby-agi


Thanks,
Mohammad Khan
info beeplove com

MINNESOTA: TwinCities Asterisk Users Group -Saturday 03/11/2006

SPONSORED THIS MONTH BY: SOUND CHOICE COMMUNICATIONS LLC
"Keep in touch with the World"

The next Asterisk Users Group meeting has been scheduled for this Saturday March 11th at 11:30am.

Meetings are held monthly on the second Saturday of each month, excluding July and December.

Meetings are held at Sound Choice Communications LLC:
Google Map Directions

Sound Choice Communications is located in Bloomington Minnesota, just 1/2 mile west of the Mall of America. The address is: 7839 12th Ave S, Bloomington Minnesota 55425. We are just south of Hwy494 on 12th Ave. 12th Avenue is one exit west of Hwy 77 (Ceder Ave).


This month we'll hear from Shane Young and Dave Walters as they discuss integrating Asterisk with Tivo, Home security, Home Audio, and possibly X-10.

If you're having a problem with Asterisk, bring your questions to a meeting for free help. We love helping new users!

Come to a meeting to meet other asterisk users, see asterisk solutions, win a door prize, eat food, or for the good company, to look for work, if your looking for employees, to go out for a drive, to get out of your house, whatever, JUST COME TO THE MEETING!

Last month we gave away two licenses for the Cepstral Text to Speech software voices. Thank's Cepstral for your support!

In November we gave away an autographed copy of the O'Reilly book "Asterisk - The Future of Telephony". All three authors, plus Mark Spencer personally signed the book.

New visitors can help themselves to FREE FXO Interface cards (So you can connect your phone line, and have a timing source for meetme and IAX protocols). Some members have been known to swap hardware at the meetings. Have extra VoIP gear, looking for VoIP gear? There's plenty of hardware to see. Have you been to a meeting recently?

Please come and share your own ideas and learn from others. As always, free food.


We are always looking for help with meeting topics. If you feel like taking the lead, please do and simply let me know if you need anything.

Meeting starts at 11:30am and parking is available in the rear of the building. Runs about 2 hours or less, and we'll order Pizza to the meeting for lunch.

Look forward to seeing you there.

VoIP Info Link



If you have a product or service you'd like to introduce to our members, send a private message to ejo1(at)soundchoicecomm.com and we'll see if we can't get you listed as next month's sponsor.

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