Switching to VoIP

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Asterisk’s Configuration Files

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Asterisk’s Configuration Files

Asterisk’s operations are governed by a set of text configuration files, like Apache

and other common Unix software. Everything from the assignment of extension

numbers to call queuing to low-level hardware interfacing is established by these

files, which are located in /etc/asterisk. Now would be a good time to peruse a few of

the most important ones:

asterisk.conf

Contains the locations of Asterisk software components, sound files used for

music-on-hold, automation scripts (AGIs), and other files used by Asterisk.

extensions.conf

Contains the all-encompassing dial-plan, a comprehensive configuration of phone

users, voice mailboxes, call-processing instructions, and default behaviors.

features.conf

Tells Asterisk how to handle features such as call park.

h323.conf

Contains instructions on how Asterisk should interact with devices using the

popular H.323 VoIP signaling protocol, such as Microsoft’s NetMeeting soft-

phone, if you’ve compiled H.323 support.

iax.conf

Tells Asterisk how to handle Inter-Asterisk Exchange protocol peers.

manager.conf

Configures security restrictions for Asterisk’s Manager Socket API.

mgcp.conf

Configures Asterisk’s support of the Media Gateway Control Protocol.

modules.conf

Tells Asterisk which modules, ...