Four Linux distributions focus on Asterisk: PoundKey, a Linux distribution supported by Digium; Evolution
PBX, a distribution made for small businesses with commercial support; Elastix, a distribution supported by
a commercial company; and trixbox. trixbox was released in 2005 as “Asterisk@Home,” a simple and easy
way to install Asterisk on a computer. Self contained within a bootable CD, Asterisk@Home focused on
ease of use and ease of install, allowing someone with little to no Linux experience to start playing with
Asterisk. In 2006, Asterisk@Home was acquired by Fonality, a California-based VoIP services firm, who
renamed the new version of Asterisk@Home to “trixbox.”Today, trixbox is one of the leading Asterisk
Linux distributions. With over 30,000 downloads a month, it takes its place among the “heavy
hitters” of Asterisk distributions. The trixbox CD contains numerous add-ons to Asterisk: freePBX, a Web-
based configuration manager; HUDLite, a cross-platform operator panel; and SugarCRM, a complete
Customer Relationship Manager suite. All of these are configured to run out of the box with trixbox,
allowing a complete suite of tools for managing and maintaining your Asterisk installation.
Getting trixbox
trixbox is available at www.trixbox.org.The most up-to-date version at the time of this writing is trixbox 2.0
which contains Asterisk 1.2.13.The download size clocks in at a hefty 550MB, so you may want to put on
a pot of coffee before you start downloading. Like the live CD’s discussed earlier, the downloaded image
can be burned with the “image burn” function of any standard CD recording program.
Booting trixbox
After burning the trixbox CD, use it to boot the machine you will be installing to. Again, as mentioned in the
earlier “Booting SLAST” section, the computer may need some kind of setting changed to boot from a CD.
Once the CD is booted, the trixbox boot screen is displayed, as shown in Figure 2.8.
After about five seconds, the CentOS installer will start loading up, as shown in Figure 2.9.
After all the system’s hardware is detected, the installer will start prompting you for questions regarding
keyboard layouts and time zones. Answer these as appropriate to your system. Once done with that, it will
prompt you for a root password. Once enough information is gathered, the installer will start formatting your
hard drive and the installation will begin, as shown in Figure 2.10.
The trixbox installer will copy files, reboot, and begin to install specific packages on the system (see Figure
2.11). After installation, trixbox will reboot one last time and display a login prompt. Log in with the
username root and the password you specified in the setup process and you will be presented with a root
shell. After logging in, the URL of the Web management interface will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2.12.
Configuring trixbox
trixbox, like SLAST, should configure its network automatically if there is a DHCP server on the network. If
it didn’t, or if the DHCP address is not the address you want for the server, you can run the netconfig utility
to manage network settings, as shown in Figure 2.13.
netconfig will prompt you for the IP address, netmask, gateway, and nameserver of your network. Enter
these as appropriate for the system. After confirming these settings, the utility will exit. Reboot the system,
and the new network settings will take effect.
trixbox’s Web Interface
One of trixbox’s nicer features is a Web interface that allows you to manage the system through a Web
browser. It uses PHPConfig Asterisk config editor, which allows you to edit the files directly, in addition to
using freePBX, which is a standardized interface for managing certain Asterisk features.
By entering the system’s IP address into your Web browser, you’ll be greeted with trixbox’s home
page.You’ll see links for the system’s Asterisk Recording Interface which manage the ability to record audio
conversations on Asterisk, scripts to manage Asterisk’s recordings, voice mail, and call monitoring
recordings; the MeetMe management system, a system to manage MeetMe conferences; Flash Operator
Panel, a phone operator panel for Asterisk written in Flash; and SugarCRM customer relationship
management software. In the upper right, you’ll see a link to switch into “Maintenance” mode. Clicking the
link will prompt you for a username and password. Log in with the username maint and the password
password.
The trixbox management system is very full featured, and a book could be written on these two systems
alone, so let’s just take a (very) quick tour of the two major configuration editors on the system:The
PHPConfig Asterisk config editor and the freePBX system. Figure 2.14 shows the trixbox system default
page.
PBX, a distribution made for small businesses with commercial support; Elastix, a distribution supported by
a commercial company; and trixbox. trixbox was released in 2005 as “Asterisk@Home,” a simple and easy
way to install Asterisk on a computer. Self contained within a bootable CD, Asterisk@Home focused on
ease of use and ease of install, allowing someone with little to no Linux experience to start playing with
Asterisk. In 2006, Asterisk@Home was acquired by Fonality, a California-based VoIP services firm, who
renamed the new version of Asterisk@Home to “trixbox.”Today, trixbox is one of the leading Asterisk
Linux distributions. With over 30,000 downloads a month, it takes its place among the “heavy
hitters” of Asterisk distributions. The trixbox CD contains numerous add-ons to Asterisk: freePBX, a Web-
based configuration manager; HUDLite, a cross-platform operator panel; and SugarCRM, a complete
Customer Relationship Manager suite. All of these are configured to run out of the box with trixbox,
allowing a complete suite of tools for managing and maintaining your Asterisk installation.
Getting trixbox
trixbox is available at www.trixbox.org.The most up-to-date version at the time of this writing is trixbox 2.0
which contains Asterisk 1.2.13.The download size clocks in at a hefty 550MB, so you may want to put on
a pot of coffee before you start downloading. Like the live CD’s discussed earlier, the downloaded image
can be burned with the “image burn” function of any standard CD recording program.
After burning the trixbox CD, use it to boot the machine you will be installing to. Again, as mentioned in the
earlier “Booting SLAST” section, the computer may need some kind of setting changed to boot from a CD.
Once the CD is booted, the trixbox boot screen is displayed, as shown in Figure 2.8.
keyboard layouts and time zones. Answer these as appropriate to your system. Once done with that, it will
prompt you for a root password. Once enough information is gathered, the installer will start formatting your
hard drive and the installation will begin, as shown in Figure 2.10.
2.11). After installation, trixbox will reboot one last time and display a login prompt. Log in with the
username root and the password you specified in the setup process and you will be presented with a root
shell. After logging in, the URL of the Web management interface will be displayed, as shown in Figure 2.12.
Configuring trixbox
trixbox, like SLAST, should configure its network automatically if there is a DHCP server on the network. If
it didn’t, or if the DHCP address is not the address you want for the server, you can run the netconfig utility
to manage network settings, as shown in Figure 2.13.
these as appropriate for the system. After confirming these settings, the utility will exit. Reboot the system,
and the new network settings will take effect.
trixbox’s Web Interface
One of trixbox’s nicer features is a Web interface that allows you to manage the system through a Web
browser. It uses PHPConfig Asterisk config editor, which allows you to edit the files directly, in addition to
using freePBX, which is a standardized interface for managing certain Asterisk features.
page.You’ll see links for the system’s Asterisk Recording Interface which manage the ability to record audio
conversations on Asterisk, scripts to manage Asterisk’s recordings, voice mail, and call monitoring
recordings; the MeetMe management system, a system to manage MeetMe conferences; Flash Operator
Panel, a phone operator panel for Asterisk written in Flash; and SugarCRM customer relationship
management software. In the upper right, you’ll see a link to switch into “Maintenance” mode. Clicking the
link will prompt you for a username and password. Log in with the username maint and the password
password.
The trixbox management system is very full featured, and a book could be written on these two systems
alone, so let’s just take a (very) quick tour of the two major configuration editors on the system:The
PHPConfig Asterisk config editor and the freePBX system. Figure 2.14 shows the trixbox system default
page.
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