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<TITLE>RE: [Asterisk-Users] Outline For Asterisk Book - Please Review & Comment</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>This is a great development. What a good way to develop a book for a great piece of software! I had an ouline slowly developing as my Asterisk implementations broadened, but now I'll jump on board behind yours. I am not an Asterisk guru either, but I'll contribute as I can. Some initial suggestions are in-line below.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>One general suggestion: Include with the printed book a bootable Knoppix-style CD that would boot up, autoload drivers for the DevKit or DevKit Lite, and be ready to hit with SIP and IAX from DIAX and X-Lite from another PC running Windows on the same network (and maybe a GS phone, too). I think this should be feasible.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>I hope Outlook doesn't mess this up too much--I've to make it as list-friendly as I know how...</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Randy Johnson</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>> -----Original Message-----</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> From: Steven Sokol [<A HREF="mailto:ssokol@sokol-associates.com">mailto:ssokol@sokol-associates.com</A>] </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Sent: Friday, November 21, 2003 12:35 PM</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> To: asterisk-users@lists.digium.com</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Subject: [Asterisk-Users] Outline For Asterisk Book - Please </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Review & Comment</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Asterisk Users</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> In an attempt to help Asterisk move forward, a number of us </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> have decided</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> to create a book. It would initially be released as an "ebook" that</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> could be sent to newbies to help them up the rather steep learning</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> curve. Ultimately I would like to see it published and sold in</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> bookstores (preferably by O'Reilly & Co.).</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>[snip]</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> A "living" copy of this outline can be found at:</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> <A HREF="http://www.sokol-associates.com/outline.htm" TARGET="_blank">http://www.sokol-associates.com/outline.htm</A> . I will try to update it</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> daily with your suggestions. It will also be the basis for </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> the project</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> outline (completion %, assignments, etc.).</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Thanks,</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Steve Sokol</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> Sokol & Associates, LLC</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> [Outline Guide]</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> The following outline describes the layout for the book.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 1. <- Section</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> a. <- Chapter</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 1) <- Sub-Chapter</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> i. <- Topic Heading</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> *. <- Sidebar Heading</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 1} <- Graphic or Chart</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 1> <- Table</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> [Outline] </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 1. Introduction to Asterisk</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> a. Introductory letter from Mark Spencer</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 1) Whatever Mark has to say...</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 2) Digium Reference Information</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> i. Web Site</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> ii. Phone Number</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> b. The Business Case For Asterisk</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> [Somebody From The Business Side Writes This]</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> c. General concept of asterisk</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 1) Asterisk: Swiss Army Knife of Telephony</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 2) PBX, IVR, ACD</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Is this also Telephony 101? FXO, FXS, loop start/ground start, PRI, E&M, RBS, T1, etc. Telephony has a lot of new concepts for someone coming from software or networking... Maybe a basic telephony dictionary at least should be an appendix?</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>> 3) What To Expect</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> i. Asterisk Is Not A Turnkey System</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> ii. Don't Like It? Change It Yourself.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> iii. Opensource, GPL and LGPL Licensing</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>How about either 4) or iv. Like:</FONT>
</P>
<P> <FONT SIZE=2>4) Other Related Open Source Alternatives</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>i. VOCAL</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>ii. SER</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>iii. GnuGK</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>iv. Bayonne</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>This will put Asterisk in context for someone familiar with any of these, point out Asterisk's advantages, and show how they can be used together if appropriate.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>> d. Asterisk architecture</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 1) The Big Picture</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 2) Channels</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 3) Codec Conversions</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 4) Etc.</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> e. Key components</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 1) Asterisk software</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> i. Asterisk (Main PBX & Channels)</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> ii. Zaptel (Drivers for Zaptel Hardware)</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> iii. Libpri (ISDN PRI Drivers for Zaptel)</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 2) Zaptel Hardware</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> i. Overview</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> ii. X100P - Single Port FXO Line Interface</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> iii. S100U - Single Port FXS USB Interface</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> iv. TDM400P - 4 Port FXS Analog Interface</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> v. T100P - Single Span T1/E1 Interface</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> vi. TE410P - Quad-Span T1/E1 Interface</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 3) Channels</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> i. Zaptel Devices/Channels</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> ii. The IAX Protocol</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> iii. SIP</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> iv. MGCP</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> v. Skinny</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> vi. H323</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 4) Applications</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> i. Dial and Other Basics</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> ii. Voicemail</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> iii. Dial-Plan Scripting</FONT>
</P>
<P> <FONT SIZE=2>iv. CDR</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>(does this belong here? It should be somewhere...)</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>> 5) Extensibility</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> i. AGI</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> ii. Custom Applications</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> f. Add-On/Optional Components</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 1) Software</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> i. Gnophone</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> ii. VoIP Soft Phones</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> iii. DIAX</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> iv. Gastman</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> v. Open H.323</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>I would break f.1) up more like (pardon the numbering format):</FONT>
</P>
<P> <FONT SIZE=2>i. Soft Phones</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>1'. Gnophone</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>2'. DIAX</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>3'. Other</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>ii. Management and Configuration Tools</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>1'. Astman/Gastman</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>2'. Ethereal Plugin for IAX2</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>3'. Others (I know there are other web and/or GUI tools floating around).</FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>( or something like that...)</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>> 2) Hardware</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> i. VoIP Hard-Phones</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> ii. VoIP Gateways</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> ii. Channel Banks</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>A possible addition here would be:</FONT>
</P>
<P> <FONT SIZE=2>iv. Legacy PBX Equipment</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>and </FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>v. Other Hardware Options</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>1'. VoiceTronix OpenLine and OpenSwitch Cards</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>2'. QuickNet Cards</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>3'. ISDN Cards (Eicon, etc.)</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>4'. Dialogic Cards (and Proprietary Drivers)</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>(I just re-read and saw 4b3 and 4b4 below, but I think this belongs here in the "Components" section as well.)</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>And also, how about:</FONT>
</P>
<P> <FONT SIZE=2>3) Service Providers</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>i. SIP ...</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>ii. IAX ...</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>I think a connection to the outside world is an important Optional Component.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 2. Installing Asterisk</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> *. Asterisk Quickstart</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 1) Install PC Hardware</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 2) Download Asterisk Software</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 3) Build Asterisk</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 4) Install Asterisk</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 5) Configure Autostart</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>[snip]</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> b. Hardware Installation</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 1) IRQ Sharing Issues</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 2) Digium Wildcard Cards</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 3) LineJack and PhoneJack Cards</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 4) Other Cards (ISDN, VoiceTronix, Etc.)</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>I'm glad 3) and 4) are here (see above). I might be able to contribute to some of these sections.</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>> c. Downloading Asterisk from CVS</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 1) What is CVS?</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 2) The Asterisk "Versioning" Issues</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 3) Your Initial Download</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 4) Updates</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> *. Adding Custom Patches (patch/diff)</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>[snip]</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>> f. Sample Configurations</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> [LOTS OF SAMPLES HERE]</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>Including, where possible, the configuration files from the foreign devices...</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 4. Common Issues</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> a. Music On Hold/MP3 Playback</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 1) Proper Version of MPG123</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 2) Zaptel Timer or Ztdummy</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>[snip]</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>> h. Common Hardware Device Issues</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 1) Grandstream BT100 Series</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 2) Cisco ATA-186</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 3) Cisco 79XX Series Phones</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 4) SNOM VoIP Phones</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 5) Carrier Access Channel Banks</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>How about:</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>6) Legacy PBX Equipment</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>i. Nortel Meridian / Norstar Systems</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>ii. Avaya Definity Systems</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>iii. Others</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>(I am currently running PRI to Nortel Meridian systems, and I will be interfacing with a Definity G3 in the next week or two. I might be able to add some value in this section.)</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>> *. How to politely use the Asterisk-Users List</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> *. How to politely use the Asterisk IRC channel</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> 5. Advanced Asterisk Configuration</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> a. Agents and the Asterisk ACD</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> b. Text-To-Speech: Festival</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> c. CLASS Features (John Todd?)</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> d. Fax (Software Fax)</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> e. Sphinx Speech Recognition (ASR)</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>></FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>f. Databases and Asterisk</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>1'. PGSQL Application</FONT>
<BR> <FONT SIZE=2>2'. CDR and MySQL </FONT>
</P>
<P> <FONT SIZE=2>h. Data Networking with Asterisk and Zaptel (Zaptel PPP/HDLC)</FONT>
</P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>> 6. Scripting And AGI Extensions to Asterisk</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> a. What Is AGI?</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> b. What Languages Can I Use</FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> c. </FONT>
<BR><FONT SIZE=2>> AGI In: c, perl, php, etc.</FONT>
</P>
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