Asterisk is an open source software VoIP PBX system, which is a pure software implementation scheme running in the Linux environment. Asterisk is a fully functional application that provides many telecommunication functions. It can turn your x86 machine into your own switch, and can also be used as an enterprise class commercial switch. The exciting thing about Asterisk is that it provides the functionality and scalability of commercial switches within the budget of small businesses. You can use an old Pentium 3 computer to make your organization look like a big enterprise in the world.
- Asterisk can support traditional lines, including:
TDM （Time Division Multiplexing）
T1/ E1 PRI/ PRA & RBS （Robbed Bit Signal）modes
Analog phone lines/ phones （POTS）
ISDN （Integrated Services Digital Network）
Both BRI （Basic Rate）and PRI （Primary Rate）
- The protocols supported by Asterisk include:
Session Initiation Protocol （SIP）
H. 323 （ITU standard, contributed support）
Inter- Asterisk eXchange （IAX）
Media Gateway Control Protocol （MGCP）
What can Asterisk do?
- Voice mail service with directory
- Conference calls, interactive voice responses, and phone sequencing
- Path call
- Caller ID Service
- ADSI
······
Comparison with hardware VOIP
Asterisk has common functions of hardware VOIP.
Asterisk can support multimedia and has programmable functions.
Asterisk has a friendly management interface.
The bandwidth required by Asterisk is generally 32KB/line. That is to say, for each line supported, only 32KB of bandwidth needs to be added, but the network quality needs to be good.
Asterisk can support thousands of clients. (Board and bandwidth support required)
A domestic Asterisk forum: http://bbs.voip88.com
