astlinux-devel Mailing List for AstLinux

The AstLinux Team has released AstLinux 1.1.3.  All current users are encouraged to upgrade as this release addresses several security and bugfix issues.


AstLinux 1.1.3 adds:

* An Asterisk Operator Panel (FOP2) via a new Add-On Package facility

* Logrotate automatically configured to control logging

* The latest Prosody which now works with Asterisk 1.8 res_jabber and supports XMPP PubSub

* Web Interface enhancements

* Package upgrades providing security and bug fixes



A full changelog can be viewed in the release pages:



http://www.astlinux.org/release/113-asterisk-1151

http://www.astlinux.org/release/113-asterisk-18231



New AstLinux Documentation Topics:



Asterisk Flash Operator Panel 2

http://doc.astlinux.org/userdoc:tt_asterisk-fop2



Distribute Asterisk Events using XMPP PubSub

http://doc.astlinux.org/userdoc:tt_distribute_events_xmpp_pubsub



External Music on Hold Source

http://doc.astlinux.org/userdoc:tt_external_moh_source

--The AstLinux Team

IDS/IPS sounds interesting until you start looking at the requirements.  Something like snort can use a ton of memory.  At a minimum, you'd need a system with 2-4GB of ram.  That being said, it would be a nice feature to have.

-----Original Message-----
From: James Babiak [mailto:ja...@ro...] 
Sent: Wednesday, September 04, 2013 7:07 PM
To: ast...@li...
Subject: Re: [Astlinux-devel] Comments: SIP, DAHDI and Dialplan GUI


On 09/04/2013 06:08 AM, Michael Keuter wrote:
> Am 04.09.2013 um 04:30 schrieb James Babiak <ja...@ro...>:
>
>> ...
>> I also agree with Michael's comments about Astlinux being more than just a PBX. I've actually used it in environments where it was only functioning as a router/firewall (most recently under ESXi). I found it easy to install, setup and manage they way I needed to. Far easier than other strictly router/firewall distros that I tested. I can't think of anything that needs to necessarily be 'enhanced' in that regard, but maybe providing additional 'firewall' functionality could be a nice addition.
> On what extra firewall functionality do you think?
>
> Michael http://www.mksolutions.info

Not sure exactly - I was kind of just throwing out ideas. It might be interesting to look into expanding that aspect of Astlinux. Something along the lines of providing a more UTM (unified threat management) system on the edge of networks. Things like IDS/IPS, gateway anti-virus, application control, user authentication, easier site-to-site VPN management, access reports, etc.

I don't know how difficult it would be to implement these things, but I do know that there are appliances out there that do it that have fairly low-end processors and overall hardware, so I don't think it would necessarily be a huge resource hog. It could help Astlinux devices fill that role as the primary gateway for SMBs that are more concerned about security.

Just an idea.

--James

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On 09/04/2013 06:08 AM, Michael Keuter wrote:
> Am 04.09.2013 um 04:30 schrieb James Babiak <ja...@ro...>:
>
>> ...
>> I also agree with Michael's comments about Astlinux being more than just a PBX. I've actually used it in environments where it was only functioning as a router/firewall (most recently under ESXi). I found it easy to install, setup and manage they way I needed to. Far easier than other strictly router/firewall distros that I tested. I can't think of anything that needs to necessarily be 'enhanced' in that regard, but maybe providing additional 'firewall' functionality could be a nice addition.
> On what extra firewall functionality do you think?
>
> Michael http://www.mksolutions.info

Not sure exactly - I was kind of just throwing out ideas. It might be 
interesting to look into expanding that aspect of Astlinux. Something 
along the lines of providing a more UTM (unified threat management) 
system on the edge of networks. Things like IDS/IPS, gateway anti-virus, 
application control, user authentication, easier site-to-site VPN 
management, access reports, etc.

I don't know how difficult it would be to implement these things, but I 
do know that there are appliances out there that do it that have fairly 
low-end processors and overall hardware, so I don't think it would 
necessarily be a huge resource hog. It could help Astlinux devices fill 
that role as the primary gateway for SMBs that are more concerned about 
security.

Just an idea.

--James

Big thanks for all the comments, suggestions and 2 cents...

We don't plan on making any decisions on this topic soon, so there is plenty of time to comment in the future, feel free to use this thread to add info that may apply, such as a new project that might fit our needs.

Lonnie



On Sep 3, 2013, at 3:47 PM, Lonnie Abelbeck wrote:

> Hi Devs,
> 
> With the addition of ODBC/SQLite3 support, among others, AstLinux now supports most all of the core features in Asterisk.
> 
> Reflecting that, we show a more verbose list of platform features AstLinux offers on our home page:  http://www.astlinux.org/
> 
> But, there is one remaining missing piece... defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan via a Web GUI and not having to "start from scratch" with a text editor.  I'm confident this "hurdle" has had prospective users move on to FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.  I don't need to explain to the readers here, that having a 40MB image of select packages has lots of advantages over distros like FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.
> 
> ==
> I would like to start a (long) discussion on what is the best approach for Astlinux to handle defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan.  Some options:
> 
> 1) Ship AstLinux with a working dialplan as a general template for a SOHO (small office / home office) environment, still text editor based.  Though provides a solution out-of-the-box.
> 
> 2) Starting with #1 above, but add a Web GUI using our Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP (LLSP) web server, saving all data via SQLite3, to dynamically define SIP and dialplan data.
> 
> 3) Be aggressive, start a new project "picoPBX" or such name for the web GUI that takes some of the basic ideas of the Asterisk GUI and FreePBX, using SQLite3, limited in scope using a LLSP web server, for embedded hardware.  Such a project would not be limited to AstLinux, but any other embedded Asterisk installation.
> 
> 4) Leave phone / dialplan configuration as is, defaulting to Digium's sample extensions.conf.
> 
> ==
> First some ground rules:
> 
> 1) Any web GUI should be hooked in via #include, AGI() and such, so the GUI hooks are limited and few, easily allowing hand-coded custom dialplan additions.
> 
> 2) All configuration data will be stored in a SQLite3 database.  It is becoming more and more useful to be able to access extension info from a common source rather then reentering it, FOP2 is a good example.
> 
> 3) Assume a Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP web server using PDO('sqlite: ... ') calls.
> 
> 4)
> 
> 5)
> 
> ==
> Summary, let the brainstorming begin...
> 
> Here is a somewhat old, but still interesting article:
> 
> FreePBX for Embedded Asterisk (April 2008)
> http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=55
> 
> 
> Lonnie

As a power user I would like to +1 the below statement.

Sent from iPhone

On Sep 3, 2013, at 9:09 PM, John Novack <jn...@st...> wrote:

> Don't mean to horn in, as I am far from a developer, but I do have one comment/observation.
> I would hate to see Astlinux morph into a trixbox or the likes,       with files being overwritten at a reboot with changes forced into #include files
> 
> from my perspective, the beauty of Astlinux is the ability to use much of the "standard" Asterisk documentation with the ease of editing of the conf files from tht ever improving GUI I have seen       blossom since 0.5
> The group I have using AstLinux are generally untrained and fearful of Linux and some even of Asterisk, and the current evolving product suits them well.
> Many of them have attempted PIAF or FreePBX with less than       satisfactory results, and have later become a convert to AstLinux.
> 
> I do hope that any major changes would be optional. 
> Just my 2 cents
> 
> John Novack
> 
> 
> Lonnie Abelbeck wrote:
>> Hi Devs,
>> 
>> With the addition of ODBC/SQLite3 support, among others, AstLinux now supports most all of the core features in Asterisk.
>> 
>> Reflecting that, we show a more verbose list of platform features AstLinux offers on our home page:  http://www.astlinux.org/
>> 
>> But, there is one remaining missing piece... defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan via a Web GUI and not having to "start from scratch" with a text editor.  I'm confident this "hurdle" has had prospective users move on to FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.  I don't need to explain to the readers here, that having a 40MB image of select packages has lots of advantages over distros like FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.
>> 
>> ==
>> I would like to start a (long) discussion on what is the best approach for Astlinux to handle defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan.  Some options:
>> 
>> 1) Ship AstLinux with a working dialplan as a general template for a SOHO (small office / home office) environment, still text editor based.  Though provides a solution out-of-the-box.
>> 
>> 2) Starting with #1 above, but add a Web GUI using our Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP (LLSP) web server, saving all data via SQLite3, to dynamically define SIP and dialplan data.
>> 
>> 3) Be aggressive, start a new project "picoPBX" or such name for the web GUI that takes some of the basic ideas of the Asterisk GUI and FreePBX, using SQLite3, limited in scope using a LLSP web server, for embedded hardware.  Such a project would not be limited to AstLinux, but any other embedded Asterisk installation.
>> 
>> 4) Leave phone / dialplan configuration as is, defaulting to Digium's sample extensions.conf.
>> 
>> ==
>> First some ground rules:
>> 
>> 1) Any web GUI should be hooked in via #include, AGI() and such, so the GUI hooks are limited and few, easily allowing hand-coded custom dialplan additions.
>> 
>> 2) All configuration data will be stored in a SQLite3 database.  It is becoming more and more useful to be able to access extension info from a common source rather then reentering it, FOP2 is a good example.
>> 
>> 3) Assume a Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP web server using PDO('sqlite: ... ') calls.
>> 
>> 4)
>> 
>> 5)
>> 
>> ==
>> Summary, let the brainstorming begin...
>> 
>> Here is a somewhat old, but still interesting article:
>> 
>> FreePBX for Embedded Asterisk (April 2008)
>> http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=55
>> 
>> 
>> Lonnie
>> 
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
>> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
>> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
>> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
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>> _______________________________________________
>> Astlinux-devel mailing list
>> Ast...@li...
>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>> 
>> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....
>> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> Dog is my Co-pilot
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
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> 
> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....

+2

Trying to work out Asterisk@Home drove me to write my own dial plan. I thought, surely it didnt need to be that complex and guess what :)

Regards
Michael Knill




On 04/09/2013, at 8:01 PM, Michael Keuter <li...@mk...> wrote:

> 
> Am 04.09.2013 um 04:19 schrieb David Kerr <da...@ke...>:
> 
>> I'll add my support to John's statement regarding overwriting of config files.  Would not like that one bit.
>> 
>> David
> 
> +1
> 
>> On Tue, Sep 3, 2013 at 10:09 PM, John Novack <jn...@st...> wrote:
>> Don't mean to horn in, as I am far from a developer, but I do have one comment/observation.
>> I would hate to see Astlinux morph into a trixbox or the likes, with files being overwritten at a reboot with changes forced into #include files
>> 
>> from my perspective, the beauty of Astlinux is the ability to use much of the "standard" Asterisk documentation with the ease of editing of the conf files from tht ever improving GUI I have seen blossom since 0.5
>> The group I have using AstLinux are generally untrained and fearful of Linux and some even of Asterisk, and the current evolving product suits them well.
>> Many of them have attempted PIAF or FreePBX with less than satisfactory results, and have later become a convert to AstLinux.
>> 
>> I do hope that any major changes would be optional. 
>> Just my 2 cents
>> 
>> John Novack
>> 
>> 
>> Lonnie Abelbeck wrote:
>>> Hi Devs,
>>> 
>>> With the addition of ODBC/SQLite3 support, among others, AstLinux now supports most all of the core features in Asterisk.
>>> 
>>> Reflecting that, we show a more verbose list of platform features AstLinux offers on our home page:  
>>> http://www.astlinux.org/
>>> 
>>> 
>>> But, there is one remaining missing piece... defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan via a Web GUI and not having to "start from scratch" with a text editor.  I'm confident this "hurdle" has had prospective users move on to FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.  I don't need to explain to the readers here, that having a 40MB image of select packages has lots of advantages over distros like FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.
>>> 
>>> ==
>>> I would like to start a (long) discussion on what is the best approach for Astlinux to handle defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan.  Some options:
>>> 
>>> 1) Ship AstLinux with a working dialplan as a general template for a SOHO (small office / home office) environment, still text editor based.  Though provides a solution out-of-the-box.
>>> 
>>> 2) Starting with #1 above, but add a Web GUI using our Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP (LLSP) web server, saving all data via SQLite3, to dynamically define SIP and dialplan data.
>>> 
>>> 3) Be aggressive, start a new project "picoPBX" or such name for the web GUI that takes some of the basic ideas of the Asterisk GUI and FreePBX, using SQLite3, limited in scope using a LLSP web server, for embedded hardware.  Such a project would not be limited to AstLinux, but any other embedded Asterisk installation.
>>> 
>>> 4) Leave phone / dialplan configuration as is, defaulting to Digium's sample extensions.conf.
>>> 
>>> ==
>>> First some ground rules:
>>> 
>>> 1) Any web GUI should be hooked in via #include, AGI() and such, so the GUI hooks are limited and few, easily allowing hand-coded custom dialplan additions.
>>> 
>>> 2) All configuration data will be stored in a SQLite3 database.  It is becoming more and more useful to be able to access extension info from a common source rather then reentering it, FOP2 is a good example.
>>> 
>>> 3) Assume a Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP web server using PDO('sqlite: ... ') calls.
>>> 
>>> 4)
>>> 
>>> 5)
>>> 
>>> ==
>>> Summary, let the brainstorming begin...
>>> 
>>> Here is a somewhat old, but still interesting article:
>>> 
>>> FreePBX for Embedded Asterisk (April 2008)
>>> 
>>> http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=55
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Lonnie
>>> 
>>> 
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
>>> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
>>> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
>>> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
>>> 
>>> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Astlinux-devel mailing list
>>> 
>>> Ast...@li...
>>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to 
>>> pa...@kr...
>>> .
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> 
>> Dog is my Co-pilot
>> 
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
>> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
>> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
>> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
>> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
>> _______________________________________________
>> Astlinux-devel mailing list
>> Ast...@li...
>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>> 
>> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
>> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
>> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
>> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
>> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk_______________________________________________
>> Astlinux-devel mailing list
>> Ast...@li...
>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>> 
>> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....
> 
> 
> Michael
> 
> http://www.mksolutions.info
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk_______________________________________________
> Astlinux-devel mailing list
> Ast...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
> 
> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....

Am 04.09.2013 um 04:30 schrieb James Babiak <ja...@ro...>:

> I'll throw my two cents into the ring.
> 
> Personally, I think that providing some Asterisk dialplan control inside of the Astlinux GUI could be a neat idea. However, I imagine that trying to create something from scratch that would both work well and be useful to a majority of people would be quite time consuming and prone to problems. If you look at distros like FreePBX/TrixBox/etc., while they have the benefit of allowing almost anyone to create a complex PBX system with very little knowledge of how the underlying software actually works, their dialplan is nothing short of a massive catastrophe. Years ago, I had to troubleshoot a relatively simple problem, and it took me about a half an hour just to figure out how everything all came together for just one component that had dialplan spanning a dozen files. While they offer some limited ability to customize outside of the GUI, it isn't easy and can likely either break things or be broken by others.
> 
> I'm not saying it couldn't or shouldn't be done - just that, if not done well, could actually cause more problems then it solves.
> 
> When I first installed Astlinux many years ago, there was a bit of a shock in finding that you needed to do the majority of the work under the hood. I already had a fairly good grasp on Asterisk dialplan in general, not to mention Linux, so it wasn't that big of a deal to me, but I could see where many people would walk away quickly to other options that, as Lonnie pointed out, are easier to configure. But at the same time, that openness allows for significantly greater flexibility and the ability for people to create custom tabs and other hooks to manage their system the way they want to. It would be very sad to see that hindered in lieu of making things easier for the masses. In many ways, I agree with David that it can be far easier to manage a dialplan via a simple text editor, since you generally already know how everything comes together. 
> 
> If the enhancement is to broaden the reach of Astlinux, I guess the real question comes down to who you want this new target audience to be. If the goal is to pull in users who would otherwise use FreePBX/etc., how massive of an undertaking would it be to create a comparable level of dialplan control and functionality? Would the goal be to create a system that could be installed and configured completely out of a GUI so that no understanding of Asterisk or Linux would be necessary?
> 
> I also agree with Michael's comments about Astlinux being more than just a PBX. I've actually used it in environments where it was only functioning as a router/firewall (most recently under ESXi). I found it easy to install, setup and manage they way I needed to. Far easier than other strictly router/firewall distros that I tested. I can't think of anything that needs to necessarily be 'enhanced' in that regard, but maybe providing additional 'firewall' functionality could be a nice addition.

On what extra firewall functionality do you think?

> On my home system, I've also expanded the functionality even more, to have it handle things like being a file/media server, etc.
> 
> Also, while I do appreciate the fact that Astlinux is very streamlined and lacking useless bloat, I personally don't see the need to focus on keeping things exceptionally small. Having an image that is ~40MB is nice for bragging rights, but doesn't seem to me (IMHO) to be that important any more. When you can buy 8GB of flash for <$10, size doesn't matter as much. I'm not trying to say I think it should become some massive blob like so many other distros out there - I just don't understand why size needs to be such a paramount concern. You could double the size and it would still likely be the smallest thing out there.

I think our new "packages strategy", started with FOP2, is a way in that direction, as it limited (for FOP2)  to boxes ≥ 512 MB.

> But back to PBX functionality, my personal preference, for what it's worth, would be to focus more on post-setup control and management. I often use the Voicemail, Monitor and CDR tabs, and it would be nice to see some additional features along those lines. The conference tab that was implemented a year or so ago was a great addition :). I think that many people would find the ability to monitor/manage queues, extension state, etc. equally useful. Maybe even a way to write out and centrally manage phone configuration files. Basically to provide more of a centralized dashboard if that makes sense. This, in and of itself, would still require a large amount of back end configuration work though obviously. 
> 
> --James
> 
> On 09/03/2013 09:10 PM, David Kerr wrote:
>> So this is interesting because a few years ago as I was getting started with AstLinux you were completely against the idea of a GUI for Asterisk config.  I at the time was dabbling with the AsteriskGUI which of course has gone nowhere and I abandoned it long ago, back to plain text, which I am happy with.
>> 
>> I think the core value of Astlinux is its footprint and multiple capabilities... eg router/firewall as well as asterisk.  I don't think that Michael and Lonnie's thoughts on this are in conflict however, Astlinux can stay close to its roots while adding on additional capability.  And I think a GUI for asterisk config is a logical one to add.... perhaps in the same way as the Flash panel and Sound files are implemented... as a post install download.
>> 
>> That said my first question would be to ask if there is an existing GUI out there that we could adopt.  I think we could quickly find out that developing a new GUI for asterisk configuration turns out to be a very large undertaking.  I have no idea what the license terms are for things like FreePBX or similar, but I think it would be a whole lot easier to try and add in an existing GUI that has a developer/support base already established than try something new?
>> 
>> David
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Tue, Sep 3, 2013 at 8:11 PM, Lonnie Abelbeck <li...@lo...> wrote:
>> Hi Michael,
>> 
>> Thanks much for your thoughts...
>> 
>> >> I do understand what you are trying to do however I think the question that needs to be asked is that is Astlinux targeted at the home or SOHO user who wants some phones or is it a highly customisable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed communications environment.
>> 
>> I think AstLinux's goal has been, and always will be, as you nicely stated "a highly customizable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed communications environment"
>> 
>> Though this doesn't preclude a 'default' customization / configuration for a common audience / solution.  The current 'default' is not too useful.
>> 
>> Keep the ideas flowing...
>> 
>> Lonnie
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Sep 3, 2013, at 6:10 PM, Michael Knill wrote:
>> 
>> > Hmm very interesting
>> >
>> > One thing this highlights to me is that we need to really be defining the goals of Astlinux as a project. I'm not sure I really understand them at this stage. For me, Astlinux is a highly customisable platform, with few equals, in which I can develop my business communication product. Obviously this is not the case for everyone so this is why the goal needs to be defined.
>> >
>> > Another thing that should be considered is that Astlinux is not just a telephony system but also a firewall and router. It would be difficult for me to consider using the product without this functionality as this is core to my product offering. Maybe we should be considering building more of this functionality into Astlinux. The Jetway NF9HQL or Lanner FW-7541D would make an awesome router of which the Lanner is currently used by Vyatta.
>> >
>> > So from a web GUI perspective, option 4 is my preference which is leave it as is. I think some refinements on the edit tab would not go astray such as a list of config files in a column on the left-hand side rather than a scroll box for quicker access. Maybe some template editing of sip.conf. Note that I rarely edit the dial plan as I have structured it such that I use all subroutines which is called from a main extensions.conf included file. I also use the Asterisk database extensively for configuration information and have built a dedicated tab for this purpose which i am happy to share with the project.
>> >
>> > I do understand what you are trying to do however I think the question that needs to be asked is that is Astlinux targeted at the home or SOHO user who wants some phones or is it a highly customisable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed communications environment.
>> >
>> > Regards
>> > Michael Knill
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > On 04/09/2013, at 6:47 AM, Lonnie Abelbeck <li...@lo...> wrote:
>> >
>> >> Hi Devs,
>> >>
>> >> With the addition of ODBC/SQLite3 support, among others, AstLinux now supports most all of the core features in Asterisk.
>> >>
>> >> Reflecting that, we show a more verbose list of platform features AstLinux offers on our home page:  http://www.astlinux.org/
>> >>
>> >> But, there is one remaining missing piece... defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan via a Web GUI and not having to "start from scratch" with a text editor.  I'm confident this "hurdle" has had prospective users move on to FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.  I don't need to explain to the readers here, that having a 40MB image of select packages has lots of advantages over distros like FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.
>> >>
>> >> ==
>> >> I would like to start a (long) discussion on what is the best approach for Astlinux to handle defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan.  Some options:
>> >>
>> >> 1) Ship AstLinux with a working dialplan as a general template for a SOHO (small office / home office) environment, still text editor based.  Though provides a solution out-of-the-box.
>> >>
>> >> 2) Starting with #1 above, but add a Web GUI using our Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP (LLSP) web server, saving all data via SQLite3, to dynamically define SIP and dialplan data.
>> >>
>> >> 3) Be aggressive, start a new project "picoPBX" or such name for the web GUI that takes some of the basic ideas of the Asterisk GUI and FreePBX, using SQLite3, limited in scope using a LLSP web server, for embedded hardware.  Such a project would not be limited to AstLinux, but any other embedded Asterisk installation.
>> >>
>> >> 4) Leave phone / dialplan configuration as is, defaulting to Digium's sample extensions.conf.
>> >>
>> >> ==
>> >> First some ground rules:
>> >>
>> >> 1) Any web GUI should be hooked in via #include, AGI() and such, so the GUI hooks are limited and few, easily allowing hand-coded custom dialplan additions.
>> >>
>> >> 2) All configuration data will be stored in a SQLite3 database.  It is becoming more and more useful to be able to access extension info from a common source rather then reentering it, FOP2 is a good example.
>> >>
>> >> 3) Assume a Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP web server using PDO('sqlite: ... ') calls.
>> >>
>> >> 4)
>> >>
>> >> 5)
>> >>
>> >> ==
>> >> Summary, let the brainstorming begin...
>> >>
>> >> Here is a somewhat old, but still interesting article:
>> >>
>> >> FreePBX for Embedded Asterisk (April 2008)
>> >> http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=55
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Lonnie
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> >> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
>> >> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
>> >> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
>> >> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
>> >> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
>> >> _______________________________________________
>> >> Astlinux-devel mailing list
>> >> Ast...@li...
>> >> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>> >>
>> >> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....
>> >
>> >
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> > Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
>> > Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
>> > and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
>> > tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
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>> > Ast...@li...
>> > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>> >
>> > Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....
>> >
>> >
>> 
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
>> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
>> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
>> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
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>> 
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>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
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>> 
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>> 
>> Ast...@li...
>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>> 
>> 
>> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to 
>> pa...@kr....
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
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Michael

http://www.mksolutions.info

Am 04.09.2013 um 04:19 schrieb David Kerr <da...@ke...>:

> I'll add my support to John's statement regarding overwriting of config files.  Would not like that one bit.
> 
> David

+1

> On Tue, Sep 3, 2013 at 10:09 PM, John Novack <jn...@st...> wrote:
> Don't mean to horn in, as I am far from a developer, but I do have one comment/observation.
> I would hate to see Astlinux morph into a trixbox or the likes, with files being overwritten at a reboot with changes forced into #include files
> 
> from my perspective, the beauty of Astlinux is the ability to use much of the "standard" Asterisk documentation with the ease of editing of the conf files from tht ever improving GUI I have seen blossom since 0.5
> The group I have using AstLinux are generally untrained and fearful of Linux and some even of Asterisk, and the current evolving product suits them well.
> Many of them have attempted PIAF or FreePBX with less than satisfactory results, and have later become a convert to AstLinux.
> 
> I do hope that any major changes would be optional. 
> Just my 2 cents
> 
> John Novack
> 
> 
> Lonnie Abelbeck wrote:
>> Hi Devs,
>> 
>> With the addition of ODBC/SQLite3 support, among others, AstLinux now supports most all of the core features in Asterisk.
>> 
>> Reflecting that, we show a more verbose list of platform features AstLinux offers on our home page:  
>> http://www.astlinux.org/
>> 
>> 
>> But, there is one remaining missing piece... defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan via a Web GUI and not having to "start from scratch" with a text editor.  I'm confident this "hurdle" has had prospective users move on to FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.  I don't need to explain to the readers here, that having a 40MB image of select packages has lots of advantages over distros like FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.
>> 
>> ==
>> I would like to start a (long) discussion on what is the best approach for Astlinux to handle defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan.  Some options:
>> 
>> 1) Ship AstLinux with a working dialplan as a general template for a SOHO (small office / home office) environment, still text editor based.  Though provides a solution out-of-the-box.
>> 
>> 2) Starting with #1 above, but add a Web GUI using our Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP (LLSP) web server, saving all data via SQLite3, to dynamically define SIP and dialplan data.
>> 
>> 3) Be aggressive, start a new project "picoPBX" or such name for the web GUI that takes some of the basic ideas of the Asterisk GUI and FreePBX, using SQLite3, limited in scope using a LLSP web server, for embedded hardware.  Such a project would not be limited to AstLinux, but any other embedded Asterisk installation.
>> 
>> 4) Leave phone / dialplan configuration as is, defaulting to Digium's sample extensions.conf.
>> 
>> ==
>> First some ground rules:
>> 
>> 1) Any web GUI should be hooked in via #include, AGI() and such, so the GUI hooks are limited and few, easily allowing hand-coded custom dialplan additions.
>> 
>> 2) All configuration data will be stored in a SQLite3 database.  It is becoming more and more useful to be able to access extension info from a common source rather then reentering it, FOP2 is a good example.
>> 
>> 3) Assume a Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP web server using PDO('sqlite: ... ') calls.
>> 
>> 4)
>> 
>> 5)
>> 
>> ==
>> Summary, let the brainstorming begin...
>> 
>> Here is a somewhat old, but still interesting article:
>> 
>> FreePBX for Embedded Asterisk (April 2008)
>> 
>> http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=55
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Lonnie
>> 
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
>> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
>> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
>> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
>> 
>> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Astlinux-devel mailing list
>> 
>> Ast...@li...
>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>> 
>> 
>> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to 
>> pa...@kr...
>> .
>> 
>> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> Dog is my Co-pilot
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
> _______________________________________________
> Astlinux-devel mailing list
> Ast...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
> 
> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk_______________________________________________
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> Ast...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
> 
> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....


Michael

http://www.mksolutions.info

Am 04.09.2013 um 03:10 schrieb David Kerr <da...@ke...>:

> So this is interesting because a few years ago as I was getting started with AstLinux you were completely against the idea of a GUI for Asterisk config.  I at the time was dabbling with the AsteriskGUI which of course has gone nowhere and I abandoned it long ago, back to plain text, which I am happy with.

It is because now we have the (ODBC) database capabilities built in. 
And if you look at the predefined database schemes, we need many values from the conf-files (username, CallerID, mailbox, email, etc.), if you want to use those features, let's say for XMPP messaging from within Asterisk.

> I think the core value of Astlinux is its footprint and multiple capabilities... eg router/firewall as well as asterisk.  I don't think that Michael and Lonnie's thoughts on this are in conflict however, Astlinux can stay close to its roots while adding on additional capability.  And I think a GUI for asterisk config is a logical one to add….

> perhaps in the same way as the Flash panel and Sound files are implemented... as a post install download.

At least it should be optional, so that existing installations don't need to be changed.

> That said my first question would be to ask if there is an existing GUI out there that we could adopt.  I think we could quickly find out that developing a new GUI for asterisk configuration turns out to be a very large undertaking.  I have no idea what the license terms are for things like FreePBX or similar, but I think it would be a whole lot easier to try and add in an existing GUI that has a developer/support base already established than try something new?
> 
> David
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Tue, Sep 3, 2013 at 8:11 PM, Lonnie Abelbeck <li...@lo...> wrote:
> Hi Michael,
> 
> Thanks much for your thoughts...
> 
> >> I do understand what you are trying to do however I think the question that needs to be asked is that is Astlinux targeted at the home or SOHO user who wants some phones or is it a highly customisable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed communications environment.
> 
> I think AstLinux's goal has been, and always will be, as you nicely stated "a highly customizable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed communications environment"
> 
> Though this doesn't preclude a 'default' customization / configuration for a common audience / solution.  The current 'default' is not too useful.
> 
> Keep the ideas flowing...
> 
> Lonnie
> 
> 
> 
> On Sep 3, 2013, at 6:10 PM, Michael Knill wrote:
> 
> > Hmm very interesting
> >
> > One thing this highlights to me is that we need to really be defining the goals of Astlinux as a project. I'm not sure I really understand them at this stage. For me, Astlinux is a highly customisable platform, with few equals, in which I can develop my business communication product. Obviously this is not the case for everyone so this is why the goal needs to be defined.
> >
> > Another thing that should be considered is that Astlinux is not just a telephony system but also a firewall and router. It would be difficult for me to consider using the product without this functionality as this is core to my product offering. Maybe we should be considering building more of this functionality into Astlinux. The Jetway NF9HQL or Lanner FW-7541D would make an awesome router of which the Lanner is currently used by Vyatta.
> >
> > So from a web GUI perspective, option 4 is my preference which is leave it as is. I think some refinements on the edit tab would not go astray such as a list of config files in a column on the left-hand side rather than a scroll box for quicker access. Maybe some template editing of sip.conf. Note that I rarely edit the dial plan as I have structured it such that I use all subroutines which is called from a main extensions.conf included file. I also use the Asterisk database extensively for configuration information and have built a dedicated tab for this purpose which i am happy to share with the project.
> >
> > I do understand what you are trying to do however I think the question that needs to be asked is that is Astlinux targeted at the home or SOHO user who wants some phones or is it a highly customisable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed communications environment.
> >
> > Regards
> > Michael Knill
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 04/09/2013, at 6:47 AM, Lonnie Abelbeck <li...@lo...> wrote:
> >
> >> Hi Devs,
> >>
> >> With the addition of ODBC/SQLite3 support, among others, AstLinux now supports most all of the core features in Asterisk.
> >>
> >> Reflecting that, we show a more verbose list of platform features AstLinux offers on our home page:  http://www.astlinux.org/
> >>
> >> But, there is one remaining missing piece... defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan via a Web GUI and not having to "start from scratch" with a text editor.  I'm confident this "hurdle" has had prospective users move on to FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.  I don't need to explain to the readers here, that having a 40MB image of select packages has lots of advantages over distros like FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.
> >>
> >> ==
> >> I would like to start a (long) discussion on what is the best approach for Astlinux to handle defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan.  Some options:
> >>
> >> 1) Ship AstLinux with a working dialplan as a general template for a SOHO (small office / home office) environment, still text editor based.  Though provides a solution out-of-the-box.
> >>
> >> 2) Starting with #1 above, but add a Web GUI using our Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP (LLSP) web server, saving all data via SQLite3, to dynamically define SIP and dialplan data.
> >>
> >> 3) Be aggressive, start a new project "picoPBX" or such name for the web GUI that takes some of the basic ideas of the Asterisk GUI and FreePBX, using SQLite3, limited in scope using a LLSP web server, for embedded hardware.  Such a project would not be limited to AstLinux, but any other embedded Asterisk installation.
> >>
> >> 4) Leave phone / dialplan configuration as is, defaulting to Digium's sample extensions.conf.
> >>
> >> ==
> >> First some ground rules:
> >>
> >> 1) Any web GUI should be hooked in via #include, AGI() and such, so the GUI hooks are limited and few, easily allowing hand-coded custom dialplan additions.
> >>
> >> 2) All configuration data will be stored in a SQLite3 database.  It is becoming more and more useful to be able to access extension info from a common source rather then reentering it, FOP2 is a good example.
> >>
> >> 3) Assume a Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP web server using PDO('sqlite: ... ') calls.
> >>
> >> 4)
> >>
> >> 5)
> >>
> >> ==
> >> Summary, let the brainstorming begin...
> >>
> >> Here is a somewhat old, but still interesting article:
> >>
> >> FreePBX for Embedded Asterisk (April 2008)
> >> http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=55
> >>
> >>
> >> Lonnie
> >>
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> >> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> >> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> >> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
> >> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Astlinux-devel mailing list
> >> Ast...@li...
> >> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
> >>
> >> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> > Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> > and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> > tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
> > http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
> > _______________________________________________
> > Astlinux-devel mailing list
> > Ast...@li...
> > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
> >
> > Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....
> >
> >
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
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> _______________________________________________
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> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
> 
> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk_______________________________________________
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> 
> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....


Michael

http://www.mksolutions.info

Am 04.09.2013 um 01:10 schrieb Michael Knill <mic...@ip...>:

> Hmm very interesting
> 
> One thing this highlights to me is that we need to really be defining the goals of Astlinux as a project. I'm not sure I really understand them at this stage.

> For me, Astlinux is a highly customisable platform, with few equals, in which I can develop my business communication product.

Nicely said! I second that.

> Obviously this is not the case for everyone so this is why the goal needs to be defined.
> 
> Another thing that should be considered is that Astlinux is not just a telephony system but also a firewall and router. It would be difficult for me to consider using the product without this functionality as this is core to my product offering. Maybe we should be considering building more of this functionality into Astlinux. The Jetway NF9HQL or Lanner FW-7541D would make an awesome router of which the Lanner is currently used by Vyatta.

I don't know Vyatta, but what are you missing in AstLinux? 

> So from a web GUI perspective, option 4 is my preference which is leave it as is. I think some refinements on the edit tab would not go astray such as a list of config files in a column on the left-hand side rather than a scroll box for quicker access. Maybe some template editing of sip.conf. Note that I rarely edit the dial plan as I have structured it such that I use all subroutines which is called from a main extensions.conf included file.

> I also use the Asterisk database extensively for configuration information and have built a dedicated tab for this purpose which i am happy to share with the project.

I would be interested to see what you added.

> I do understand what you are trying to do however I think the question that needs to be asked is that is Astlinux targeted at the home or SOHO user who wants some phones or is it a highly customisable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed communications environment.

I guess (novice) home users will likely use Askozia PBX or something.

> Regards
> Michael Knill
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 04/09/2013, at 6:47 AM, Lonnie Abelbeck <li...@lo...> wrote:
> 
>> Hi Devs,
>> 
>> With the addition of ODBC/SQLite3 support, among others, AstLinux now supports most all of the core features in Asterisk.
>> 
>> Reflecting that, we show a more verbose list of platform features AstLinux offers on our home page:  http://www.astlinux.org/
>> 
>> But, there is one remaining missing piece... defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan via a Web GUI and not having to "start from scratch" with a text editor.  I'm confident this "hurdle" has had prospective users move on to FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.  I don't need to explain to the readers here, that having a 40MB image of select packages has lots of advantages over distros like FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.
>> 
>> ==
>> I would like to start a (long) discussion on what is the best approach for Astlinux to handle defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan.  Some options:
>> 
>> 1) Ship AstLinux with a working dialplan as a general template for a SOHO (small office / home office) environment, still text editor based.  Though provides a solution out-of-the-box.
>> 
>> 2) Starting with #1 above, but add a Web GUI using our Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP (LLSP) web server, saving all data via SQLite3, to dynamically define SIP and dialplan data.
>> 
>> 3) Be aggressive, start a new project "picoPBX" or such name for the web GUI that takes some of the basic ideas of the Asterisk GUI and FreePBX, using SQLite3, limited in scope using a LLSP web server, for embedded hardware.  Such a project would not be limited to AstLinux, but any other embedded Asterisk installation.
>> 
>> 4) Leave phone / dialplan configuration as is, defaulting to Digium's sample extensions.conf.
>> 
>> ==
>> First some ground rules:
>> 
>> 1) Any web GUI should be hooked in via #include, AGI() and such, so the GUI hooks are limited and few, easily allowing hand-coded custom dialplan additions.
>> 
>> 2) All configuration data will be stored in a SQLite3 database.  It is becoming more and more useful to be able to access extension info from a common source rather then reentering it, FOP2 is a good example.
>> 
>> 3) Assume a Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP web server using PDO('sqlite: ... ') calls.
>> 
>> 4)
>> 
>> 5)
>> 
>> ==
>> Summary, let the brainstorming begin...
>> 
>> Here is a somewhat old, but still interesting article:
>> 
>> FreePBX for Embedded Asterisk (April 2008)
>> http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=55
>> 
>> 
>> Lonnie
>> 
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
>> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
>> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
>> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
>> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
>> _______________________________________________
>> Astlinux-devel mailing list
>> Ast...@li...
>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>> 
>> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
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> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
> 
> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....


Michael

http://www.mksolutions.info

I'll throw my two cents into the ring.

Personally, I think that providing some Asterisk dialplan control inside 
of the Astlinux GUI could be a neat idea. However, I imagine that trying 
to create something from scratch that would both work well and be useful 
to a majority of people would be quite time consuming and prone to 
problems. If you look at distros like FreePBX/TrixBox/etc., while they 
have the benefit of allowing almost anyone to create a complex PBX 
system with very little knowledge of how the underlying software 
actually works, their dialplan is nothing short of a massive 
catastrophe. Years ago, I had to troubleshoot a relatively simple 
problem, and it took me about a half an hour just to figure out how 
everything all came together for just one component that had dialplan 
spanning a dozen files. While they offer some limited ability to 
customize outside of the GUI, it isn't easy and can likely either break 
things or be broken by others.

I'm not saying it couldn't or shouldn't be done - just that, if not done 
well, could actually cause more problems then it solves.

When I first installed Astlinux many years ago, there was a bit of a 
shock in finding that you needed to do the majority of the work under 
the hood. I already had a fairly good grasp on Asterisk dialplan in 
general, not to mention Linux, so it wasn't that big of a deal to me, 
but I could see where many people would walk away quickly to other 
options that, as Lonnie pointed out, are easier to configure. But at the 
same time, that openness allows for significantly greater flexibility 
and the ability for people to create custom tabs and other hooks to 
manage their system the way they want to. It would be very sad to see 
that hindered in lieu of making things easier for the masses. In many 
ways, I agree with David that it can be far easier to manage a dialplan 
via a simple text editor, since you generally already know how 
everything comes together.

If the enhancement is to broaden the reach of Astlinux, I guess the real 
question comes down to who you want this new target audience to be. If 
the goal is to pull in users who would otherwise use FreePBX/etc., how 
massive of an undertaking would it be to create a comparable level of 
dialplan control and functionality? Would the goal be to create a system 
that could be installed and configured completely out of a GUI so that 
no understanding of Asterisk or Linux would be necessary?

I also agree with Michael's comments about Astlinux being more than just 
a PBX. I've actually used it in environments where it was /only/ 
functioning as a router/firewall (most recently under ESXi). I found it 
easy to install, setup and manage they way I needed to. Far easier than 
other strictly router/firewall distros that I tested. I can't think of 
anything that needs to necessarily be 'enhanced' in that regard, but 
maybe providing additional 'firewall' functionality could be a nice 
addition. On my home system, I've also expanded the functionality even 
more, to have it handle things like being a file/media server, etc.

Also, while I do appreciate the fact that Astlinux is very streamlined 
and lacking useless bloat, I personally don't see the need to focus on 
keeping things exceptionally small. Having an image that is ~40MB is 
nice for bragging rights, but doesn't seem to me (IMHO) to be that 
important any more. When you can buy 8GB of flash for <$10, size doesn't 
matter as much. I'm not trying to say I think it should become some 
massive blob like so many other distros out there - I just don't 
understand why size needs to be such a paramount concern. You could 
double the size and it would still likely be the smallest thing out there.

But back to PBX functionality, my personal preference, for what it's 
worth, would be to focus more on post-setup control and management. I 
often use the Voicemail, Monitor and CDR tabs, and it would be nice to 
see some additional features along those lines. The conference tab that 
was implemented a year or so ago was a great addition :). I think that 
many people would find the ability to monitor/manage queues, extension 
state, etc. equally useful. Maybe even a way to write out and centrally 
manage phone configuration files. Basically to provide more of a 
centralized dashboard if that makes sense. This, in and of itself, would 
still require a large amount of back end configuration work though 
obviously.

--James

On 09/03/2013 09:10 PM, David Kerr wrote:
> So this is interesting because a few years ago as I was getting 
> started with AstLinux you were completely against the idea of a GUI 
> for Asterisk config.  I at the time was dabbling with the AsteriskGUI 
> which of course has gone nowhere and I abandoned it long ago, back to 
> plain text, which I am happy with.
>
> I think the core value of Astlinux is its footprint and multiple 
> capabilities... eg router/firewall as well as asterisk.  I don't think 
> that Michael and Lonnie's thoughts on this are in conflict however, 
> Astlinux can stay close to its roots while adding on additional 
> capability.  And I think a GUI for asterisk config is a logical one to 
> add.... perhaps in the same way as the Flash panel and Sound files are 
> implemented... as a post install download.
>
> That said my first question would be to ask if there is an existing 
> GUI out there that we could adopt.  I think we could quickly find out 
> that developing a new GUI for asterisk configuration turns out to be a 
> very large undertaking.  I have no idea what the license terms are for 
> things like FreePBX or similar, but I think it would be a whole lot 
> easier to try and add in an existing GUI that has a developer/support 
> base already established than try something new?
>
> David
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Sep 3, 2013 at 8:11 PM, Lonnie Abelbeck 
> <li...@lo... <mailto:li...@lo...>> wrote:
>
>     Hi Michael,
>
>     Thanks much for your thoughts...
>
>     >> I do understand what you are trying to do however I think the
>     question that needs to be asked is that is Astlinux targeted at
>     the home or SOHO user who wants some phones or is it a highly
>     customisable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an
>     integral part of a managed communications environment.
>
>     I think AstLinux's goal has been, and always will be, as you
>     nicely stated "a highly customizable and reliable communication
>     appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed
>     communications environment"
>
>     Though this doesn't preclude a 'default' customization /
>     configuration for a common audience / solution.  The current
>     'default' is not too useful.
>
>     Keep the ideas flowing...
>
>     Lonnie
>
>
>
>     On Sep 3, 2013, at 6:10 PM, Michael Knill wrote:
>
>     > Hmm very interesting
>     >
>     > One thing this highlights to me is that we need to really be
>     defining the goals of Astlinux as a project. I'm not sure I really
>     understand them at this stage. For me, Astlinux is a highly
>     customisable platform, with few equals, in which I can develop my
>     business communication product. Obviously this is not the case for
>     everyone so this is why the goal needs to be defined.
>     >
>     > Another thing that should be considered is that Astlinux is not
>     just a telephony system but also a firewall and router. It would
>     be difficult for me to consider using the product without this
>     functionality as this is core to my product offering. Maybe we
>     should be considering building more of this functionality into
>     Astlinux. The Jetway NF9HQL or Lanner FW-7541D would make an
>     awesome router of which the Lanner is currently used by Vyatta.
>     >
>     > So from a web GUI perspective, option 4 is my preference which
>     is leave it as is. I think some refinements on the edit tab would
>     not go astray such as a list of config files in a column on the
>     left-hand side rather than a scroll box for quicker access. Maybe
>     some template editing of sip.conf. Note that I rarely edit the
>     dial plan as I have structured it such that I use all subroutines
>     which is called from a main extensions.conf included file. I also
>     use the Asterisk database extensively for configuration
>     information and have built a dedicated tab for this purpose which
>     i am happy to share with the project.
>     >
>     > I do understand what you are trying to do however I think the
>     question that needs to be asked is that is Astlinux targeted at
>     the home or SOHO user who wants some phones or is it a highly
>     customisable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an
>     integral part of a managed communications environment.
>     >
>     > Regards
>     > Michael Knill
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     > On 04/09/2013, at 6:47 AM, Lonnie Abelbeck
>     <li...@lo... <mailto:li...@lo...>> wrote:
>     >
>     >> Hi Devs,
>     >>
>     >> With the addition of ODBC/SQLite3 support, among others,
>     AstLinux now supports most all of the core features in Asterisk.
>     >>
>     >> Reflecting that, we show a more verbose list of platform
>     features AstLinux offers on our home page: http://www.astlinux.org/
>     >>
>     >> But, there is one remaining missing piece... defining SIP,
>     DAHDI and the Dialplan via a Web GUI and not having to "start from
>     scratch" with a text editor.  I'm confident this "hurdle" has had
>     prospective users move on to FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.  I don't
>     need to explain to the readers here, that having a 40MB image of
>     select packages has lots of advantages over distros like FreePBX
>     or PBX-in-a-Flash.
>     >>
>     >> ==
>     >> I would like to start a (long) discussion on what is the best
>     approach for Astlinux to handle defining SIP, DAHDI and the
>     Dialplan.  Some options:
>     >>
>     >> 1) Ship AstLinux with a working dialplan as a general template
>     for a SOHO (small office / home office) environment, still text
>     editor based.  Though provides a solution out-of-the-box.
>     >>
>     >> 2) Starting with #1 above, but add a Web GUI using our
>     Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP (LLSP) web server, saving all data via
>     SQLite3, to dynamically define SIP and dialplan data.
>     >>
>     >> 3) Be aggressive, start a new project "picoPBX" or such name
>     for the web GUI that takes some of the basic ideas of the Asterisk
>     GUI and FreePBX, using SQLite3, limited in scope using a LLSP web
>     server, for embedded hardware.  Such a project would not be
>     limited to AstLinux, but any other embedded Asterisk installation.
>     >>
>     >> 4) Leave phone / dialplan configuration as is, defaulting to
>     Digium's sample extensions.conf.
>     >>
>     >> ==
>     >> First some ground rules:
>     >>
>     >> 1) Any web GUI should be hooked in via #include, AGI() and
>     such, so the GUI hooks are limited and few, easily allowing
>     hand-coded custom dialplan additions.
>     >>
>     >> 2) All configuration data will be stored in a SQLite3 database.
>      It is becoming more and more useful to be able to access
>     extension info from a common source rather then reentering it,
>     FOP2 is a good example.
>     >>
>     >> 3) Assume a Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP web server using
>     PDO('sqlite: ... ') calls.
>     >>
>     >> 4)
>     >>
>     >> 5)
>     >>
>     >> ==
>     >> Summary, let the brainstorming begin...
>     >>
>     >> Here is a somewhat old, but still interesting article:
>     >>
>     >> FreePBX for Embedded Asterisk (April 2008)
>     >> http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=55
>     >>
>     >>
>     >> Lonnie
>     >>
>     >>
>     >>
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     >> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL
>     2012, more!
>     >> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft
>     technologies
>     >> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of
>     step-by-step
>     >> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
>     >>
>     http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
>     >> _______________________________________________
>     >> Astlinux-devel mailing list
>     >> Ast...@li...
>     <mailto:Ast...@li...>
>     >> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>     >>
>     >> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via
>     PayPal to pa...@kr... <mailto:pa...@kr...>.
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     > Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012,
>     more!
>     > Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft
>     technologies
>     > and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of
>     step-by-step
>     > tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
>     >
>     http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
>     > _______________________________________________
>     > Astlinux-devel mailing list
>     > Ast...@li...
>     <mailto:Ast...@li...>
>     > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>     >
>     > Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal
>     to pa...@kr... <mailto:pa...@kr...>.
>     >
>     >
>
>
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
>     Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft
>     technologies
>     and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of
>     step-by-step
>     tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
>     http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
>     _______________________________________________
>     Astlinux-devel mailing list
>     Ast...@li...
>     <mailto:Ast...@li...>
>     https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>
>     Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal
>     to pa...@kr... <mailto:pa...@kr...>.
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Astlinux-devel mailing list
> Ast...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>
> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....

I'll add my support to John's statement regarding overwriting of config
files.  Would not like that one bit.

David


On Tue, Sep 3, 2013 at 10:09 PM, John Novack
<jn...@st...>wrote:

>  Don't mean to horn in, as I am far from a developer, but I do have one
> comment/observation.
> I would hate to see Astlinux morph into a trixbox or the likes, with files
> being overwritten at a reboot with changes forced into #include files
>
> from my perspective, the beauty of Astlinux is the ability to use much of
> the "standard" Asterisk documentation with the ease of editing of the conf
> files from tht ever improving GUI I have seen blossom since 0.5
> The group I have using AstLinux are generally untrained and fearful of
> Linux and some even of Asterisk, and the current evolving product suits
> them well.
> Many of them have attempted PIAF or FreePBX with less than satisfactory
> results, and have later become a convert to AstLinux.
>
> I do hope that any major changes would be optional.
> Just my 2 cents
>
> John Novack
>
>
>  Lonnie Abelbeck wrote:
>
> Hi Devs,
>
> With the addition of ODBC/SQLite3 support, among others, AstLinux now supports most all of the core features in Asterisk.
>
> Reflecting that, we show a more verbose list of platform features AstLinux offers on our home page:  http://www.astlinux.org/
>
> But, there is one remaining missing piece... defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan via a Web GUI and not having to "start from scratch" with a text editor.  I'm confident this "hurdle" has had prospective users move on to FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.  I don't need to explain to the readers here, that having a 40MB image of select packages has lots of advantages over distros like FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.
>
> ==
> I would like to start a (long) discussion on what is the best approach for Astlinux to handle defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan.  Some options:
>
> 1) Ship AstLinux with a working dialplan as a general template for a SOHO (small office / home office) environment, still text editor based.  Though provides a solution out-of-the-box.
>
> 2) Starting with #1 above, but add a Web GUI using our Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP (LLSP) web server, saving all data via SQLite3, to dynamically define SIP and dialplan data.
>
> 3) Be aggressive, start a new project "picoPBX" or such name for the web GUI that takes some of the basic ideas of the Asterisk GUI and FreePBX, using SQLite3, limited in scope using a LLSP web server, for embedded hardware.  Such a project would not be limited to AstLinux, but any other embedded Asterisk installation.
>
> 4) Leave phone / dialplan configuration as is, defaulting to Digium's sample extensions.conf.
>
> ==
> First some ground rules:
>
> 1) Any web GUI should be hooked in via #include, AGI() and such, so the GUI hooks are limited and few, easily allowing hand-coded custom dialplan additions.
>
> 2) All configuration data will be stored in a SQLite3 database.  It is becoming more and more useful to be able to access extension info from a common source rather then reentering it, FOP2 is a good example.
>
> 3) Assume a Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP web server using PDO('sqlite: ... ') calls.
>
> 4)
>
> 5)
>
> ==
> Summary, let the brainstorming begin...
>
> Here is a somewhat old, but still interesting article:
>
> FreePBX for Embedded Asterisk (April 2008)http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=55
>
>
> Lonnie
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
> _______________________________________________
> Astlinux-devel mailing lis...@li...https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>
> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....
>
>
>
> --
>
> Dog is my Co-pilot
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
> _______________________________________________
> Astlinux-devel mailing list
> Ast...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>
> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to
> pa...@kr....
>

Don't mean to horn in, as I am far from a developer, but I do have one comment/observation.
I would hate to see Astlinux morph into a trixbox or the likes, with files being overwritten at a reboot with changes forced into #include files

from my perspective, the beauty of Astlinux is the ability to use much of the "standard" Asterisk documentation with the ease of editing of the conf files from tht ever improving GUI I have seen blossom since 0.5
The group I have using AstLinux are generally untrained and fearful of Linux and some even of Asterisk, and the current evolving product suits them well.
Many of them have attempted PIAF or FreePBX with less than satisfactory results, and have later become a convert to AstLinux.

I do hope that any major changes would be optional.
Just my 2 cents

John Novack


Lonnie Abelbeck wrote:
> Hi Devs,
>
> With the addition of ODBC/SQLite3 support, among others, AstLinux now supports most all of the core features in Asterisk.
>
> Reflecting that, we show a more verbose list of platform features AstLinux offers on our home page:  http://www.astlinux.org/
>
> But, there is one remaining missing piece... defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan via a Web GUI and not having to "start from scratch" with a text editor.  I'm confident this "hurdle" has had prospective users move on to FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.  I don't need to explain to the readers here, that having a 40MB image of select packages has lots of advantages over distros like FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.
>
> ==
> I would like to start a (long) discussion on what is the best approach for Astlinux to handle defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan.  Some options:
>
> 1) Ship AstLinux with a working dialplan as a general template for a SOHO (small office / home office) environment, still text editor based.  Though provides a solution out-of-the-box.
>
> 2) Starting with #1 above, but add a Web GUI using our Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP (LLSP) web server, saving all data via SQLite3, to dynamically define SIP and dialplan data.
>
> 3) Be aggressive, start a new project "picoPBX" or such name for the web GUI that takes some of the basic ideas of the Asterisk GUI and FreePBX, using SQLite3, limited in scope using a LLSP web server, for embedded hardware.  Such a project would not be limited to AstLinux, but any other embedded Asterisk installation.
>
> 4) Leave phone / dialplan configuration as is, defaulting to Digium's sample extensions.conf.
>
> ==
> First some ground rules:
>
> 1) Any web GUI should be hooked in via #include, AGI() and such, so the GUI hooks are limited and few, easily allowing hand-coded custom dialplan additions.
>
> 2) All configuration data will be stored in a SQLite3 database.  It is becoming more and more useful to be able to access extension info from a common source rather then reentering it, FOP2 is a good example.
>
> 3) Assume a Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP web server using PDO('sqlite: ... ') calls.
>
> 4)
>
> 5)
>
> ==
> Summary, let the brainstorming begin...
>
> Here is a somewhat old, but still interesting article:
>
> FreePBX for Embedded Asterisk (April 2008)
> http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=55
>
>
> Lonnie
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
> _______________________________________________
> Astlinux-devel mailing list
> Ast...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>
> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....
>

-- 

Dog is my Co-pilot

writing a GUI for asterisk is definitely a large undertaking..  in our Biz model we first created an "INI" style config file set that we then use "exec" in the asterisk config files to write out the asterisk dialplan..  our GUI (and a menu driven CLI tool) just writes these INI files..  

the reason for the go-between is we found having a GUI directly write asterisk config files or a DB ended up in very little control over when dialplans were deployed..  with the go-between file structure we are able to store many configurations and easily deploy one when needed..  ie site converts T1 providers.. or goes from TDM to SIP trunking, etc.. we can store cinfigs first with and also without  in very simple files..  this also made it easier when looking to Hire a GUI programmer firm..  as they just needed to write out simple INI files and not need ot be versed in asterisk at all..  our already-in-place programmers could write backend PHP code that writes out the asterisk dialplan conf files... 

I only throw that out there as a possibility for Astlinux to incorporate stations, trunks, voice menus, routes, etc into its own config file structure and have backend code write the asterisk stuff...
-Christopher




________________________________
 From: David Kerr <da...@ke...>
To: AstLinux Developers Mailing List <ast...@li...> 
Sent: Tuesday, September 3, 2013 9:10 PM
Subject: Re: [Astlinux-devel] Comments: SIP, DAHDI and Dialplan GUI
 


So this is interesting because a few years ago as I was getting started with AstLinux you were completely against the idea of a GUI for Asterisk config.  I at the time was dabbling with the AsteriskGUI which of course has gone nowhere and I abandoned it long ago, back to plain text, which I am happy with.

I think the core value of Astlinux is its footprint and multiple capabilities... eg router/firewall as well as asterisk.  I don't think that Michael and Lonnie's thoughts on this are in conflict however, Astlinux can stay close to its roots while adding on additional capability.  And I think a GUI for asterisk config is a logical one to add.... perhaps in the same way as the Flash panel and Sound files are implemented... as a post install download.

That said my first question would be to ask if there is an existing GUI out there that we could adopt.  I think we could quickly find out that developing a new GUI for asterisk configuration turns out to be a very large undertaking.  I have no idea what the license terms are for things like FreePBX or similar, but I think it would be a whole lot easier to try and add in an existing GUI that has a developer/support base already established than try something new?

David





On Tue, Sep 3, 2013 at 8:11 PM, Lonnie Abelbeck <li...@lo...> wrote:

Hi Michael,
>
>Thanks much for your thoughts...
>
>
>>> I do understand what you are trying to do however I think the question that needs to be asked is that is Astlinux targeted at the home or SOHO user who wants some phones or is it a highly customisable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed communications environment.
>
>I think AstLinux's goal has been, and always will be, as you nicely stated "a highly customizable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed communications environment"
>
>Though this doesn't preclude a 'default' customization / configuration for a common audience / solution.  The current 'default' is not too useful.
>
>Keep the ideas flowing...
>
>Lonnie
>
>
>
>
>On Sep 3, 2013, at 6:10 PM, Michael Knill wrote:
>
>> Hmm very interesting
>>
>> One thing this highlights to me is that we need to really be defining the goals of Astlinux as a project. I'm not sure I really understand them at this stage. For me, Astlinux is a highly customisable platform, with few equals, in which I can develop my business communication product. Obviously this is not the case for everyone so this is why the goal needs to be defined.
>>
>> Another thing that should be considered is that Astlinux is not just a telephony system but also a firewall and router. It would be difficult for me to consider using the product without this functionality as this is core to my product offering. Maybe we should be considering building more of this functionality into Astlinux. The Jetway NF9HQL or Lanner FW-7541D would make an awesome router of which the Lanner is currently used by Vyatta.
>>
>> So from a web GUI perspective, option 4 is my preference which is leave it as is. I think some refinements on the edit tab would not go astray such as a list of config files in a column on the left-hand side rather than a scroll box for quicker access. Maybe some template editing of sip.conf. Note that I rarely edit the dial plan as I have structured it such that I use all subroutines which is called from a main extensions.conf included file. I also use the Asterisk database extensively for configuration information and have built a dedicated tab for this purpose which i am happy to share with the project.
>>
>> I do understand what you are trying to do however I think the question that needs to be asked is that is Astlinux targeted at the home or SOHO user who wants some phones or is it a highly customisable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed communications environment.
>>
>> Regards
>> Michael Knill
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 04/09/2013, at 6:47 AM, Lonnie Abelbeck <li...@lo...> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Devs,
>>>
>>> With the addition of ODBC/SQLite3 support, among others, AstLinux now supports most all of the core features in Asterisk.
>>>
>>> Reflecting that, we show a more verbose list of platform features AstLinux offers on our home page:  http://www.astlinux.org/
>>>
>>> But, there is one remaining missing piece... defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan via a Web GUI and not having to "start from scratch" with a text editor.  I'm confident this "hurdle" has had prospective users move on to FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.  I don't need to explain to the readers here, that having a 40MB image of select packages has lots of advantages over distros like FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.
>>>
>>> ==
>>> I would like to start a (long) discussion on what is the best approach for Astlinux to handle defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan.  Some options:
>>>
>>> 1) Ship AstLinux with a working dialplan as a general template for a SOHO (small office / home office) environment, still text editor based.  Though provides a solution out-of-the-box.
>>>
>>> 2) Starting with #1 above, but add a Web GUI using our Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP (LLSP) web server, saving all data via SQLite3, to dynamically define SIP and dialplan data.
>>>
>>> 3) Be aggressive, start a new project "picoPBX" or such name for the web GUI that takes some of the basic ideas of the Asterisk GUI and FreePBX, using SQLite3, limited in scope using a LLSP web server, for embedded hardware.  Such a project would not be limited to AstLinux, but any other embedded Asterisk installation.
>>>
>>> 4) Leave phone / dialplan configuration as is, defaulting to Digium's sample extensions.conf.
>>>
>>> ==
>>> First some ground rules:
>>>
>>> 1) Any web GUI should be hooked in via #include, AGI() and such, so the GUI hooks are limited and few, easily allowing hand-coded custom dialplan additions.
>>>
>>> 2) All configuration data will be stored in a SQLite3 database.  It is becoming more and more useful to be able to access extension info from a common source rather then reentering it, FOP2 is a good example.
>>>
>>> 3) Assume a Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP web server using PDO('sqlite: ... ') calls.
>>>
>>> 4)
>>>
>>> 5)
>>>
>>> ==
>>> Summary, let the brainstorming begin...
>>>
>>> Here is a somewhat old, but still interesting article:
>>>
>>> FreePBX for Embedded Asterisk (April 2008)
>>> http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=55
>>>
>>>
>>> Lonnie
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
>>> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
>>> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
>>> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
>>> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Astlinux-devel mailing list
>>> Ast...@li...
>>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>>>
>>> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
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>>
>>
>
>
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So this is interesting because a few years ago as I was getting started
with AstLinux you were completely against the idea of a GUI for Asterisk
config.  I at the time was dabbling with the AsteriskGUI which of course
has gone nowhere and I abandoned it long ago, back to plain text, which I
am happy with.

I think the core value of Astlinux is its footprint and multiple
capabilities... eg router/firewall as well as asterisk.  I don't think that
Michael and Lonnie's thoughts on this are in conflict however, Astlinux can
stay close to its roots while adding on additional capability.  And I think
a GUI for asterisk config is a logical one to add.... perhaps in the same
way as the Flash panel and Sound files are implemented... as a post install
download.

That said my first question would be to ask if there is an existing GUI out
there that we could adopt.  I think we could quickly find out that
developing a new GUI for asterisk configuration turns out to be a very
large undertaking.  I have no idea what the license terms are for things
like FreePBX or similar, but I think it would be a whole lot easier to try
and add in an existing GUI that has a developer/support base already
established than try something new?

David




On Tue, Sep 3, 2013 at 8:11 PM, Lonnie Abelbeck
<li...@lo...>wrote:

> Hi Michael,
>
> Thanks much for your thoughts...
>
> >> I do understand what you are trying to do however I think the question
> that needs to be asked is that is Astlinux targeted at the home or SOHO
> user who wants some phones or is it a highly customisable and reliable
> communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed
> communications environment.
>
> I think AstLinux's goal has been, and always will be, as you nicely stated
> "a highly customizable and reliable communication appliance to be used as
> an integral part of a managed communications environment"
>
> Though this doesn't preclude a 'default' customization / configuration for
> a common audience / solution.  The current 'default' is not too useful.
>
> Keep the ideas flowing...
>
> Lonnie
>
>
>
> On Sep 3, 2013, at 6:10 PM, Michael Knill wrote:
>
> > Hmm very interesting
> >
> > One thing this highlights to me is that we need to really be defining
> the goals of Astlinux as a project. I'm not sure I really understand them
> at this stage. For me, Astlinux is a highly customisable platform, with few
> equals, in which I can develop my business communication product. Obviously
> this is not the case for everyone so this is why the goal needs to be
> defined.
> >
> > Another thing that should be considered is that Astlinux is not just a
> telephony system but also a firewall and router. It would be difficult for
> me to consider using the product without this functionality as this is core
> to my product offering. Maybe we should be considering building more of
> this functionality into Astlinux. The Jetway NF9HQL or Lanner FW-7541D
> would make an awesome router of which the Lanner is currently used by
> Vyatta.
> >
> > So from a web GUI perspective, option 4 is my preference which is leave
> it as is. I think some refinements on the edit tab would not go astray such
> as a list of config files in a column on the left-hand side rather than a
> scroll box for quicker access. Maybe some template editing of sip.conf.
> Note that I rarely edit the dial plan as I have structured it such that I
> use all subroutines which is called from a main extensions.conf included
> file. I also use the Asterisk database extensively for configuration
> information and have built a dedicated tab for this purpose which i am
> happy to share with the project.
> >
> > I do understand what you are trying to do however I think the question
> that needs to be asked is that is Astlinux targeted at the home or SOHO
> user who wants some phones or is it a highly customisable and reliable
> communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed
> communications environment.
> >
> > Regards
> > Michael Knill
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 04/09/2013, at 6:47 AM, Lonnie Abelbeck <li...@lo...>
> wrote:
> >
> >> Hi Devs,
> >>
> >> With the addition of ODBC/SQLite3 support, among others, AstLinux now
> supports most all of the core features in Asterisk.
> >>
> >> Reflecting that, we show a more verbose list of platform features
> AstLinux offers on our home page:  http://www.astlinux.org/
> >>
> >> But, there is one remaining missing piece... defining SIP, DAHDI and
> the Dialplan via a Web GUI and not having to "start from scratch" with a
> text editor.  I'm confident this "hurdle" has had prospective users move on
> to FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.  I don't need to explain to the readers here,
> that having a 40MB image of select packages has lots of advantages over
> distros like FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.
> >>
> >> ==
> >> I would like to start a (long) discussion on what is the best approach
> for Astlinux to handle defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan.  Some options:
> >>
> >> 1) Ship AstLinux with a working dialplan as a general template for a
> SOHO (small office / home office) environment, still text editor based.
>  Though provides a solution out-of-the-box.
> >>
> >> 2) Starting with #1 above, but add a Web GUI using our
> Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP (LLSP) web server, saving all data via SQLite3,
> to dynamically define SIP and dialplan data.
> >>
> >> 3) Be aggressive, start a new project "picoPBX" or such name for the
> web GUI that takes some of the basic ideas of the Asterisk GUI and FreePBX,
> using SQLite3, limited in scope using a LLSP web server, for embedded
> hardware.  Such a project would not be limited to AstLinux, but any other
> embedded Asterisk installation.
> >>
> >> 4) Leave phone / dialplan configuration as is, defaulting to Digium's
> sample extensions.conf.
> >>
> >> ==
> >> First some ground rules:
> >>
> >> 1) Any web GUI should be hooked in via #include, AGI() and such, so the
> GUI hooks are limited and few, easily allowing hand-coded custom dialplan
> additions.
> >>
> >> 2) All configuration data will be stored in a SQLite3 database.  It is
> becoming more and more useful to be able to access extension info from a
> common source rather then reentering it, FOP2 is a good example.
> >>
> >> 3) Assume a Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP web server using PDO('sqlite:
> ... ') calls.
> >>
> >> 4)
> >>
> >> 5)
> >>
> >> ==
> >> Summary, let the brainstorming begin...
> >>
> >> Here is a somewhat old, but still interesting article:
> >>
> >> FreePBX for Embedded Asterisk (April 2008)
> >> http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=55
> >>
> >>
> >> Lonnie
> >>
> >>
> >>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> >> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft
> technologies
> >> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> >> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
> >>
> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Astlinux-devel mailing list
> >> Ast...@li...
> >> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
> >>
> >> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to
> pa...@kr....
> >
> >
> >
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> > Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft
> technologies
> > and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
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> > Ast...@li...
> > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
> >
> > Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to
> pa...@kr....
> >
> >
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
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> _______________________________________________
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> Ast...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>
> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to
> pa...@kr....
>

Hi Michael,

Thanks much for your thoughts...

>> I do understand what you are trying to do however I think the question that needs to be asked is that is Astlinux targeted at the home or SOHO user who wants some phones or is it a highly customisable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed communications environment.

I think AstLinux's goal has been, and always will be, as you nicely stated "a highly customizable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed communications environment"

Though this doesn't preclude a 'default' customization / configuration for a common audience / solution.  The current 'default' is not too useful.

Keep the ideas flowing...

Lonnie



On Sep 3, 2013, at 6:10 PM, Michael Knill wrote:

> Hmm very interesting
> 
> One thing this highlights to me is that we need to really be defining the goals of Astlinux as a project. I'm not sure I really understand them at this stage. For me, Astlinux is a highly customisable platform, with few equals, in which I can develop my business communication product. Obviously this is not the case for everyone so this is why the goal needs to be defined.
> 
> Another thing that should be considered is that Astlinux is not just a telephony system but also a firewall and router. It would be difficult for me to consider using the product without this functionality as this is core to my product offering. Maybe we should be considering building more of this functionality into Astlinux. The Jetway NF9HQL or Lanner FW-7541D would make an awesome router of which the Lanner is currently used by Vyatta.
> 
> So from a web GUI perspective, option 4 is my preference which is leave it as is. I think some refinements on the edit tab would not go astray such as a list of config files in a column on the left-hand side rather than a scroll box for quicker access. Maybe some template editing of sip.conf. Note that I rarely edit the dial plan as I have structured it such that I use all subroutines which is called from a main extensions.conf included file. I also use the Asterisk database extensively for configuration information and have built a dedicated tab for this purpose which i am happy to share with the project.
> 
> I do understand what you are trying to do however I think the question that needs to be asked is that is Astlinux targeted at the home or SOHO user who wants some phones or is it a highly customisable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed communications environment.
> 
> Regards
> Michael Knill
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 04/09/2013, at 6:47 AM, Lonnie Abelbeck <li...@lo...> wrote:
> 
>> Hi Devs,
>> 
>> With the addition of ODBC/SQLite3 support, among others, AstLinux now supports most all of the core features in Asterisk.
>> 
>> Reflecting that, we show a more verbose list of platform features AstLinux offers on our home page:  http://www.astlinux.org/
>> 
>> But, there is one remaining missing piece... defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan via a Web GUI and not having to "start from scratch" with a text editor.  I'm confident this "hurdle" has had prospective users move on to FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.  I don't need to explain to the readers here, that having a 40MB image of select packages has lots of advantages over distros like FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.
>> 
>> ==
>> I would like to start a (long) discussion on what is the best approach for Astlinux to handle defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan.  Some options:
>> 
>> 1) Ship AstLinux with a working dialplan as a general template for a SOHO (small office / home office) environment, still text editor based.  Though provides a solution out-of-the-box.
>> 
>> 2) Starting with #1 above, but add a Web GUI using our Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP (LLSP) web server, saving all data via SQLite3, to dynamically define SIP and dialplan data.
>> 
>> 3) Be aggressive, start a new project "picoPBX" or such name for the web GUI that takes some of the basic ideas of the Asterisk GUI and FreePBX, using SQLite3, limited in scope using a LLSP web server, for embedded hardware.  Such a project would not be limited to AstLinux, but any other embedded Asterisk installation.
>> 
>> 4) Leave phone / dialplan configuration as is, defaulting to Digium's sample extensions.conf.
>> 
>> ==
>> First some ground rules:
>> 
>> 1) Any web GUI should be hooked in via #include, AGI() and such, so the GUI hooks are limited and few, easily allowing hand-coded custom dialplan additions.
>> 
>> 2) All configuration data will be stored in a SQLite3 database.  It is becoming more and more useful to be able to access extension info from a common source rather then reentering it, FOP2 is a good example.
>> 
>> 3) Assume a Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP web server using PDO('sqlite: ... ') calls.
>> 
>> 4)
>> 
>> 5)
>> 
>> ==
>> Summary, let the brainstorming begin...
>> 
>> Here is a somewhat old, but still interesting article:
>> 
>> FreePBX for Embedded Asterisk (April 2008)
>> http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=55
>> 
>> 
>> Lonnie
>> 
>> 
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
>> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
>> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
>> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
>> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
>> _______________________________________________
>> Astlinux-devel mailing list
>> Ast...@li...
>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
>> 
>> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
> _______________________________________________
> Astlinux-devel mailing list
> Ast...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
> 
> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....
> 
> 

Hmm very interesting

One thing this highlights to me is that we need to really be defining the goals of Astlinux as a project. I'm not sure I really understand them at this stage. For me, Astlinux is a highly customisable platform, with few equals, in which I can develop my business communication product. Obviously this is not the case for everyone so this is why the goal needs to be defined.

Another thing that should be considered is that Astlinux is not just a telephony system but also a firewall and router. It would be difficult for me to consider using the product without this functionality as this is core to my product offering. Maybe we should be considering building more of this functionality into Astlinux. The Jetway NF9HQL or Lanner FW-7541D would make an awesome router of which the Lanner is currently used by Vyatta.

So from a web GUI perspective, option 4 is my preference which is leave it as is. I think some refinements on the edit tab would not go astray such as a list of config files in a column on the left-hand side rather than a scroll box for quicker access. Maybe some template editing of sip.conf. Note that I rarely edit the dial plan as I have structured it such that I use all subroutines which is called from a main extensions.conf included file. I also use the Asterisk database extensively for configuration information and have built a dedicated tab for this purpose which i am happy to share with the project.
 
I do understand what you are trying to do however I think the question that needs to be asked is that is Astlinux targeted at the home or SOHO user who wants some phones or is it a highly customisable and reliable communication appliance to be used as an integral part of a managed communications environment.

Regards
Michael Knill




On 04/09/2013, at 6:47 AM, Lonnie Abelbeck <li...@lo...> wrote:

> Hi Devs,
> 
> With the addition of ODBC/SQLite3 support, among others, AstLinux now supports most all of the core features in Asterisk.
> 
> Reflecting that, we show a more verbose list of platform features AstLinux offers on our home page:  http://www.astlinux.org/
> 
> But, there is one remaining missing piece... defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan via a Web GUI and not having to "start from scratch" with a text editor.  I'm confident this "hurdle" has had prospective users move on to FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.  I don't need to explain to the readers here, that having a 40MB image of select packages has lots of advantages over distros like FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.
> 
> ==
> I would like to start a (long) discussion on what is the best approach for Astlinux to handle defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan.  Some options:
> 
> 1) Ship AstLinux with a working dialplan as a general template for a SOHO (small office / home office) environment, still text editor based.  Though provides a solution out-of-the-box.
> 
> 2) Starting with #1 above, but add a Web GUI using our Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP (LLSP) web server, saving all data via SQLite3, to dynamically define SIP and dialplan data.
> 
> 3) Be aggressive, start a new project "picoPBX" or such name for the web GUI that takes some of the basic ideas of the Asterisk GUI and FreePBX, using SQLite3, limited in scope using a LLSP web server, for embedded hardware.  Such a project would not be limited to AstLinux, but any other embedded Asterisk installation.
> 
> 4) Leave phone / dialplan configuration as is, defaulting to Digium's sample extensions.conf.
> 
> ==
> First some ground rules:
> 
> 1) Any web GUI should be hooked in via #include, AGI() and such, so the GUI hooks are limited and few, easily allowing hand-coded custom dialplan additions.
> 
> 2) All configuration data will be stored in a SQLite3 database.  It is becoming more and more useful to be able to access extension info from a common source rather then reentering it, FOP2 is a good example.
> 
> 3) Assume a Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP web server using PDO('sqlite: ... ') calls.
> 
> 4)
> 
> 5)
> 
> ==
> Summary, let the brainstorming begin...
> 
> Here is a somewhat old, but still interesting article:
> 
> FreePBX for Embedded Asterisk (April 2008)
> http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=55
> 
> 
> Lonnie
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Learn the latest--Visual Studio 2012, SharePoint 2013, SQL 2012, more!
> Discover the easy way to master current and previous Microsoft technologies
> and advance your career. Get an incredible 1,500+ hours of step-by-step
> tutorial videos with LearnDevNow. Subscribe today and save!
> http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/clk?id=58040911&iu=/4140/ostg.clktrk
> _______________________________________________
> Astlinux-devel mailing list
> Ast...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/astlinux-devel
> 
> Donations to support AstLinux are graciously accepted via PayPal to pa...@kr....

Hi Devs,

With the addition of ODBC/SQLite3 support, among others, AstLinux now supports most all of the core features in Asterisk.

Reflecting that, we show a more verbose list of platform features AstLinux offers on our home page:  http://www.astlinux.org/

But, there is one remaining missing piece... defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan via a Web GUI and not having to "start from scratch" with a text editor.  I'm confident this "hurdle" has had prospective users move on to FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.  I don't need to explain to the readers here, that having a 40MB image of select packages has lots of advantages over distros like FreePBX or PBX-in-a-Flash.

==
I would like to start a (long) discussion on what is the best approach for Astlinux to handle defining SIP, DAHDI and the Dialplan.  Some options:

1) Ship AstLinux with a working dialplan as a general template for a SOHO (small office / home office) environment, still text editor based.  Though provides a solution out-of-the-box.

2) Starting with #1 above, but add a Web GUI using our Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP (LLSP) web server, saving all data via SQLite3, to dynamically define SIP and dialplan data.

3) Be aggressive, start a new project "picoPBX" or such name for the web GUI that takes some of the basic ideas of the Asterisk GUI and FreePBX, using SQLite3, limited in scope using a LLSP web server, for embedded hardware.  Such a project would not be limited to AstLinux, but any other embedded Asterisk installation.

4) Leave phone / dialplan configuration as is, defaulting to Digium's sample extensions.conf.

==
First some ground rules:

1) Any web GUI should be hooked in via #include, AGI() and such, so the GUI hooks are limited and few, easily allowing hand-coded custom dialplan additions.

2) All configuration data will be stored in a SQLite3 database.  It is becoming more and more useful to be able to access extension info from a common source rather then reentering it, FOP2 is a good example.

3) Assume a Linux-Lighttpd-SQLite3-PHP web server using PDO('sqlite: ... ') calls.

4)

5)

==
Summary, let the brainstorming begin...

Here is a somewhat old, but still interesting article:

FreePBX for Embedded Asterisk (April 2008)
http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?p=55


Lonnie