Asterisk 1.4 – the Professional’s Guide Table Of Contents

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Table of Contents

Preface
Chapter 1: The Dialplan
Chapter 2: Network Considerations when Implementing Asterisk
Chapter 3: Call Routing with Asterisk
Chapter 4: Call Centers—Queues and Recording
Chapter 5: Asterisk and Speech Technology
Chapter 6: Call Accounting and Billing
Chapter 7: Resilience and Stability
Chapter 8: Localization and Practical Security
Chapter 9: Interfacing with Traditional Analog and Digital Telephony
Chapter 10: Integrating Asterisk with Wireless Technologies
Chapter 11: Graphical User Interfaces
Appendix A: Selling Your Solution
Appendix B: Sample Email Content
Appendix C: Sample Appointment Sheet
Index

• Preface

• Chapter 1: The Dialplan
  • Dialplan location
  • Extensions and contexts
    • Pattern matching
    • Why use contexts?
    • Call barring made simple
    • Time and day call routing
  • Variables
    • Inheritance of channel variables through the dialplan
      • Using the AstDB
  • Dialplan features and additions
    • func_devstate
      • What can we use the DEVSTATE() function for?
    • Using multiple broadband lines
      • Configuration overview
    • System() application
  • Summary

• Chapter 2: Network Considerations when Implementing Asterisk
  • Centralized and distributed installations
    • Centralized installations
    • Distributed solutions
    • Latency and jitter
    • Jitterbuffer
    • Echo
  • Do your homework
    • SLAs are for everyone
    • Achieving the goal
    • Backups
    • To share or not to share
    • Ensuring quality
    • When things go wrong
      • Red
      • Amber
      • Green
    • Increasing resilience
  • Summary

• Chapter 3: Call Routing with Asterisk
  • Routing methods
  • Where to start
  • Internal calls
  • Local calls
  • National calls
  • International calls
  • Alternative options
    • ENUM
    • DUNDi
  • Types of routing
  • Routing techniques
  • Summary

• Chapter 4: Call Centers—Queues and Recording
  • Asterisk queues
    • Queue gotchas
      • A practical queue
      • Using queues to cascade calls
  • Call recording—the issues
    • Show-stoppers
  • VoIP recording approaches
  • Impact of VoIP on recording systems
    • Hardware convergence
  • Distributed call centers
    • Home working
  • VoIP recording challenges
    • Routing
    • Bandwidth
    • Encryption
    • Solutions
  • Asterisk call center solutions
    • How VICIDIAL works
      • Handling inbound calls
      • Installation
      • Timing sources
      • Scalability
  • Summary

• Chapter 5: Asterisk and Speech Technology
  • Why speech-enable?
  • Types of speech technologies
    • Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)
      • Isolated Word Recognition
      • Connected Word Recognition
      • Natural Language Recognition
    • Text-to-Speech (TTS)
    • Speaker Verification and Identification (SVI)
      • MRCP
  • Implementation considerations
    • ASR and Asterisk
      • Installing LumenVox speech recognition with Asterisk
      • Checking that things are working
      • Grammar files
      • Implementation advice for ASR
    • TTS with Asterisk
      • Implementation advice for TTS
  • Summary

• Chapter 6: Call Accounting and Billing
  • Call Data Records (CDRs)
    • CDR frontends
  • Call accounting
  • Providing termination billing
    • Every little helps
    • Selecting a billing platform
    • Introducing A2Billing
      • Reasons to consider A2Billing
      • A2Billing requirements
      • Monitoring usage
      • Coding for A2Billing
    • Billing gotcha!
    • High call volumes
      • Other high-call-volume solutions
  • Summary

• Chapter 7: Resilience and Stability
  • Increasing availability
  • Stability
    • Network
      • Cables
      • Switches and routers
    • Endpoints
    • Telephony switches and gateways
    • Server
    • Environment
  • Dealing with failure
    • Network resilience
    • Server
      • High availability
    • Telephony switches/gateways
      • Redfone foneBRIDGE2
      • Junghanns ISDNguard
      • Endpoints
    • Round robin DNS
    • Say hello to Rsync
      • Limiting the number of calls per server
  • Summary

• Chapter 8: Localization and Practical Security
  • Tones
  • Time and date and localization
  • Changing the language of system prompts
  • Local telephony interfaces
    • Analog
    • Digital
  • Localizing caller ID signaling on Digium analog interfaces
  • Checklist
  • Practical security
    • Out of hours
  • Summary

• Chapter 9: Interfacing with Traditional Analog and Digital Telephony
  • Analog
  • Digital
    • ISDN BRI (Basic Rate Interface)
    • ISDN PRI (Primary Rate Interface)
  • Choices, choices
    • Using external adaptors
    • Using cards
      • Installing a Digium card
      • Troubleshooting with Digium cards
  • Summary

• Chapter 10: Integrating Asterisk with Wireless Technologies
  • Why integrate Asterisk with wireless technologies?
  • Wireless technology overview
    • Wi-Fi (only) phones
    • SIP desk phones with a wireless link
    • Dual-mode (GSM and SIP) phones and PDA/smart phones
    • SIP/DECT phones
  • Connecting Asterisk to mobile networks
    • Why connect to mobile networks?
    • The GSM gateway (box)
    • The GSM card
  • Configuring wireless devices
  • Configuring Asterisk to work with wireless technologies
  • Deployment choices
  • Neat money saving tricks
    • Calling a mobile phone
    • Avoiding those nasty roaming charges that arise from receiving calls
  • Summary

• Chapter 11: Graphical User Interfaces
  • Reasons for going GUI
  • Good to GUI
    • Ease of administration
    • Access to enhanced features
    • Easier upgrade process
    • Standardized code
  • GUI, phooey!
    • Performance
    • Stability
    • Restricted functions
  • FreePBX
    • How it works
    • Installation
    • Configuration
      • Extensions
      • Inbound routes
      • Outbound routes
      • Trunks
      • Other records
  • Summary

• Appendix A: Selling Your Solution
  • In the beginning ...
    • Drivers for changing phone systems
    • A word on cost
  • Generating interest
    • Alliances
    • Advertising
      • Search engines
      • Become an expert
    • Relationship marketing
      • Email as a marketing tool
  • Tracking prospects
  • Converting the prospect into a sale
    • Determining your customer's hardware requirements
      • Choosing the right phones
  • Remote support
    • Make it secure
  • Do's and don'ts
    • The do's
      • First impressions
      • Get brochures printed
      • Take notes
      • Send the quote in a timely manner
      • Follow up the quote
      • Target the decision makers, but don't ignore IT
    • The don'ts
      • You don't need a fancy office
      • Don't cut corners on the solution
      • Don't under price
      • Don't have a huge margin on handsets
      • Don't supply a PC as the phone server
  • Summary

• Appendix B: Sample Email Content
  • What is VoIP?
  • Why should I consider VoIP?
    • Cost savings
      • Call costs
      • Line rental costs
      • Wiring costs
      • Reduced infrastructure costs
    • Centralized management
      • System integration
      • Unified messaging
    • Reliability
      • Closed and open systems
      • Superior sound
      • Fallback solutions
      • Broadcasting calls
      • A number for life
      • Number porting
      • Local numbers
  • About XYZ
    • Our philosophy
    • Our passion

• Appendix C: Sample Appointment Sheet

• Index

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