Thanks to Irfan Khan khania@super.net.pk and Kris Dev for forwarding this... FN
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: [LinuxPakistan] South Asia Quake Help - Asterisk Server needed
Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2005 00:12:53 -0500 From: Tariq tariq@linuxpakistan.net To: general@linuxpakistan.net
Request for help from quakehelp_AT_gmail_DOT_com. Please Help!!!
Hello,
As part of the South Asia Quake Help Blog (http://quakehelp.blogspot.com) & Wiki efforts, we are trying to setup a SMS2Web/Web2SMS system in Pakistan/India (affected areas). As has been in other recent disasters, SMS seems to be the only available communication means in the affected areas.
This system if setup could be used by relief workers, affected people and other volunteers to exchange important information about their relief needs, situation reports etc. Major Relief Agencies have shown interest in such a system. We have been trying for the last 72 hours or so with little success.
We are looking Asterisk (Open Source IP PBX) Linux Servers, some Asterisk Hardware and a few phone lines in Pakistan or India.
More detailed information on what's needed is available here:
http://quakehelp.blogspot.com/2005/10/urgently-needed-asterisk-linux-servers...
As an Asterisk/Lunx tech user in Pakistan, we thought you might be able to help us with this relief effort. We found your contact information here:
http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/archive/cu-wireless-dev/2005-May/000488.ht...
Looking forward to hearing back from you.
Thanks in advance, Bala Pitchandi & Angelo Embuldeniya -- The QuakeHelp Team http://quakehelp.blogspot.com
Our Other Online Projects: http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com http://katrinahelp.blogspot.com http://ritahelp.blogspot.com
http://quakehelp.asiaquake.org http://www.tsunamihelp.info http://www.katrinahelp.info http://www.ritahelp.info
The World Wide Help Group http://groups.google.com/group/WorldWideHelp -- Linux Pakistan 4 - E - 1/6 Nazimabad Karachi - 74600
Phone +92-21-6622134 Email tariq@linuxpakistan.net Web http://www.linuxpakistan.net
_______________________________________________ General mailing list General@linuxpakistan.net http://mail.linuxpakistan.net/mailman/listinfo/general_linuxpakistan.net
BACKGROUND: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterisk_PBX
Asterisk PBX
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Asterisk official logo. Enlarge Asterisk official logo.
Asterisk is an open source software implementation of a telephone private branch exchange (PBX). Like any PBX, it allows a number of attached telephones to make calls to one another, and to connect to other telephone services including the PSTN. "Its name comes from the asterisk symbol, *, which in UNIX (including Linux) and DOS environments represents a wildcard, matching any filename." [1]
Asterisk is free software, released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Mark Spencer of Digium originally created Asterisk and remains its primary maintainer; dozens of other programmers have contributed features and functionality. Originally designed for the Linux operating system, Asterisk now also runs on OpenBSD, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, Sun Solaris, and Microsoft Windows, although as the "native" platform, Linux is the best-supported of these.
The basic Asterisk software includes many features previously only available in expensive proprietary PBX systems -- voice mail, conference calling, interactive voice response (phone menus), and automatic call distribution. Users can create new functionality by writing dial plan scripts in Asterisk's own language, by adding custom modules written in C, or by writing Asterisk Gateway Interface scripts in Perl or other languages.
To attach ordinary telephones to a Linux server running Asterisk, or to connect to PSTN trunk lines, the server must be fitted with special hardware. (An ordinary modem will not suffice.) Digium and a number of other firms sell PCI cards to attach telephones, telephone lines, T1 and E1 lines, and other analog and digital phone services to a server.
Perhaps of more interest to many deployers today, Asterisk also supports a wide range of Voice over IP protocols, including SIP and H.323. Asterisk can interoperate with most SIP telephones, acting both as registrar and as a gateway between IP phones and the PSTN. Asterisk developers have also designed a new protocol, IAX, for efficient trunking of calls among Asterisk PBXes.
By supporting a mix of traditional and VoIP telephony services, Asterisk allows deployers to build new telephone systems efficiently, or gradually migrate existing systems to new technologies. Some sites are using Asterisk servers to replace aging proprietary PBXes; others to provide additional features (such as voice mail or phone menus) or to cut costs by carrying long-distance calls over the Internet (toll bypass).
VoIP Telephone Companies have begun to support Asterisk PBX's. A recent article in the Geek Gazette, explains how to configure an Asterisk system to work with BroadVoice. VoicePulse also offers support for Asterisk.
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External links * Asterisk home page * Asterisk Handbook, Version 2 * Asterisk Enterprise Edition * Hardware-Oasis.com VoIP Distributor (4-Port card Sirrix.PCI4S0 with Asterisk support) * Asterisk Wiki * Russian Asterisk Community * Norwegian Asterisk Community * Asterisk @ Home -- simplified Asterisk installation and administration for the home user * Hardware components for Asterisk PBX building * High Level white paper on the Asterisk PBX * Book: Building Telephony Systems with Asterisk, by Packt Publishing ISBN: 1-904811-15-9.
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Frederick Noronha (FN)