Setting Up Your Telephony Environment with DAHDI, Asterisk, and Libpri

Introduction

This document provides a detailed guide for system administrators and developers on establishing a robust telephony environment. It focuses on the installation and configuration of key open-source components: DAHDI for hardware interface, Asterisk as the telephony engine, and Libpri for signaling.

Key Components

• DAHDI: Enables communication between telephony hardware and the Asterisk software.
• Asterisk: A powerful, open-source framework for building scalable voice, video, messaging, and conferencing applications.
• Libpri: Supports Primary Rate Interface (PRI) signaling, essential for connecting to digital telephone networks.

Installation and Configuration Process

The guide covers the essential steps:

1. Downloading Source Code

   Instructions are provided for obtaining the latest source code packages from official sources:

   • DAHDI: OpenVox DAHDI
   • Libpri: Digium Libpri
   • Asterisk: Digium Asterisk

2. Dependency Installation

   Details on installing necessary system packages such as build-essential and git.

3. Compilation and Installation

   Step-by-step instructions for compiling and installing DAHDI, Libpri, and Asterisk.

4. Driver and System Configuration

   Guidance on loading hardware drivers (e.g., opvxd115, wct4xxp), generating configuration files like system.conf and dahdi-channels.conf, and ensuring automatic driver loading.

5. Dial Plan Setup

   Instructions for creating a basic dial plan in extensions.conf to manage inbound and outbound calls.

Vendors

OpenVox and Digium are the primary sources for the software and hardware components discussed in this guide.