This bestselling book is now the standard guide to building phone systems with Asterisk, the open source IP PBX that has traditional telephony providers running scared! Revised for the 1.4 release of the software, the new edition of Asterisk: The Future of Telephony reveals how you can save money on equipment and support, and finally be in control of your telephone system.

If you've worked with telephony in the past, you're familiar with the problem: expensive and inflexible systems that are tuned to the vendor's needs, not yours. Asterisk isn't just a candle in the darkness, it's a whole fireworks show. Because Asterisk is so powerful, configuring it can seem tricky and difficult. This book steps you through the process of installing, configuring, and integrating Asterisk with your existing phone system.

You'll learn how to write dialplans, set up applications including speech synthesis and voice recognition, how to script Asterisk, and much more -- everything you need to design a simple but complete system with little or no Asterisk experience, and no more than rudimentary telecommunications knowledge. The book includes:

• A new chapter on managing/administering your Asterisk system
• A new chapter on using Asterisk with databases
• Coverage of features in Asterisk 1.4
• A new appendix on dialplan functions
• A simplified installation chapter
• New simplified SIP configuration, including examples for several popular SIP clients (soft phones and IP telephones)
• Revised chapters and appendicies reviewed and updated for the latest in features, applications, trends and best-practices

Asterisk is revolutionizing the telecom industry, due in large part to the way it gets along with other network applications. While other PBXs are fighting their inevitable absorption into the network, Asterisk embraces it. If you need to take control of your telephony systems, move to Asterisk and see what the future of telecommunications looks like.

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Oreilly Asterisk 2nd edition Review,  November 25 2007
Submitted by blearning   [Respond | View]

I have read many Asterisk books and documents over the last several years but this one has put some decisive instructional information in one location for both new users as well as seasoned veterans.

Reading the first few chapters and I thought this is great instruction in getting an Asterisk PBX up and running quickly and then the next chapters went into required detail information on why things are done the way they are. It could very well be used as a training document and likely become "The Asterisk Guide".

Although the first chapters are required reading for anyone using the Asterisk PBX, Chapters 10 though 15 are more aptly fitting the title of the book Future of Telephony with opinions on how things came to be and thoughts on how they might turn out over the years .

The numerous appendix is an invaluable resource of information for Asterisk Programmers, installers, and managers and I am sure it will have a deserving place on my desk.

I highly recommend the Asterisk The Future Of Telephony to anyone. A good read and very informative.

Bill Learning has worked with Asterisk since its very beginnings. He has contributed many ideas and tests for the community. Bill has tested Asterisk Interoperability with many VOIP technologies and companies and has been successful in deploying some rather large installations as well as many small systems. Bill now works as a freelance Asterisk deployment specialist for small business as well as assists large corporations to deploy Asterisk in their environments





worth every penny, ten-fold !,  October 06 2007
Submitted by Baji   [Respond | View]

The first edition of this title was a fascinating read, but due to the EXPLOSIVE progress in Asterisk development many new aspects were missing from that book.

This second edition, nearly twice the size of the first edition, covers a lot more ground in excellent detail, it discusses Asterisk 1.2 & 1.4

Whether you are an old fashioned telephony trunker, a skyper, a jabber, a VoIPer or just a tinkerer, you'll love reading and re-reading this gem of a publication.

Come join the future with Asterisk and this book !


A Must Read,  September 28 2007
Submitted by Louis610   [Respond | View]

This is the August 2007 edition of this title. I read the previous version, and even if you have read that one, this is a must read. The authors have included new material and updated sections that make this book pretty valuable to anyone considering Asterisk.
If you are only recently curious about Asterisk, or you have installed it many times, you'll still get important and current information from this book.
I just attended AstriCon 2007, and the book sold very well there among a group already well-versed and committed to Asterisk.
The book takes you through the how-to and where-to-go of getting started, through setting up dialplans, configuring hardware, describing special applications and discusses anticipated developments.
The authors are dedicated to the documentation of this platform, and this is the keystone book for Asterisk.

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