1.
David
Duffe*
Is Asterisk Suitable for
Business Critical Applications?

2. Our Agenda
• Myths
to
bust
– Asterisk
is
a
so0ware
PBX
– You
must
be
a
Linux
guru
to
use
Asterisk
– PC-­‐based
telephony
is
bad
– Open
Source
So0ware
is
for
hobbyists
– Asterisk
is
not
‘mainstream’
– Asterisk
has
no
‘official’
support
– Asterisk
will
not
scale
for
high
call
volumes
– Asterisk
is
no
good
for
‘high
availability’
soluHons

3. Our Agenda
• Example
configuraHon
for
business
criHcal
deployment
• Case
Study
Headlines
• But
first...

4. Meet Didier

5. Myth 1: Asterisk is ...
• A
so0ware
PBX
• Well
–
Yes,
but
...
• IT
IS
SO
MUCH
MORE
• Asterisk
is
an
IP
COMMUNICATIONS
PLATFORM!
– Powerful
– Flexible
– Low
barriers
to
entry

6. Myth 2: You must be a Linux guru
• Obviously,
being
a
Linux
guru
is
helpful
in
lots
of
areas
of
life
;-­‐)
• But
there
is
no
need
to
be
one
for
Asterisk
• Basic
command
line
Linux
is
useful
• Or
you
can
use
a
distribuHon
which
is
GUI-­‐
based

7. Myth 2: PC-based telephony
is BAD
• PC
based
telephony
offers
the
great
flexibility
and
cost-­‐effecHveness
– A
great
range
of
opHons
• Dual
(or
more)
power
supplies
• MulHple
CPUs,
HDDs
(RAID)
• MulHple
network
connecHons
• MulHple
form
factors
(from
embedded
to
server)
• BTW
-­‐
Even
proprietary
systems
are
PC-­‐based
these
days

8. Myth 2: PC-based telephony
is BAD
• Where
else
could
you
get
• HOT
SWAPPABLE
E1,
ISDN2e,
Analogue
and
GSM
connecIvity?
• How?
By
USB!

9. Myth 3: Open Source
Software is for hobbyists
• Well,
what
about
• Linux
• Apache
• MySQL
• PHP
• Mozilla
Firefox
• Open
Office

10. Open Source:
There’s something for everyone!
OperaIng
System
Linux
Web
Server
Apache
Browser
Firefox
Telephony/CommunicaIons
Asterisk
Database
MySQL
Customer
RelaIonship
Management
SugarCRM
Backup
Zmanda
ProducIvity
Suite
Open
Office
CollaboraIon
Suite
Zimbra

11. Myth 4: Asterisk is not ‘mainstream’
• Let’s
take
a
look
at
a
few
facts
and
figures...
Source: Savatar

12. Myth 4: Asterisk is not ‘mainstream’
2008
Total
North
America
Business
Telephone
System
Market
TradiIonal
PBX
and
Key
System
Lines
13,029,148
Open
Source
lines
2,854,749
Total
Lines
15,883,897
Open
Source
as
a
%
of
Total
18%
Source: Eastern Management Group

13. 2008: BCS Market Share (NA)
Source: Eastern Management Group

14. Asterisk in the OSS IP PBX space
Source: Eastern Management Group

15. 2008 New IP PBX Lines (NA)
Source: Eastern Management Group
2008
Largest
Suppliers
Lines
Open
Source
2,854,749
Nortel
2,632,145
Cisco
1,990,255
Avaya
1,752,885
Mitel
1,228,887
NEC
1,222,578

16. Myth 5: Asterisk has no ‘official’
support
• Open
Source
Asterisk
is
supported
by
Digium
(paid
for)
• Asterisk
Business
EdiHon
comes
packaged
with
both
a
warranty
and
support
• There
are
also
totally
pre-­‐packaged
soluHons:
SwitchVox

17. The Asterisk Community
• A
world-­‐wide
group
of
enthusiasts
• “With
enough
eyeballs,
all
bugs
are
shallow.”
-­‐
Linus
Torvalds
• Digium
is
the
coordinaHng
force,
but
there
a
thousands
of
people
– Developing
– TesHng
– DocumenHng

18. Myth 6: Asterisk will not scale
for high call volumes
• What
are
high
call
volumes?
• Asterisk
can
be
used
as
a
building
block
with
other
technology
– SIP
proxy
• But,
just
give
an
idea
of
the
capabiliHes
– Asterisk
on
a
single
server
handled...
More
than
10,000
calls!
Source: Olle Johansson

19. Myth 7: Asterisk is no good for
‘high availability’ solutions
• Asterisk
is
so0ware...
• You
can
build
‘high
availability’
in
any
way
you
want!
SIP
Proxy
Media
Servers

20. Standard Operation: Primary Active
• Two Xorcom servers + dual-USB Astribank
IP
Phones
PSTN
USB
USB
Astribank
(rear
panel)
USB-­‐connected
channel
bank
providing
analog/digital
telephony
interfaces
Xorcom
server
(backup)
Xorcom
server
(primary)
Analog
Phones
LAN/WAN

21. If the Primary Server Fails…
Analog
Phones
IP
Phones
PSTN
USB
USB
Astribank
(rear
panel)
telephony
interfaces
Xorcom
server
(backup)
Xorcom
server
(primary)
LAN/WAN
Switch
Changes
to
Backup
Server
Backup
Server
assumes
Primary
Server
IP
Address

22. Case Study Headlines
• Asterisk
chosen
by
the
City
of
Amsterdam
– 23,000
end
points
• Asterisk
deployed
in
US
university
– >
10,000
users
• Asterisk
deployed
by
a
KL-­‐based
company
– 130,000
users,
up
to
10,000
concurrent
calls
• Asterisk
provides
fault
tolerant
IP
PBX
for
SMEs
at
an
amazing
price-­‐point

23. Questions or comments?

24. • Asterisk
is
a
so0ware
PBX
• You
must
be
a
Linux
guru
to
use
Asterisk
• PC-­‐based
telephony
is
bad
• Open
Source
So0ware
is
for
hobbyists
• Asterisk
is
not
‘mainstream’
• Asterisk
has
no
‘official’
support
• Asterisk
will
not
scale
for
high
call
volumes
• Asterisk
is
no
good
for
‘high
availability’
soluHons
Asterisk Myths

25. Thank you
david.duffe*@telespeak.co.uk