Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

FreePBX 2.4.0 was released a few weeks ago and promise to bring about a whole bunch of changes and addons to FreePBX. Many of us have been testing for a while but the numbers keep on going up according to the FreePBX site post. The team is also carrying on with the FreePBX training program. The team is currently in discussions to see if we can bring you the next event in Las Vegas, NV the week of April 8th, 2008 and Philippe is asking your opinion in a form of a response to this post announcing the success of FreePBX 2.4.0.
The list of features, enhancements and bug fixes are too long to list here but some highlights include:
Simultaneous support for Asterisk version 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6 (best effort for 1.6 as it is still in beta)
New Voicemail Blast Group Module.
New Language Module.
Vast improvements and many feature enhancements to Paging and Intercom Module.
Internal improvements and several new features to Queues Module.
DUNDi™ Trunk support with automatic dialplan integration.
Vast improvements to handle Zap Channel Inbound routing and incorporating Zap Channel + CID routing abilities.
System wide extension and destination registry and automatic conflict and integrity detection.
New Custom Apps module to integrate custom applications and extensions into the above registries.
Vast improvements to Devices and Users mode especially around adhoc devices.
Call Confirmation support for hunt ring strategy in Ring Groups and Follow-Me.

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

trixbox CE 2.6 Beta is the latest version of trixbox and is ready for you to download at Sourceforge. This release comes with CentOS 5.1 as the OS and Asterisk 1.4 as the engine, trixbox CE 2.4 is the best release of trixbox ever!. 
2.5.0.12 Second beta of 2.6 Cleaner modules Embedded FreePBX Improved Asterisk Info module.

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

FreePBX has organized a Training Seminar the seem to be as good as their open source IP PBX software FreePBX. This training seminar will teach advanced topics to market, sell, deploy, troubleshoot, customize and administer Asterisk/FreePBX solutions. The seminar starts by providing an advanced foundation in FreePBX and Asterisk, presented by Philippe Lindheimer, the FreePBX project lead and primary developer.
If you belong to any of the following, you are a good candidate for the seminar;

• Persons/organizations selling, provisioning, and deploying open source PBXs
• IT professionals deploying PBXs in their own organization
• Telephony professionals and carriers exploring the world of open-source Asterisk-based PBXs

Follow the links find course details, information about the organizers or to view a pdf brochure.

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

If you are a FreePBX user or a PBX maintainer, You may want to check out this news. Philippe at FreePBX have posted an news item requesting your input.

They have had quite a bit of inquiries regarding FreePBX focused training from, who else, FreePBX users. Perhaps all the techies who implement FreePBX, may want to provide this training to their customers.

But you need to react first, let FreePBX team know what would you like.

Here is the link to Phillipe’s Post.

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

When you think that nothing can surprise you in the VoiP IP Telephony world, I got surprised today. I went over to Nerd Vittles to check out how he is doing with his tricked out TrixBox. But instead I found that NV has dumped the TrixBox!
The TrixBox, for NV has become; "little too proprietary, too closed, and too commercial for our open source, puritanical tastes" and they have started a new project based on, of course, Asterisk.
So the NV team has embarked upon project that they will drive to make the best-of-breed Asterisk-based development platform. It will be a modular, scalable, IP-based business telephony solution with all the bells and whistles you could dream of.
Talking about your wishes on your favorite Asterisk based project, there is also a forum setup that you could discuss the project and let your wishes be known.
Knowing the way Nerd Vittles handle projects, I am sure this will be a winner, and I am looking forward to play around with the PBX in a Flash!

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

If you did not know, Elastix is an appliance software that integrates the best OSS tools available for Asterisk-based PBXs into a single package. It also has its own set of utilities. If you are a developer, you can easily add your own modules.
I have not tested it yet but I soon will. The system seems to be a very well thought out product and one might have a OSS product that is truly a tool for Unified Communications.
Some of the features provided natively by Elastix are:

• VIDEO support. You can use videophones with Elastix!
• Virtualization support. You can run multiple Elastix virtual machines on the same box.
• Really friendly Web user interface
• "Fax to email" for incoming faxes. Also, you can send any digital document to a fax number through a virtual printer.
• Billing interface
• Module for automatic outgoing campaigns
• Graphical configuration of network parameters
• Resource usage reporting
• Remote restart/shutdown options
• Incoming/outgoing calls and channel usage reports
• Integrated voicemail module
• Voicemail Web interface
• Integrated operator panel module
• Extra SugarCRM and Calling Card modules included
• Download section with commonly used accesories
• Embedded help interface
• Instant messaging server (Openfire) integrated
• Multi-lingual support.
• Mail server integrated including multi-domain support
• Web based email interface

You will find all the information and the new beta downloads at Elastix site.

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

I am sure in no time. The developer team at FreePBX has been at it since I got to know them a long while ago. The Version 2.3Beta2 has been released but I am still on Beta1 on two my locations. I will be upgrading to Beta2 this coming week. As it always has been, I do not expect to be faced with major challenges.
I was reading about the 2.3Beta 2 release and noticed the answer to above question answered in this post; FreePBX® 2.3.0beta2 - When will it be final?
So after going through the weekly review, Philippe says that RC1 or release candidate 1 might reach us soon! Thank FreePBX team!

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

VoIP IP Telephony @ http://snapvoip.blogspot.com
Update:
One of the FreePBX people, James had this to add! Thanks James. It is bit hard to think in another language and write in another.!;

"Topic sentence is a little confusing. freePBX isn’t ‘dropping’ support for asterisk 1.2. It’s adding 1.4 support in freePBX version 2.3"

If you did not already hear that it was decided at the recent Asterisk Developers Conference, to drop Asterisk 1.2 and move whole heartedly to Asterisk 1.4
“One decision that we took was to stop maintaining 1.2 as a current release from August 1st 2007. At that date, we will move 1.2 of Asterisk, Asterisk-addons, libpri and zaptel to security maintenance status. 1.4 will at that point be the recommended release.”
So where do we go? and the answer comes from Phillipel at the FreePBX in behalf of the team.But before lead you to the answer, let me remind you that the FreePBX team have been supporting you all these years. Providing you with guidance and of course FreePBX. Now the FreePBX team needs your help and support or we need our support. Here is the gist of Phillipel’s post;
"So what about freePBX® and Asterisk 1.4?

As a community leader we will respect Digium’s desire to get more users onto Asterisk 1.4 and will do our part to support their efforts. We’ve been planning to enable Asterisk 1.4 on our freePBX® 2.3, which is the current development branch. freePBX® 2.3 is currently very stable on Asterisk 1.2.

What this means

We will branch the development trunk into its proper 2.3 release candidate shortly, and start the formal beta program. If you run the freePBX® 2.3 beta on Asterisk 1.2, you should have a very stable system. If you choose to start “kicking the tires” with Asterisk 1.4, you should consider it alpha quality. We will address bugs as they surface and quickly find out just how much work there is to do.

Things are going to be heating up for the team with this plan; we’ll try to get you more details soon. In the mean time – moral support to help accelerate the effort is always appreciated, especially the kind that you can show with that nifty donate button off on the left."
So head over to FreePBX, read more and click that button.
Also do not forget to leave a note for Rob Thomas. He has had a hard time lately. All my sympathies are with him. I am so sorry.

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

VoIP IP Telephony @ http://snapvoip.blogspot.com
Update;
I made a booboo, according to Phillipel two! Sorry People!
Here is Phillipel’s statement;
from philippel

"In response to your post:

You should read more carefully. First off, it’s ‘according to philippel’ (check the author), although Rob is well in the loop on this.

Second, 2.3 is the foundation on top of which a multi-tenant implementation could be developed. So you cannot move all your tenants over in 3-4 months.

philippel"

According to Rob over at FreePBX, the long discussed project to make FreePBX a multi tenant Voip application, IPPBX is on the way.
He will put more efforts into making FreePBX 2.3 multi tenant ready;
"Before working on multi-tenant specific work, there is significant infrastructure work that must be done and is the theme of Version 2.3. The 2.3 Milestone information is a bit raw and work in progress, but outlines some of the issues. An incomplete summary of this work includes:

* Trunks and Routes need to be completely re-written.
* Foundation work for custom contexts.
* A much cleaner API (Quickform based) is being rolled out to improve the GUI.
* Move most of core to an online upgradeable module structure to better handle bug fixes.
* Several other internal changes required to improve system reliability and robustness.

And I’m sure I missed some important ones. These changes themselves amount to triple digit hours of work and are a prerequisite to multi-tenant.

Once they are done, and one reason why these must come first, is to meet our goal that multi-tenant will share a very close code base to the Single Tenant freePBX (what we have today). We do not want two separate branches. (The goal is for modules to be identical, and most of core as well)."

So Rob estimate is to about 3-4 months before you can move all your tenants in to one server.
Are you in a hurry to have multi tenant FreePBX, then discuss with Rob and if funding is in place, he might accommodate you.

Links;
Multi tenant FreePBX,

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

Snapvoip.blogspot.com
A few days ago I asked to help out FreePBX group because they were having trouble with their server. They have got a new server and the system is fast according to Rob.
But they are about 1/3rd short of cost of a years worth of hosting. Please visit FreePBX and donate if you are a user of FreePBX. If you are an Asterisk user, I am sure FreePBX will help you out a lot. Have a Look, Follow the links.

FreePBX is, to quote FreePBX’s About page, a Standardized Implementation of Asterisk that gives you a GUI to manage your system. If you’ve looked into Asterisk, you’d know that it doesn’t come with any ‘built in’ programming. You can’t plug a phone into it and make it work without editing configuration files, writing dialplans, and various messing about. FreePBX simplifies this by giving you a pre-written set of dialplans that allow you to have a fully functional PBX pretty much straight away."

Links;
New server anouncement
FreePBX Donations page
FreePBX Bounties Page
Blog article

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

If you have visited FreePBX.org recently only to find that the site is not available, That is because Rob and the group at FreePBX needs a new computer and better hosting. Please follow the link to the post by Rob and you will see why he needs our help. The best that happened to me since I got to know Asterisk a few years ago. I have been a heavy user of FreePBX.
FreePBX is, to quote FreePBX’s About page, a Standardized Implementation of Asterisk that gives you a GUI to manage your system. If you’ve looked into Asterisk, you’d know that it doesn’t come with any ‘built in’ programming. You can’t plug a phone into it and make it work without editing configuration files, writing dialplans, and various messing about. FreePBX simplifies this by giving you a pre-written set of dialplans that allow you to have a fully functional PBX pretty much straight away. Some of the features that FreePBX supports out of the box are:

* Unlimited number of Voicemail boxes
* ‘Follow Me’ functionality
* Ring Groups with calls confirmation (so if, eg, a cellphone is out of range and diverts to voicemail, all the other phones keep ringing)
* Unlimitied number of Conferences (limited by available CPU power - about 300 simultaneous users in conferences on a P4 3ghz - 600 with a dual core!)
* Paging and Intercom functionality for SIP and IAX phones that support it (Eg, Snom, Aastra, Grandstream)
* Music on Hold (via MP3s, or streamed off the internet)
* Call Queues
* And many other features
So now you know what FreePBX is go find out more..

Links;
Keep FreePBX alive and healthy by supporting it

Source: snapvoip.blogspot.com

Rob has managed to release FreePBX 2.2.0 when I was not looking. FreePBX 2.2.0 was released on January 5th and you all may already have it running. I will start on coming Tuesday (it is a Holiday for us on Monday, honoring Dr. Martin Luther King)
First of all if you have already installed and and having problems with Enum lookups, Rob directs us to a correction in the extensions.conf file.
edit line 428 of /etc/asterisk/extensions.conf and put a “!” before the = sign. The line should read (when fixed):

exten => s,1,GotoIf($["${ARG3}" != “”]?PASSWD:NOPASSWD); arg3 is pattern password

Now that is aside, There is a bunch of important changes that happens in FreePBX 2.2.0 and instead if me putting up snippets of Rob’s text here I let you go over to FreePBX site and read the complete article with all the comments etc. Also if you have not downloaded it, it is the time to do so.

Links;
FreePBX release notes on FreePBX 2.2.0