asterisk users - Sep 2004 - Peer Review - Linuxfest Presentation Outline

Hello all,
	I've been invited to do a presentation on Asterisk for the Ohio 
Linuxfest in Columbus this weekend (http://www.ohiolinux.org). Rough 
estimates are that nearly 500 people will be attending. I've been working 
on an outline for a couple of weeks and I would like to have some peer 
review of the information presented.
	I am going to have to cut down the content to make it fit in a 40 
minute presentation, leaving 10 minutes for questions at the end. Please 
feel free to tell me I'm missing something, fill in the blanks, yell at me 
or whatever. Some questions to think over while reading;

	- What is most important for new Asterisk users to learn?
	- How can I help get them started off on the right foot?
	- What are the high priority items?

	My goals in doing this presentation are to make sure that the 
Asterisk community, Digium and VoIP are presented in a non-biased, 
informative and community oriented manner. Hopefully, we'll get a lot of 
new Asterisk users, and win over some developers to help with the project!

1.	Introduction to VoIP
	a.	VoIP Principals of Operation
	b.	VoIP Protocols
2.	An Introduction to Asterisk
	a.	The History of Asterisk
	b.	Why Linux?
3.	Asterisk: Under The Hood
	a.	Channels
		i.	CAPI - Connections over ISDN CAPI driver
		ii.	H323 - Open H.323 Channel driver
		iii.	IAX2 - Inter Asterisk Exchange 2 driver
		iv.	ISDN4Linux - 
		v.	MCGP - Media Gateway Control Protocol driver
		vi.	SCCP -  
		vii.	SIP
		viii.	Zap
	b.	Codecs
		i.	G.723.1
		ii.	GSM
		iii.	G.711 u-law
		iv.	G.711 A-law
		v.	G.726
		vi.	ADPCM
		vii.	16 bit Signed Linear PCM
		viii.	LPC10
		ix.	G.729A audio
		x.	SpeeX
		xi.	iLBC
		xii.	JPEG image
		xiii.	PNG image
		xiv.	H.261 Video
		xv.	H.263 Video
	c.	Applications (A Select Few)
		i.	AGI: Executes an AGI compliant application
		ii.	Answer: Answer a channel if ringing
		iii.	Authenticate: Authenticate a user
		iv.	BackGround: Play a file while awaiting extension
		v.	BackgroundDetect: Background a file with talk detect  
		vi.	Busy: Indicate busy condition and stop    
		vii.	Congestion: Indicate congestion and stop
		viii.	ControlPlayback: Play a file with fast forward and rewind
		ix.	DateTime: Says a specified time in a custom format
		x.	Dial: Place a call and connect to the current channel
		xi.	Directory: Provide directory of voicemail extensions
		xii.	Exec: Exec(Appname(arguments))
		xiii.	MeetMe: MeetMe conference bridge
		xiv.	MP3Player: Play an MP3 file or stream
		xv.	MusicOnHold: Play Music On Hold indefinitely
		xvi.	Record: Record to a file
		xvii.	SendImage: Send an image file
		xviii.	SendText: Send a Text Message
		xix.	SendURL: Send a URL
		xx.	System: Execute a system command
		xxi.	Transfer: Transfer caller to remote extension
		xxii.	VoiceMail: Leave a voicemail message
		xxiii.	VoiceMailMain: Enter voicemail system
	d.	Scripting
		i.	DialPlan Scripting
			1.	Built in Scripting Language
		ii.	AGI = CGI for Asterisk
			1.	Use any script language you want. C, Perl, PHP, TCL, Python etc.
			2.	Passes Arguments and Communicates on STDIN/STDOUT
			3.	Great for quick n dirty scripts
			4.	AGI Example
		iii.	res_perl = Mod Perl for Asterisk
			1.	Runs a single instance of Perl and allows the dial-plan to include 
				perl code or call external Perl scripts
			2.	Very scalable, Very fast
		iv.	res_tcl = Modified version of res_perl that works w/ TCL
			1.	Just written at Astricon by a SUN Employee
			2.	Still waiting for the official announcement
		v.	Manager API
			1.	Client/Server TCP interface to allow remote control of Asterisk
		vi.	C API
			1.	The Asterisk API that it is all built on
			2.	Extensively documented (yeah right) in the source code and header 
				files
			3.	Lots of example code available
4.	PSTN Connectivity
	a.	Digium Hardware
		i.	X100P
		ii.	TDM400P
		iii.	T100P
		iv.	TE405P
		v.	IAXy
	b.	Other Hardware
		i.	Sippura SPA-2000 and 3000
		ii.	Virbiage IAX2 ATA
		iii.	Cisco ATA 186
	c.	SIP Phones
		i.	Cisco 7905, 7912, 7940 and 7960
		ii.	SNOM 190, 200 and 220 (Running Linux)
		iii.	ipDialog SIP II Phone
	d.	ITSP Providers
		i.	N2Net Univoice (IAX2 / SIP)
		ii.	NuFone (IAX2 / SIP / H323)
		iii.	Broadvoice (IAX2 / SIP)
		iv.	VoicePulse (SIP)
5.	Asterisk In The Real World
	a.	Who Uses Asterisk
	b.	Asterisk Installation Examples
6.	Where Can I Get More Information
	a.	Asterisk Website = http://www.asterisk.org
	b.	Digium Website = http://www.digium.com
	c.	Asterisk Docs = http://www.asteriskdocs.org
	d.	VoIP Info Wiki = http://www.voip-info.org

-- 
    Vice President of N2Net, a New Age Consulting Service, Inc. Company
         http://www.n2net.net Where everything clicks into place!
                             KP-216-121-ST

Greg,

If I was you I would give two examples of common occurences of * usage
that would show the power of Asterisk PABX. Maybe inbound call queue
with log in and out and Time of day routing. Integration with existing
PABX, Vmail and VoIP with branches or over internet.After that you can
say what it can do from a technical specification POV.

We need to sell the attraction of the product first then the detail.
Then cost, flexibility, PABX/Switch/Gateway then heading towards
presence and full blown CTI. Then active community, great company
(Digium), we probably need a saying like Python's "it includes the
batteries".

HTH,

Peter
On Tue, 2004-09-28 at 15:42, Greg Boehnlein wrote:
> Hello all,
> 	I've been invited to do a presentation on Asterisk for the Ohio 
> Linuxfest in Columbus this weekend (http://www.ohiolinux.org). Rough 
> estimates are that nearly 500 people will be attending. I've been
working
> on an outline for a couple of weeks and I would like to have some peer 
> review of the information presented.
> 	I am going to have to cut down the content to make it fit in a 40 
> minute presentation, leaving 10 minutes for questions at the end. Please 
> feel free to tell me I'm missing something, fill in the blanks, yell at
me
> or whatever. Some questions to think over while reading;
> 
> 	- What is most important for new Asterisk users to learn?
> 	- How can I help get them started off on the right foot?
> 	- What are the high priority items?
> 
> 	My goals in doing this presentation are to make sure that the 
> Asterisk community, Digium and VoIP are presented in a non-biased, 
> informative and community oriented manner. Hopefully, we'll get a lot
of
> new Asterisk users, and win over some developers to help with the project!
> 
> 1.	Introduction to VoIP
> 	a.	VoIP Principals of Operation
> 	b.	VoIP Protocols
> 2.	An Introduction to Asterisk
> 	a.	The History of Asterisk
> 	b.	Why Linux?
> 3.	Asterisk: Under The Hood
> 	a.	Channels
> 		i.	CAPI - Connections over ISDN CAPI driver
> 		ii.	H323 - Open H.323 Channel driver
> 		iii.	IAX2 - Inter Asterisk Exchange 2 driver
> 		iv.	ISDN4Linux - 
> 		v.	MCGP - Media Gateway Control Protocol driver
> 		vi.	SCCP -  
> 		vii.	SIP
> 		viii.	Zap
> 	b.	Codecs
> 		i.	G.723.1
> 		ii.	GSM
> 		iii.	G.711 u-law
> 		iv.	G.711 A-law
> 		v.	G.726
> 		vi.	ADPCM
> 		vii.	16 bit Signed Linear PCM
> 		viii.	LPC10
> 		ix.	G.729A audio
> 		x.	SpeeX
> 		xi.	iLBC
> 		xii.	JPEG image
> 		xiii.	PNG image
> 		xiv.	H.261 Video
> 		xv.	H.263 Video
> 	c.	Applications (A Select Few)
> 		i.	AGI: Executes an AGI compliant application
> 		ii.	Answer: Answer a channel if ringing
> 		iii.	Authenticate: Authenticate a user
> 		iv.	BackGround: Play a file while awaiting extension
> 		v.	BackgroundDetect: Background a file with talk detect  
> 		vi.	Busy: Indicate busy condition and stop    
> 		vii.	Congestion: Indicate congestion and stop
> 		viii.	ControlPlayback: Play a file with fast forward and rewind
> 		ix.	DateTime: Says a specified time in a custom format
> 		x.	Dial: Place a call and connect to the current channel
> 		xi.	Directory: Provide directory of voicemail extensions
> 		xii.	Exec: Exec(Appname(arguments))
> 		xiii.	MeetMe: MeetMe conference bridge
> 		xiv.	MP3Player: Play an MP3 file or stream
> 		xv.	MusicOnHold: Play Music On Hold indefinitely
> 		xvi.	Record: Record to a file
> 		xvii.	SendImage: Send an image file
> 		xviii.	SendText: Send a Text Message
> 		xix.	SendURL: Send a URL
> 		xx.	System: Execute a system command
> 		xxi.	Transfer: Transfer caller to remote extension
> 		xxii.	VoiceMail: Leave a voicemail message
> 		xxiii.	VoiceMailMain: Enter voicemail system
> 	d.	Scripting
> 		i.	DialPlan Scripting
> 			1.	Built in Scripting Language
> 		ii.	AGI = CGI for Asterisk
> 			1.	Use any script language you want. C, Perl, PHP, TCL, Python etc.
> 			2.	Passes Arguments and Communicates on STDIN/STDOUT
> 			3.	Great for quick n dirty scripts
> 			4.	AGI Example
> 		iii.	res_perl = Mod Perl for Asterisk
> 			1.	Runs a single instance of Perl and allows the dial-plan to include 
> 				perl code or call external Perl scripts
> 			2.	Very scalable, Very fast
> 		iv.	res_tcl = Modified version of res_perl that works w/ TCL
> 			1.	Just written at Astricon by a SUN Employee
> 			2.	Still waiting for the official announcement
> 		v.	Manager API
> 			1.	Client/Server TCP interface to allow remote control of Asterisk
> 		vi.	C API
> 			1.	The Asterisk API that it is all built on
> 			2.	Extensively documented (yeah right) in the source code and header 
> 				files
> 			3.	Lots of example code available
> 4.	PSTN Connectivity
> 	a.	Digium Hardware
> 		i.	X100P
> 		ii.	TDM400P
> 		iii.	T100P
> 		iv.	TE405P
> 		v.	IAXy
> 	b.	Other Hardware
> 		i.	Sippura SPA-2000 and 3000
> 		ii.	Virbiage IAX2 ATA
> 		iii.	Cisco ATA 186
> 	c.	SIP Phones
> 		i.	Cisco 7905, 7912, 7940 and 7960
> 		ii.	SNOM 190, 200 and 220 (Running Linux)
> 		iii.	ipDialog SIP II Phone
> 	d.	ITSP Providers
> 		i.	N2Net Univoice (IAX2 / SIP)
> 		ii.	NuFone (IAX2 / SIP / H323)
> 		iii.	Broadvoice (IAX2 / SIP)
> 		iv.	VoicePulse (SIP)
> 5.	Asterisk In The Real World
> 	a.	Who Uses Asterisk
> 	b.	Asterisk Installation Examples
> 6.	Where Can I Get More Information
> 	a.	Asterisk Website = http://www.asterisk.org
> 	b.	Digium Website = http://www.digium.com
> 	c.	Asterisk Docs = http://www.asteriskdocs.org
> 	d.	VoIP Info Wiki = http://www.voip-info.org