[Asterisk-Users] FAQ, Documentation, How-to, etc

Thu Nov 20 15:55:11 MST 2003

I don't know if we need to go so far down the road as "how to install
Linux".  I think we should start the "practical" side of Asterisk
operations by explaining how to get the source code out of the CVS.  The
only specific Linux-level stuff we should include (other than a blurb
saying 'look elsewhere for a tutorial on installing Linux') would be the
specific packages that are required (gcc, kernel sources, mpg123,
festival, etc.)

I think the book should be broken up into the following major
categories:

1.  Introduction to Asterisk
	a.  Introductory letter from Mark Spencer
	b.  General concept of asterisk
		1) Asterisk: Swiss Army Knife of Telephony
		2) PBX, IVR, ACD
		3) What To Expect
			i.   Asterisk Is Not A Turnkey System
			ii.  Don't Like It?  Change It Yourself.
			iii. Opensource, GPL and LGPL Licensing
	c.  Asterisk architecture
		1)  The Big Picture
		2)  Channels
		3)  Codec Conversions
		4)  Etc.
	d.  Key components
		1) Asterisk software
			i.   Asterisk (Main PBX & Channels)
			ii.  Zaptel (Drivers for Zaptel Hardware)
			iii. Libpri (ISDN PRI Drivers for Zaptel)
		2) Zaptel Hardware
			i.   Overview
			ii.  X100P - Single Port FXO Line Interface
			iii. S100U - Single Port FXS USB Interface
			iv.  TDM400P - 4 Port FXS Analog Interface
			v.   T100P - Single Span T1/E1 Interface
			vi.  TE410P - Quad-Span T1/E1 Interface
		3) Channels
			i.   Zaptel Devices/Channels
			ii.  The IAX Protocol
			iii. SIP
			iv.  MGCP
			v.   Skinny
			vi.  H323
		4) Applications
			i.   Dial and Other Basics
			ii.  Voicemail
			iii. Dial-Plan Scripting
		5) Extensibility
			i.   AGI
			ii.  Custom Applications
	e.  Add-On/Optional Components
		1) Software
			i.   Gnophone
			ii.  VoIP Soft Phones
			iii. DIAX
			iv.  Gastman
			v.   Open H.323
		2) Hardware
			i.   VoIP Hard-Phones
			ii.  VoIP Gateways
			ii.  Channel Banks
2.  Installing Asterisk
	a.  Requirements
		1)  PC Hardware Requirements
			i.   SOHO/Residential System
			ii.  Small Business System
			iii. Medium Business/Small Call-Center System
			iv.  Enterprise System
			v.   VoIP Carrier System
		2) Linux Requirements
			i.   Minimum Kernel Version
			ii.  Required Packages
			iii. 
	b.  Hardware Installation
	c.  Downloading Asterisk from CVS
	d.  Compiling Asterisk
	e.  Loading drivers (zaptel/ztdummy)
		*) RedHat Is Weird
	f.  Configuring Autostart w/ safe_asterisk
		*) RedHat Is Weird

3.  Basic Asterisk Configuration
	[Some Basic Configuration Advice Here]
	a.  File Layout (The Asterisk Directory Structure)
	b.  Editing .conf files
      c.  Configuring Phones & Channels
		1)  The zapata.conf File
			[All About zaptel/tormenta configuration]
		2)  The sip.conf File
			a) The General Section
			b) Supported Codecs
			c) Registration of "peers"
			d) SIP Device Entries
			e) Unsupported codecs/G729.a/b
		3)  The oh323.conf File
			a) ?? - Anybody Know This Well?
		4)  The skinny.conf File
			a) ?? - Anybody Know This Well?
		5)  CAPI/ISDN?
		Etc....
	d.  Configuring Applications
		1)  Music On Hold: The moh.conf File
			a) Don't Forget The Timing (Part A)
		2)  Voicemail: The voicemail.conf File
			a) Basic SMTP Configuration
		3)  Meet-Me:  The meetme.conf File
			a) Don't Forget The Timing (Part B)
	e.  Sample Configurations
		[LOTS OF SAMPLES HERE]
4.  Common Issues
	a.  Music On Hold
	b.  DTMF Over SIP
	c.  Internationalization of Asterisk
	d.  SIP and NAT
	*.  How to politely use the Asterisk-Users List
	*.  How to politely use the Asterisk IRC channel
5.  Advanced Asterisk Configuration
	a.  Agents and the Asterisk ACD
	b.  Text-To-Speech: Festival
	c.  CLASS Features (John Todd?)
	d.  Fax (Software Fax)
6.  Scripting And AGI Extensions to Asterisk
	AGI In: c, perl, php, etc.
7.  Creating Asterisk Applications In C

A1. Glossary of Asterisk & Telecom Terms
A2. Applications Reference
A3. CLI Commands Reference
A4. Manager Commands Reference
A5. The Asterisk API Reference

I think we could probably find some people out there who are expert
enough at various arcane aspects of Asterisk (CAPI/ISDN, Festival,
Manager, IAX trunking, SIP over NAT, etc.) that we could pound out a
good working book in a few months.

Does anybody want to help with this?  PLEASE EXPAND MY OUTLINE.  ADD
THINGS YOU THINK ARE IMPORTANT.  LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO TAKE A CRACK
AT A CHAPTER!

Thanks,

Steve

-----Original Message-----
From: asterisk-users-admin at lists.digium.com
[mailto:asterisk-users-admin at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of David
Gomillion
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2003 2:25 PM
To: asterisk-users at lists.digium.com
Subject: RE: [Asterisk-Users] FAQ, Documentation, How-to, etc

Steven Sokol <> wrote:
> Rather than telling newbies (especially the technically challenged)
> to "google for it", we could send them a link to the ebook and tell
> them to run the search in Acrobat reader to find the answer.  Anybody
> want to start a thread building the outline for the book?   

This can open a whole new can of worms: how new of a newb* do we write
the manuals to?  Do we need instructions on how to install and use
Linux?  Should we explain what CVS is and why we are issuing the
command, or just give a cookbook?

My knowledge, as I am sure many of you on the list well know, is very
limited.  I would be willing to assist in writing up whatever I know how
to do.  It's just such a big project that I don't know where I'd begin.

Can we get a project manager (preferably a student or someone else with
lots of time) to compile the Table of Contents, get volunteers to guest
write a subchapter, etc?  With the work that Digium has put into
Asterisk, I would have no problem in the world with turning my work over
to them, as long as they agree to make the updated revisions of the
manual always available free of charge, at the very least to those who
helped write it.

My idea is:

1 Preparation
1.1 What is Linux?
1.2 Where do I download Linux?
1.3 What packages do I need to install?
2 Hardware
2.1 What hardware is required?
2.2 Zaptel Interfaces
2.3 VoIP phones
2.4 Soft phones
2.5 Known incompatibilities
3 Installing Asterisk
3.1 What is CVS?
3.2 How to download
3.3 How to compile and install
3.4 Loading drivers at boot time
3.5 Configuring Asterisk to automatically start
4 Configuring Asterisk
4.1 extensions.conf
4.2 zapata.conf
4.3 sip.conf
4.4 musiconhold.conf
4.5 voicemail.conf
..........
5 Common problems
..........
6 Debugging
..........
7 Applications
7.1 Music on Hold
7.2 Queues
7.3 Dial
7.4 Goto
..........

You get the idea.  Then, we could get a volunteer to write section 3.3,
then get another person to read it and make changes.  Finally, we could
pass it on to someone at Digium for final verification that the facts
presented are correct.

Comments?

Thanks,
David Gomillion

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