Asterisk 11 is a long term support release of the open source communications platform Asterisk. It includes new features like support for WebSockets and improved Google/Jingle integration to enable real-time communications via web browsers using WebRTC. It also improves support for SIP over WebSockets and new codecs. Asterisk 11 helps enable innovative real-time communication applications by bringing VoIP capabilities to web browsers without additional software.

1. Introducing Asterisk 11
WebSockets, WebRTC and More
Steve Sokol
Asterisk Marketing & Evangelism

2. What is Asterisk?
§ Communications Engine
§ Open Source Project
§ 2+ Million Downloads Each Year
§ Over 1 Million Production Deployments
§ 85,000 Registered Community Members
§ Under Development Since 1999
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3. What Does Asterisk Do?
§ Plumbing:
§ Protocol Implementations § Session Management
§ Media I/O § Intermediary Services
§ Media Management
§ Applications
§ Call Routing (“Dialplan”) § Automated Attendant
§ Voicemail § Directory
§ Conference Bridge § Call Parking
§ Queues
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4. How Do You Use Asterisk?
§ As An Application Until Itself:
§ Hand-Crafted “One-Off” Implementations
§ Dialplan Script Programming + Configuration Files
§ PBX, VoIP Gateway, IVR, ACD, Etc.
§ As A Tool-Kit / Engine:
§ Use External Interfaces: AGI, AMI
§ “Wrap” Asterisk To Manage
§ Build Custom Applications & Solutions
§ Create Communications Products
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5. Elastix and Asterisk
§ Asterisk = Communications Engine
§ VoIP and PSTN Connectivity
§ Session (Call) Management
§ Basic Applications
§ Elastix = PBX / Business Logic
§ Call Flow and Treatment
§ End User Features
§ Intuitive Admin Interface
§ Additional UC Modalities (IM, Email, Calendar, Etc.)
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6. Asterisk Releases – 1.8 LTS
§ Asterisk 1.8 LTS
§ Released 2 Year Ago (AstriCon 2010)
§ Long Term Support (LTS)
§ Added:
§ Secure Calling (SRTP / SIP TLS)
§ IPv6 Support
§ Calendar Integration
§ XMPP Device State
§ Channel Event Logging
§ Google Voice / Chat / Talk Calling (Sort Of)
§ “ISDN” Features (AOC, CCSS, CPID)
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7. Asterisk Releases - Asterisk 10
§ Asterisk 10
§ Released ~1 year ago (AstriCon 2011)
§ Standard Release (1 Year Lifespan)
§ Added:
§ HD Media Engine
§ New Codecs
§ ConfBridge HD Audio / Video conferencing
§ T.38 Gateway
§ Text Message Routing
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8. Asterisk Releases – Certified Asterisk
§ Asterisk Release Policy 101
§ Mainline releases never get new features
§ Mainline releases contain everything
§ Mainline Asterisk Is Updated Frequently
§ About one new release each month
§ Good In Some Ways
§ Bugs get fixed quickly
§ Bad In Some Ways
§ Rapidly moving target
§ No new features
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9. Asterisk Releases – Certified Asterisk
§ Certified Asterisk
§ Based on the most recent LTS release
§ Removes unsupportable modules
§ Undergoes additional testing process
§ Includes limited number of high-value new features
§ Updated quarterly
§ Still Free Software: Same GPLv2 License
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10. Certified Asterisk
§ CERT1 Release
§ Based on 1.8 LTS
§ Back-ports SIP message routing from Asterisk 10
§ Adds additional APIs to Voicemail, Queues, Parking
§ Why?
§ Support For SLA Customers
§ Digium’s Asterisk Phones
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11. Phones For Asterisk
§ Digium D40, D50, D70 – Built For Asterisk Systems
§ Super Simple Provisioning
§ Discovery via mDNS / Bonjour
§ Uses SIP channel
§ Integrated Applications:
§ Visual Voicemail
§ Visual Call Parking
§ Queue Management
§ Presence / Status
§ Call Deflection / Direct VM
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12. Asterisk 11
§ LTS Release
§ 5 years of full support
§ 1 additional year of security support
§ Takes you to 2018
§ LTS = Stability NOT Features
§ Architectural-level bug fixes
§ Performance enhancements
§ Significant refactoring of existing features / functions
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13. New In Asterisk 11
§ Chan_motif – Google / Jingle / XMPP Done Right
§ Combines chan_google and chan_jingle into a single driver
§ Uses completely refactored XMPP engine (res_xmpp)
§ More stable / less difficult to keep up with Google
§ WebSockets Support For SIP
§ SIP uses multiple transports: UDP, TCP, TLS now WS
§ New protocol used by web applications for bi-directional,
asynchronous communications
§ Integrated into onboard HTTP server in Asterisk
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14. Why WebSockets?
§ WebRTC – A New Paradigm For Communications
§ Adds real-time communications to web browsers
§ Audio (Speakers / Microphone)
§ Video (Display / Camera)
§ Implements tools for media session management
§ NAT traversal (STUN, TURN, ICE)
§ Codecs (G.711, Opus)
§ Defines JavaScript APIs for media access, peer connection
§ Leaves the signaling protocol / process open to the application
developer
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15. SIP + WebSockets + WebRTC
§ Adding WebSockets to Asterisk enables
§ SIP over WebSockets (available in Asterisk 11)
§ XMPP / Jingle over WebSockets (future version)
§ ??? Over WebSockets (as soon as you like)
§ Other WebRTC changes
§ Improved RTP / SRTP handling
§ ICE support
§ SDP improvements
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16. This Is Revolutionary Stuff!
§ Instantly VoIP enabling every browser in the world
§ No software to install
§ Interoperability with existing VoIP technologies using RTP
§ SIP
§ Open standards: anyone can play
§ True unified communications
§ Voice + Video Calling
§ Screen Sharing
§ Conferencing
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17. Next Up: Asterisk 12
§ Asterisk is 13 years old
§ Asterisk has some architectural issues that need addressing
§ Asterisk has a very, very large installed base of users
§ How to make improvements without breaking things
§ Help us define the next release:
§ Join us at AstriDevCon: October 22, 2012 in Atlanta
§ One day prior to AstriCon
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18. Thanks!
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