Chapter 2. Introducing Asterisk

In this chapter, we will be looking at what Asterisk is, and what it can do for us. As we explore the features, we can make note of what will help us to accomplish our goals and be useful in our environment. Creating a phone system based on Asterisk is an affordable alternative to a traditional PBX system. As we plan our deployment we will need to have an idea of the features we will use.

Open-Source Software

The concept behind open-source software is that not only is the application available to the general public at no cost, but the actual source code that created the application is also available and freely distributable. This allows other users of the application to make changes to the source code and optionally pass these changes on to other users of the software.

Asterisk and the other components of TrixBox, however, are released under the GPL (General Public License) that comes with the caveat that when someone makes changes to the original code and decides...