¿What
is Asterisk? - Asterisk introduction
Asterisk is an open-source software implementation
of a PBX (Private branch exchange). Like any PBX,
it allows a number of attached telephones to make calls to
one another, and to connect to other telephone services including
the PSTN, ISDN or to a VoIP provider.
The name Asterisk refers to the “*” symbol
which is a “wildcard” in Unix and DOS command
line syntax, denoting a symbol of a very versatile
component in a voice network. Allowing multiple packet
voice protocols to interact, and offering a modular design
with APIs for adding new applications have made Asterisk a
real wildcard in converged telecommunications.
Asterisk has GPL license. Mark Spencer from Digium originally
created Asterisk and remains its primary maintainer, although
other programmers have contributed with new features and functionalities
and have reported bugs. Originally designed for the
Linux operating system, Asterisk now also runs on OpenBSD,
FreeBSD, Mac OS X, Sun Solaris, and Microsoft Windows,
although as the "native" platform, Linux is the
best-supported of these.
Asterisk is an open source converged telecommunications
platform, designed to allow different types of IP
telephony hardware, middleware, and software to interface
with each other consistently. It provides multiple
layers, managing both TDM and packet voice at lower layers
while offering a highly flexible platform for PBX and telephony
applications such as IVR. Asterisk can bridge and
translate different types of VoIP protocols like SIP, MGCP,
and H.323. At the same time it can provide a full-featured
server platform for predictive dialing, custom IVR, remote
and central office PBX, and conferencing.
By supporting a mix of traditional and VoIP telephony
services, Asterisk allows deployers to build new telephone
systems efficiently, or gradually migrate existing systems
to new technologies. Some sites are using Asterisk
servers to replace aging proprietary PBXes; others to provide
additional features (such as voice mail or phone menus) or
to cut costs by carrying long-distance calls over the Internet
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