Registering Asterisk with VOIP provider

The default configuration directory of Asterisk is /etc/asterisk/.

We will need to create the following files.

logger.conf
modules.conf
sip.conf
extensions.conf
voicemail.conf

All Asterisk config files are very similar to .ini files. This makes for simple machine and human usage. For example:

[sample]
keyword=value

This would be considered the sample context and the keyword would be set to value.

Create each Asterisk config file.

logger.conf

logger.conf – Establishes the types of messages that you see on the CLI, Syslog or in discreet files. We will start by only sending messages just to the Asterisk CLI (console)

[logfiles]
console = warning,notice,error

This instructs Asterisk to display the warning, notice and error message types. There is also a debug message type, however the amount of information that is generated is usually only interesting to a developer or someone attempting to diagnose a problem.

modules.conf – Instructs Asterisk which modules get loaded.

[modules]
autoload=yes

More advanced configurations of Asterisk can disable the loading of specific modules. For this configuration the autoloading of modules is the simplest method to get started.

sip.conf

; Useful CLI commands to check peers/users:
; sip show peers Show all SIP peers (including friends)
; sip show users Show all SIP users (including friends)
; sip show registry Show status of hosts we register with
 

sip.conf – This details the SIP configuration for Asterisk. We will configure two SPA-942s and use a fictional account at the VoIP Provider that we have selected.

[general]
port=5060
bindaddr=0.0.0.0
disallow=all
allow=ulaw

[100]
type=peer
host=dynamic
secret=100
context=users


[200]
type=peer
host=dynamic
secret=200
context=users


[VoIPProvider]
type=peer
host=proxy.voipprovider.net
username=wilber
fromuser=wilber
secret=supersecure
canreinvite=no

The above contexts define some general configuration details, plus 3 SIP entities.

The general context instructs Asterisk to use the common SIP port of 5060 and to bind to any available network port. The disallow and allow directives define the specific codec(s) that are to be used. For this configuration we will utilize only G.711 uLaw.

The 100 and 200 contexts define our two SP942 VoIP Phones.

host=dynamic instructs Asterisk that our SIP Phones will be registering to us, perhaps because they use a dynamically assigned IP address.

secret is the shared secret that we will use to authenticate each phone.

context is where in the dialplan (extensions.conf) calls for this device will get sent. We will discuss this option in more detail below.

mailbox defines the voicemail box to use. context is the specific extensions context to be used for this device.

The [VoIPProvider] context defines the configuration as dictated by your VoIP Provider’s SIP Device Tutorial.

username and fromuser setup specific variables within the SIP protocol that allows authentication.

canreinvite=no is a specific option informing Asterisk to not attempt to re-invite or change any settings of the call. Re-invites are typically one cause of one-way audio or no audio at all, when behind NAT or firewalls.

extensions.conf

extensions.conf – Extensions are groups of actions that instruct Asterisk exactly how to deal with your telephone calls. Extensions typically consist of a number of priorities containing multiple actions, which are grouped inside of contexts. Each context contains a logical grouping of actions (extensions) that make your dialing plan. The extensions concept of Asterisk is very flexible and powerful, which can be used to create complex telephony applications.

In this configuration, we establish two extensions for our SIP Phones and matching extensions to call out via NuFone using a layout that will provide the necessary foundation to build more complex dialplans in the future.

[macro-phone]
exten => s,1,Dial(SIP/${MACRO_EXTEN},25)
exten => s,n,Goto(${DIALSTATUS},1)
exten => ANSWER,1,Hangup
exten => CANCEL,1,Hangup
exten => NOANSWER,1,Voicemail(${MACRO_EXTEN}@default,u)
exten => BUSY,1,Voicemail(${MACRO_EXTEN}@default,b)
exten => CONGESTION,1,Voicemail(${MACRO_EXTEN}@default,b)
exten => CHANUNAVAIL,1,Voicemail(${MACRO_EXTEN}@default,u)
exten => a,1,VoicemailMain(${MACRO_EXTEN}@default)

[stations]

exten => 100,1,Macro(phone)
exten => 200,1,Macro(phone)
exten => 4242,1,VoicemailMain(default)

[long-distance]
exten => _NXXNXXXXXX,1,Dial(SIP/VoIPProvider/1${EXTEN})
exten => _1NXXNXXXXXX,1,Dial(SIP/VoIPProvider/${EXTEN})

[local]
exten => _NXXXXXX,1,Dial(SIP/VoIPProvider/1212${EXTEN})

[users]
include => stations
include => local
include => long-distance

The macro-phone context defines a group of priorities that creates a standard telephone for our PBX. Utilizing a Macro avoids a serious amount of duplicated configuration and reduces mistakes when adding or changing features. We implement the detection of Busy and No Answer situations using the ${DIALSTATUS} channel variable and the Goto action. Hopefully, this gives you some early insight as to the power of the Asterisk Extension Logic. We will discuss the many uses of Channel Variables and Goto’s in future articles.

The stations context establishes the 100 and 200 extensions of our PBX. Future SIP Phones would get added into this context. We call the ‘phone’ Macro to provide each telephone similar a featureset without any duplicate configuration. We also define extension 4242 which allows you to check your voicemail.

The long-distance context establishes a matching pattern extension that matches any valid 10 or 11 digit telephone number. This is the standard method to dial long distance telephone numbers from the US or Canada.

The local context creates a matching pattern extension for local dialing. In this example we add ‘1212′ before sending the call out to match what NuFone expects. You will need to add your own local area code to make this code relevant for your situation.

The users context is a landing context. If you recall, in sip.conf we instruct Asterisk to use the users context for our two SIP phones — meaning calls from your SIP Phones will land in the users context. In this simple configuration, we include the stations, local and long-distance contexts. More advanced configurations could have other similar landing contexts to restrict certain phones from calling long-distance or to only call other stations, etc.

voicemail.conf – As you may have guessed, this file configures the voicemail boxes for your PBX.

[general]
format=wav
[email protected]
attach=yes
fromstring=Voicemail
emailsubject=New Voicemail message ${VM_MSGNUM}
emailbody=A ${VM_DUR} long message from ${VM_CALLERID}, on ${VM_DATE}\n
emaildateformat=%A, %d %B %Y at %H:%M:%S

[default]
100 => 100,Mailbox 100,[email protected]
200 => 200,Mailbox 200,[email protected]

The general context defines the most common settings.

You need to set a valid serveremail value to ensure your mail agent will deliver the email.

attach=yes tells Asterisk you want to attach the actual voicemail recording to the email that gets sent out.

fromstring is the From header that the email will appear to be sent by.

The emailsubject, emailbody and emaildateformat are highly configurable using built in variables.

The default context defines the actual mailboxes using the format of:

mailbox => password,Mailbox Name, Email Address to send voicemail notification

Set valid email addresses to ensure proper email delevery.

You can now start Asterisk for the first time.

voip:/etc/asterisk# asterisk -vvvgc

Leave Asterisk running. Lets now configure the twp SPA-942s to communicate with your Asterisk PBX.

Determine the IP Address of the SIP phone. The simplest way is to press the configuration button and scroll down to the network option (or press 9).

We will be configuring these SIP Phones using their web interface. Point your favorite web browser to the IP address you just determined.

In the upper right hand section click on the Admin Login link and then click on the advanced link. This will provide more configuration options, which we will need to utilize.

Starting on the SIP tab, set Handle VIA Received and Handle VIA rport to Yes in the NAT Support Parameters. Handle VIA Received instructs the SIP phone to respond to the appropriate server, which called VIA in the SIP Headers. Handle VIA rport tells the SIP phone to communicate using the ‘rport’ value. These two settings assist the SIP Phone in dealing with NAT and/or Firewall situations.

On the Phone tab, set a Station Name and set the Short name on Line Key 1 to “Line 1″, otherwise the default setting may confuse less technically savvy users, in my opinion.

On the Ext1 tab, set the Proxy to the IP or hostname of your Asterisk box and set both the User ID and Password to 100 (200 for the second SIP Phone). In the Audio Configuration section ensure that G711u is selected.

Click on Submit All Changes and your phone will reboot. When it comes back on-line you should be registered with your Asterisk PBX and can call to the other SIP Phone or out via NuFone.

I hope this has provided you with a solid understanding of how to compile and configure a simple installation of Asterisk. Granted this is not by any means a comprehensive guide to Asterisk. However, this How To should get you up to speed, allowing you to deploy a more advanced configuration of Asterisk without such a steep learning curve.

Old News

Get Started

Asterisk is an open source PBX designed to switch calls, manage routes, enable features and connect callers with the outside world over IP, analogue and digital connections. This guide describes how to configure your Asterisk installation to work with your Localphone account.

To view this guide with your Localphone account details filled in, please log in or register.

This guide should work for Asterisk version 1.2.4 and above. You will need to edit two configuration files on your Asterisk server; sip.conf and extension.conf. These files are usually located in the directory /etc/asterisk/.

1. Check the sip.conf Asterisk Configuration File

   Open sip.conf and check that the [general] section contains the following configuration values:

   [general]
   port      = 5060
   bindaddr  = 0.0.0.0
   qualify   = no
   disable   = all
   allow     = alaw
   allow     = ulaw
   dtmfmode  = rfc2833
   srvlookup = yes

2. Register with the Localphone Service

   Next, configure Asterisk to register with the Localphone service. This will enable Localphone’s proxy to route incoming calls to your Asterisk server.

   register => [SIP ID]:[SIP Password]@localphone.com/[SIP ID]

3. Create the Localphone Account

   Add your Localphone service to Asterisk. Add the following to the bottom of sip.conf:

   [localphone]
   type        = friend
   insecure    = very
   nat         = no
   canreinvite = no
   authuser    = [SIP ID]
   username    = [SIP ID]
   fromuser    = [SIP ID]
   fromdomain  = localphone.com
   secret      = [SIP Password]
   host        = localphone.com
   dtmfmode    = rfc2833
   context     = localphone-in ;extensions.conf context for inbound calls
   disallow    = all
   allow       = ulaw
   allow       = alaw

4. Test Your Configuration

   Check that your Asterisk server has successfully registered with the Localphone proxy. At the Asterisk console enter the command sip reload, followed by the command sip show registry. The output should resemble the following:

   localhost*CLI> sip reload
    Reloading SIP>
     == Parsing '/etc/asterisk/sip.conf': Found
     == Parsing '/etc/asterisk/users.conf': Found
     == Parsing '/etc/asterisk/sip_notify.conf': Found
   
   localhost*CLI> sip show registry
   Host                 Username  Refresh  State       Reg.Time
   localphone.com:5060  [SIP ID]  105      Registered  Sat, 2 Jan 2010 03:40:54

5. Create the Incoming Context

   Configure Asterisk to send calls to your chosen device(s) when a call is received via your Localphone account. You do this by creating the context specified in step #3. Add the following to extension.conf:

   [localphone-in]
   exten => [SIP ID],1,Dial(SIP/sipphone,60,tr) ; phone must be registered
   exten => [SIP ID],2,Hangup

6. Create the Outgoing Context

   Now Asterisk is able to receive calls, we need to set it up to make outbound calls. To do this you need to create an outgoing context similar to [localphone-out] defined below.

   [localphone-out]
   exten => _9.,1,Dial(SIP/${EXTEN:1}@localphone-out,30,tr)
   exten => _9.,2,Playback(invalid)
   exten => _9.,3,Hangup

   The above example assumes the user of the phone connected to your Asterisk server presses 9 to get an outside line.

   Please note that the [localphone-out] context will need to be included in the dial-plan for the individual device(s) that you intend to use with the Localphone service.

Following the steps above, you should now be able to connect to Localphone and make and receive calls. For further information about configuring Asterisk, or for help with troubleshooting, please see:

• Asterisk Support
• Asterisk Forums
• Asterisk Docs
• Asterisk Wiki
• Asterisk Mailing List

This guide is provided for assistance. If you discover any errors in this page, please send us your comments and we will update the guide as soon as possible.

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Last modified: March, 12, 2019