OSTJ

Installing VMWare Tools on CentOS

2009-10-31T14:06:56Z

VMwareVMware recently released version 3 of their Fusion product for the Mac. For those who don't know, VMware is a software maker specializing in virtualization products that run on Windows, Linux, and the Mac. Many OS's (most?) including Linux and PBX distros are installable as a VMware 'virtual machine', allowing it to run safely sandboxed on your existing hardware. For those wanting to get started with Asterisk or any flavor of Linux, this is an excellent way to get started without dedicating hardware....

Callcentric & PIAF + freePBX

2009-09-30T13:57:11Z

Callcentric has just been added to my stable of providers. Despite an initial problem things are now swimming on a 1.4 PIAF install. Callcentric has earned a good reputation for themselves in a few of the VoIP forums. According to users posts, quality and service are quite high. Callcentric reminds me of, and seems to share a model that's a bit like VoicePulse's aproach as a provider. They aren't the cheapest and don't have the biggest feature set, but are very committed to delivering a quality level of service and reliability.....

Simple Asterisk Voicemail Instructions

2009-09-22T17:52:18Z

Voicemail is something everyone takes for granted, but not everyone fully understands all the options available to them. For Asterisk users, here's a simple little cheat sheet I created for flushing out most of the options that voicemail offers. Suitable for training and small enough to tuck under the phone. (Click to download pdf)

Voicemail Instructions

Using FreePBX to Forward Calls by CID

2009-09-17T23:52:59Z

Suppose you have a specific caller (or callers) that you need to send elsewhere, be it another extension, ring group, mobile or other external number. There are a few ways to do this, and it doesn't require a lot of effort. These instructions are for one of the many Asterisk aggregations that use FreePBX, but pure Asterisk installers should be able to gleen enough information to adapt it into their dialplans. The only prerequisite is that you have the calling party's caller ID number, as this is how the call will be processed and routed to another destination. Let's begin....

Digium rolls out new IAX security- what you should know

2009-09-11T13:03:32Z

This past week Digium rolled out new versions of asterisk for all currently supported branches (1.2.x, 1.4.x, & 1.6.x), with a security addition to combat IAX's DOS vulnerabilities that arise from the protocols use of a single port. The new releases introduce token authentication for IAX devices and trunks, and have methods to put a limit on the number of unathenticated IAX connections. Disclosure of the new security methods and how to use them can be found here, http://downloads.asterisk.org/pub/security/IAX2-security.html.

Shifting to Google Voice

2009-08-10T15:55:05Z

I've had a Google Voice number for the better part of two years, indeed since the Grand Central days. But I never really used it much or attempted to incorporate it into my life until now. The site's contact page now has a working GV click2call widget and I've printed up cards with my GV number.

I have some reluctance as it's an unfamiliar number for my regular contacts, but I plan on using the GV number for the consulting side and all future contacts. For now and probably forever, I won't try to force the GV number on family and friends. Although when GV opens up number porting, I'll definitely port my current cell number.

Do you GV? Let me know how it's working for you.

VM Tweak for FreePBX Users

2009-08-06T17:35:00Z

This a quick customization to have callers hear VM instructions when voicemail is set to no-msg. Suppose you just want Allison to quickly give instructions to leave a voicemail when you can't get to a call. No extension announcement (which can confuse callers dialing into extensions tied to incoming DID's, or residential environments), and no abrupt beep for callers to immediately deal with leaving a message. Just a nice and easy "please leave a message after the tone..." transition into voicemail. Well, setting the voicemail setting to no-msg in the ring group or extension in FreePBX, and a couple minutes under the hood is all you need.

How to force a route on a per extension basis

2009-03-25T19:23:24Z

There are a variety of reasons why someone would want to restrict extensions to use certain trunks, and with freePBX it’s easy to do. The method I’m going to show is not the only way, but I think it’s the easiest to understand.

Open Source PBX in the marketplace

2009-03-11T22:28:05Z

The website No-Jitter has shaken things up with their recently published survey of the North American PBX market. I highly recommend reading the full article, it’s well done, and has a surprising conclusion. By their numbers, open source telephony has captured an astounding 18% of the market.

VoicePulse hangs up IAX support

2009-03-05T20:23:11Z

The VoIP provider VoicePulse is a favorite of mine. In addition to consumer voip offerings, they provide services for businesses and individuals that use their own PBX systems. And it’s these users that are impacted by the changes VoicePulse is making this week.