Everyone is on the phone, but nowadays they prefer mobile phones we use, however, PBX solutions are still needed today. Below we present an effective and versatile free program that can be used to replace our existing, traditional PBX system.
Asterisk Asterisk is a complete PBX software that provides all the features we expect from a PBX and more. The software was created in 1999 by Mark Spencer (Digium). Allows connected phones to call another phone and connect to other phone services, such as Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. It can be run on Linux, BSD and OS X, but there is also a Windows version.
Asterisk can use VoIP protocols and work with almost all standard telephone equipment using relatively inexpensive hardware. The size of the software is so small that it can be used in embedded environments such as a router can also run.
Asterisk provides, among others, voicemail, conference call, automatic voice announcement menu (IVR), call waiting, video call service. It supports Voice over IP protocol, including Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) and H.323 (as client and gateway). It can work with most SIP phones and acts as a gateway between IP phones and the PSTN. The Inter-Asterisk eXchange (IAX2) protocol ensures efficient calls between Asterisk PBXs and to VoIP providers, if they support it.
Asterisk does not require any special hardware to use Voice-over-IP (VoIP). One (or more) VoIP service providers can be used for outgoing and/or incoming calls, and outgoing and incoming calls can be handled independently by using completely different VoIP and/or traditional telecommunications providers.
In addition to supporting VoIP protocols, Asterisk supports many traditional circuit switching protocols such as ISDN. This requires a suitable hardware interface card that supports such protocols. Each protocol requires the installation of the appropriate modules for the programs. Asterisk's communication options are significantly expanded with these functions.
For connecting digital and analog telephone equipment, Asterisk supports hardware devices from several manufacturers, primarily all hardware manufactured by Digium, Asterisk's sponsor. Digium has one- and four-port T1 and E1 interfaces for connecting ISDN PRI lines and channels. In addition, a four-port analog FXO and FXS card is available, which is popular among small users. Cards from other manufacturers can also be used for BRI (ISDN2) connections, or four- and eight-port BRI cards, such as CAPI-compatible or HFC chipset cards.
The fact that we can use a single IT network for VoIP and data transmission purposes increases our efficiency and reduces our costs, there is no need for a separate network for the telephone. We can integrate smart mobile phones into our PBX VoIP system as an extension, so our system can become more functional and cost-effective.
The popularity of Asterisk is constantly growing worldwide due to its free, open source license. In this way, the various language modules (translations, sounds) were completed in a natural way, which are also available in Hungarian.
Our services include the design, installation and development of these systems as needed. If you are interested, find us with confidence.