The Open Learning Centre

Asterisk is an Open Source Telephony Server (PBX) which is mature and has been deployed in business environments large and small worldwide. Being a software based telephony system, you are free to choose the right hardware to suit your needs and budget. Hardware not just for the switch but also for your handsets and other devices. From small embedded systems with just a few ports, up to many thousands of extensions on scalable and resilient High Availability hardware, Asterisk can deliver a very flexible and adaptable solution.

Using open standards for communications such as SIP and IAX you can be secure in the knowledge your switch will talk to the majority of service providers VOIP offerings, and with the right hardware interface cards to analogue and digital (ISDN) POTS services too.

The real advantage of Asterisk over traditional closed and proprietary PBX systems is the ability to integrate the telephony server with your existing IT infrastructure. Being Open Source and using Open and public APIs, integration with systems such as email and CRM is very common.

Asterisk is developed and supported by a commercial company called Digium who offer professional support and other services through their network of partners. They also manufacture and supply various hardware solutions from integrated PBX systems to line cards for generic computing platforms.