[asterisk-biz] Digium G.729 codec module updated and new performance testing tool released

[Kevin P. Fleming]

We are pleased to announce a major new release of the Digium G.729 codec
module for Asterisk. This release incorporates a number of changes, and
in addition, includes a new performance testing tool which will make it
easier for users to choose the best 'flavor' of the module for the
particular system they are installing it on.

The changes are:

- Version Numbering

  The module's version numbering is now more in line with our other
products; the numbers will be in the form 'X.Y.Z_A.B.C', with the
'X.Y.Z' component representing the version of Asterisk the module is
intended to operate in, and the 'A.B.C' component representing the
actual version of the codec module code itself. Please note that the
1.6.0 modules will work in any Asterisk 1.6 release from 1.6.0 onwards,
until such time as a new version is needed; when that occurs, we will
provide 1.6.0 modules *and* modules designed for the later releases.

- Optimization

  The new modules were built using the latest (4.3) release of the GNU C
compiler, and use a number of new optimization methods available in that
release to significantly improve encoding/decoding performance. In
addition, we now build the modules in both 32-bit and 64-bit varieties
for each CPU flavor that support both modes, so that users with 64-bit
CPUs running a 32-bit Linux installation can still have a version of the
module optimized for their CPU type. GCC 4.3 also provides optimizations
for some newer CPU families (Intel Core2, AMD Barcelona, and others), so
we've made those flavors available with this release.

- Performance Testing

  In the past, we've offered different CPU flavors of the module to
hopefully provide the best encoding/decoding performance, but it was up
to the user to install and test each flavor to determine which one
provided the best performance. This process is difficult and time
consuming, and did not always provide reliable results. To help with
this situation, we've now released a tool called 'benchg729', which can
be run on the target system and will execute encoding speed tests (using
a real audio sample) for each CPU flavor that we offer for that
platform, and then report the results and suggest the best performing
module flavor for that system. Note that the use of this tool requires
that the system have at least one valid channel license for the Digium
G.729 codec installed; it will not run without a license.

The new codec modules and benchg729 tool are now available at:

http://downloads.digium.com/pub/telephony/codec_g729

New codec modules are available for Asterisk 1.2, Asterisk 1.4 and
Asterisk 1.6.x on both x86-32 and x86-64 Linux platforms, and the
benchg729 tool is also available for x86-32 and x86-64 Linux platforms.

We hope these product updates improve your system performance, and as
always, we thank you for supporting Asterisk and using Digium products!