FreeSWITCH 1.0.6

Anthony Minessale, Darren Schreiber, Michael S. Collins

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Overview

Table of Contents

The Author

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Install and configure a complete telephony system of your own even if you are using FreeSWITCH for the first time
In-depth discussions of important concepts like the dialplan, user directory, and the powerful FreeSWITCH Event Socket
The first ever book on FreeSWITCH, packed with real-world examples for Linux/Unix systems, Mac OSX, and Windows, along with useful screenshots and diagrams
Best practices and expert tips from the FreeSWITCH experts, including the creator of FreeSWITCH, Anthony Minessale

Book Details

Language : English
Paperback : 320 pages [ 235mm x 191mm ]
Release Date : July 2010
ISBN : 1847199968
ISBN 13 : 978-1-847199-96-6
Author(s) : Anthony Minessale, Darren Schreiber, Michael S. Collins
Topics and Technologies : All Books, Networking & Telephony, Open Source

Preface
Chapter 1: Architecture of FreeSWITCH
Chapter 2: Building and Installation
Chapter 3: Test Driving the Default Configuration
Chapter 4: SIP and the User Directory
Chapter 5: Understanding the XML Dialplan
Chapter 6: Using the Built-in XML IVR Engine
Chapter 7: Building IVR Applications with Lua
Chapter 8: Advanced Dialplan Concepts
Chapter 9: Controlling FreeSWITCH Externally
Chapter 10: Advanced Features and Further Reading
Appendix A: The FreeSWITCH Online Community
Appendix B: The History of FreeSWITCH
Index

Preface

Chapter 1: Architecture of FreeSWITCH
- A revolution has begun and secrets have been revealed
- The FreeSWITCH design: modular, scalable, and stable
- Important modules: Endpoint and Dialplan
- Complex applications made simple
  - Voicemail
  - Multi-party conferencing
  - The FreeSWITCH API (FSAPI)
  - The XML registry
  - Language modules
  - The default configuration
- Summary

Chapter 2: Building and Installation
- Setting up the FreeSWITCH environment
  - Operating system
  - Operating system prerequisites
    - Linux/Unix
  - Mac OS X
    - Windows
    - Text editors and XML
- Downloading the source
  - Building from the latest code
- Compiling FreeSWITCH for Linux/Unix/Mac OS X
  - Compiling FreeSWITCH
    - Step 1: Edit modules.conf
    - Step 2: Run configure script
    - Step 3: Run make and make install
    - Step 4: Edit modules.conf.xml
    - Step 5: Install sound and music files
- Compiling FreeSWITCH for Windows
  - Building the solution with MSVC/MSVCEE
- Starting FreeSWITCH
  - Running FreeSWITCH in the background
- Summary

Chapter 3: Test Driving the Default Configuration
- Important concepts to understand
- Putting FreeSWITCH to work
  - Controlling FreeSWITCH with the CLI
  - Configuring a SIP phone to work with FreeSWITCH
    - SIP settings
  - Testing the default Dialplan
    - Test calls for a single phone
    - Test calls for two or more phones
- Summary

Chapter 4: SIP and the User Directory
- Understanding the FreeSWITCH user directory
- Working with the FreeSWITCH user directory
  - User features
  - Adding a user
  - Testing voicemail
  - Groups of users
- Connecting to the world with gateways
  - Setting up a new gateway
    - Making calls
    - Receiving calls
  - Making calls without a gateway
- SIP profiles and user agents
- Summary

Chapter 5: Understanding the XML Dialplan
- FreeSWITCH XML Dialplan elements
  - Call legs and channel variables
    - Accessing channel variables
  - Regular expressions
  - Contexts
    - Default
    - Public
    - Features
  - Extensions
  - Conditions
  - Actions and anti-actions
- How Dialplan processing works
- Creating a new extension
- Important Dialplan applications
  - bridge
  - playback
  - say
  - play_and_get_digits
  - ivr
  - sleep
  - answer
  - hangup
  - set
- Dialstring formats
- Summary

Chapter 6: Using the Built-in XML IVR Engine
- IVR engine overview
- IVR XML configuration file
- IVR menu definitions
  - greet-long
  - greet-short
  - invalid-sound
  - exit-sound
  - timeout
  - inter-digit-timeout
  - max-failures
  - max-timeouts
  - digit-len
  - tts-voice
  - tts-engine
  - confirm-key
- IVR menu destinations
  - menu-exec-app
  - menu-exec-api
  - menu-play-sound
  - menu-back
  - menu-top
- Routing calls to your IVR
- Nesting IVRs
- Using phrases with IVRs
  - Calling Phrase Macros
  - Phrase Macro examples: voicemail
- Advanced routing
- Summary

Chapter 7: Building IVR Applications with Lua
- Getting started with Lua
  - Running Lua scripts from the Dialplan
  - Basic Lua syntax
- Building voice applications
  - Simple IVR—interacting with the caller
  - Conditions and looping
  - Advanced IVR concepts
    - Connecting to a database with LuaSQL
    - Making a web call with curl
    - Lua patterns versus regular expressions
  - Scripting tips
- Summary

Chapter 8: Advanced Dialplan Concepts
- Dialplan overview
- General Dialplan concepts
  - Contexts
  - Conditions
  - Actions
  - Putting it all together
- XML Dialplan module review
  - Extensions
  - Conditions
  - Special condition variables
  - Inline execution
  - Actions and anti-actions
  - Pitfalls to avoid
- XML Dialplan commands
- Hunting versus executing
- Utilizing variables
  - Testing variables with regular expressions
  - Caller profile fields
  - Channel variables
    - Channel variables and call setup
  - Global variables
- Dialplan functions
  - Real-time condition evaluation
  - String conditioning
  - Database queries
  - SIP contact parameters
- Set, export, and legs
  - Set versus export
  - Passing variables via call headers
- XML Dialplan cookbook
  - Match by IP address and call a number
  - Match IP address and Caller ID
  - Match number and strip digits
  - Match number, strip digits, and add prefix
  - Call registered device
  - Try party A, then party B
  - Check for authenticated user
  - Route DIDs to extensions
  - Try a local extension, failback to voicemail
  - Alternate outbound gateways
- Alternatives to XML
  - YAML
  - Asterisk Dialplan
- Summary

Chapter 9: Controlling FreeSWITCH Externally
- General overview
- Event system architecture
- Event-based modules
  - mod_event_socket
    - Configuring event socket settings
    - Reading events
    - Sending events
    - Events from the Dialplan
  - mod_event_multicast
    - Port/address
    - Bindings
    - TTL
  - mod_erlang_event
- FreeSWITCH event system commands
  - auth <password>
  - api
  - bgapi
  - event
  - divert_events
  - filter
  - filter delete
  - sendevent
  - sendmsg <uuid>
    - execute
    - hangup
  - nomedia
  - log <level>
  - nolog
  - noevents
- Event-based applications
  - FreeSWITCH Console application
  - PHP Socket connections
  - Perl Socket connections
- Event Socket Library
  - Supported libraries
  - ESLObject
    - eslSetLogLevel($loglevel)
  - ESLevent object
    - serialize([$format])
    - setPriority([$number])
    - getHeader($header_name)
    - getBody()
    - getType()
    - addBody($value)
    - addHeader($header_name, $value)
    - delHeader($header_name)
    - firstHeader()
    - nextHeader()
  - ESLconnection object
    - new($host, $port, $password)
    - new($fd)
    - socketDescriptor()
    - connected()
    - getInfo()
    - send($command)
    - sendRecv($command)
    - api($command[, $arguments])
    - bgapi($command[, $arguments])
    - sendEvent($send_me)
    - recvEvent()
    - recvEventTimed($milliseconds)
    - filter($header, $value)
    - events($event_type,$value)
    - execute($app[, $arg][, $uuid])
    - executeAsync($app[, $arg][, $uuid])
    - setAsyncExecute($value)
    - setEventLock($value)
    - disconnect()
- Events in practice
  - Event Socket Library example: running a command
  - Examples of sending events to FreeSWITCH
    - Setting phone lights
    - Rebooting a phone
    - Requesting phone reconfiguration
    - Custom notify messages
- Summary

Chapter 10: Advanced Features and Further Reading
- Multi-user conferencing
  - Configuration
    - Conference profiles
    - Caller controls
    - Advertise
    - Sending and receiving XMPP events
  - Connecting callers to the conference
  - Controlling active conferences
- Nibblebill
  - Use cases
    - Billing (pre-pay)
    - Billing (post-pay)
    - Pay-per-call service billing
    - Maximum credit and/or fraud prevention
  - Design goals
  - Installation and configuration
    - Database tables
  - Creating the database table for PostgreSQL
  - Creating the database table for MySQL
  - Billing a call
    - Nibble method (default)
    - Alternative to nibble billings
  - Examples
    - Different rates per user
    - Single rate for all users
    - Different rates per area code
    - Different rates per service delivery
    - Hang up the call when the balance is depleted
  - Application/CLI/API commands
    - Check
    - Flush
    - Pause
    - Resume
    - Reset
    - Adding and deducting funds
    - Enabling session heartbeat
    - Bill based on B leg only
- XML/Curl
  - Installation
  - Configuration
    - Bindings
    - HTTP requests
    - HTTP response
    - Optimization
    - Order of requests
    - Request/response examples
  - Dialplan bindings
    - Request
    - Reply
  - Other bindings
  - General "Not found" reply
  - Debugging
  - Failing back
- Alternative endpoints
  - Skype and GSM endpoints
  - Skype with mod_skypopen
  - GSM with mod_gsmopen
  - TDM with OpenZAP and FreeTDM
- Configuration tools and related projects
  - Web GUIs
    - WikiPBX
    - FreePBX v3
    - FusionPBX
    - 2600hz
  - Supporting libraries
    - Liverpie (Ruby)
    - FreeSWITCHeR (Ruby)
    - Librevox (Ruby)
    - EventSocket (Python/Twisted)
    - FSSocket (Perl)
- Summary

Appendix A: The FreeSWITCH Online Community
- The FreeSWITCH mailing lists
- Talking in real-time via IRC
- The FreeSWITCH main website and wiki
  - The main FreeSWITCH page—www.freeswitch.org
  - The FreeSWITCH Wiki page—wiki.freeswitch.org
- The annual ClueCon open source developer conference

Appendix B: The History of FreeSWITCH

Index

Anthony Minessale

Anthony Minessale has been working with computers for nearly 30 years. He is the primary author of FreeSWITCH and Director of Engineering at Barracuda Networks. Anthony created and continues to run the ClueCon Telephony Developers Conference held every August in Chicago. Anthony has extensive experience in the Internet industry and voice over IP. He has contributed heavily to the Asterisk open source project producing many features that are still in use today. At Barracuda Networks, Anthony oversees the production and development of the CudaTEL PBX appliance that uses FreeSWITCH as its core telephony engine. This is Anthony’s second book; he has also co-authored the FreeSWITCH 1.0.6 book published by Packt Publishing.

Darren Schreiber

Darren Schreiber is the creator of a popular open-source GUI for FreeSWITCH. After working with phone systems since the age of 13, Darren has gone on to develop and manage multiple enterprise SaaS infrastructures for IT, voice, and e-commerce systems. He is currently working on development and support services for turn-key solutions that enable VoIP and hosted PBX carrier services.

Michael S. Collins

Michael Collins is a 15-year veteran of telecommunications and PBX systems. A relative newcomer to VoIP, he discovered FreeSWITCH in its very early stages and has been an enthusiastic community member ever since. He works with the core FreeSWITCH development team, assisting with documentation and community development. Michael currently works for a technology company that makes extensive use of FreeSWITCH.

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Sample chapters

You can view our sample chapters and prefaces of this title on PacktLib or download sample chapters in PDF format.

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What you will learn from this book

Set up a basic system to make and receive phone calls, make calls between extensions, and utilize basic PBX functionality
Avoid common implementation mistakes and deploy various features of this telephony system with best practices and expert tips
Perform routine maintenance for smooth running and troubleshoot the system when things are not going right
Apply regular expressions to unlock unique and powerful call routing scenarios
Call your own application(s) when particular events occur and control FreeSWITCH using the powerful Event Socket
Set up multi-party conferencing facilities for your system
Interact with callers, gather information, and route calls to the appropriate recipient using the automated, built-in XML IVR (Interactive Voice Response) engine
Create a flexible dialplan, and allow third-party tools to be quickly and easily created using dialplan parsers other than the default XML Dialplan
Park multiple calls in a FIFO queue and unpark them in the order in which they were received, using the mod_fifo module
Record an entire phone call or session using the call recording feature
Create advanced call control applications with the Lua scripting language
Take a peek into the vibrant online community and history of FreeSWITCH

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In Detail

FreeSWITCH is an open source telephony platform designed to facilitate the creation of voice and chat-driven products scaling from a soft-phone to a PBX and even up to an enterprise-class soft-switch. It is always exciting to design and build your own telephony system to suit your needs, but the task is time consuming and involves a lot of technical skills.

This book comes to your rescue, helping you to set up a telephony system fast and easily using FreeSWITCH. It will take you from being a novice to creating a fully-functional telephony system of your own. It is rich with practical examples and will give you all of the information and skills needed to implement your own PBX system.

The book begins by introducing the architecture and working of FreeSWITCH before detailing how to plan a telephone system and moving on to the installation, configuration, and management of a feature-packed PBX. You will learn about maintaining a user directory, XML dial plan and advanced dial plan concepts, call routing, and the extremely powerful Event Socket. You will finally learn about the online community and history of FreeSWITCH.

A step-by-step guide to building, managing, and maintaining an efficient FreeSWITCH telephony system

Approach

This book is a step-by-step tutorial with clear instructions and screenshots to guide you through the creation of a complete, cost-effective telephony system. You will start with installation, walk through the different features, and see how to manage and maintain the system.

Who this book is for

If you are an IT professional or enthusiast who is interested in quickly getting a powerful telephony system up and running using the free and open source application FreeSWITCH, this book is for you. Telephony experience will be helpful, but is not required.