Hello our good people!. In this guide, we shall be focusing on the installation of Asterisk 18 LTS on Debian 11 / Debian 10. Asterisk is an opensource and free to use PBX system with a number of useful features mostly available in commercial PBX systems. Asterisk is used by different kinds of organizations all over the world. Below are the standard features shipped with Asterisk PBX system:
- Conference calling
- Call Monitoring
- Call Recording
- Distributed Universal Number Discovery
- SMS Messaging
- Trunking
- Transcoding
- Voicemail
- Caller ID on Call Waiting
- Direct Inward System Access
- Call Parking
- Music on Hold
- Music on Transfer
- Caller ID Blocking
- Database Store / Retrieve
- Direct Inward System Access
- Automated Attendant
- Blacklists
- Call Detail Records
- Call Forward on Busy
- Call Forward on No Answer
- Call Forward Variable
- Call Snooping
- Among many other features
We will perform an installation of Asterisk 18 LTS on Debian 11 / Debian 10 by building the software from source. The default version of asterisk package available in the OS upstream repositories is a bit old as can be seen by running the commands below:
$ sudo apt update
$ apt policy asterisk
# Debian 11
asterisk:
Installed: (none)
Candidate: 1:16.16.1~dfsg-1+deb11u1
Version table:
1:16.16.1~dfsg-1+deb11u1 500
500 http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security/main amd64 Packages
1:16.16.1~dfsg-1 500
500 http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye/main amd64 Packages
# Debian 10
$ apt policy asterisk
asterisk:
Installed: (none)
Candidate: 1:16.2.1~dfsg-1+deb10u2
Version table:
1:16.2.1~dfsg-1+deb10u2 500
500 http://deb.debian.org/debian buster/main amd64 PackagesAs seen from the output, the version of Asterisk on Debian 10 is lower as compared to one in Debian 11.
Step 1: Update system packages
Ensure all packages are updated in the system before we can install Asterisk 18 LTS on Debian 11 / Debian 10.
sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade -yYou can do a system power cycle after a successful upgrade if required.
[ -f /var/run/reboot-required ] && sudo reboot -fStep 2: Install Asterisk 18 LTS build dependencies
Since we’re buildingAsterisk 18 LTS on Debian 11 / Debian 10 from source files. Let’s install all the required software dependencies:
sudo apt -y install build-essential git curl wget libnewt-dev libssl-dev libncurses5-dev subversion libsqlite3-dev libjansson-dev libxml2-dev uuid-dev default-libmysqlclient-devValidate that GCC and CMAKE are installed and working on our local system
$ make --version
GNU Make 4.3
Built for x86_64-pc-linux-gnu
Copyright (C) 1988-2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
[email protected]:~$
[email protected]:~$ gcc --version
gcc (Debian 10.2.1-6) 10.2.1 20210110
Copyright (C) 2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
$ gcc --version
gcc (Debian 10.2.1-6) 10.2.1 20210110
Copyright (C) 2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.Step 3: Download Asterisk 18 LTS tarball
Download the latest release ofAsterisk 18 LTS in tarball format
cd /usr/src/
sudo curl -O http://downloads.asterisk.org/pub/telephony/asterisk/asterisk-18-current.tar.gzExtract Asterisk 18 tarball after the download:
sudo tar xvf asterisk-18-current.tar.gz
cd asterisk-18*/Download the mp3 decoder library into the source tree by running below commands:
$ sudo contrib/scripts/get_mp3_source.sh
A addons/mp3
A addons/mp3/MPGLIB_README
A addons/mp3/common.c
A addons/mp3/huffman.h
A addons/mp3/tabinit.c
A addons/mp3/Makefile
A addons/mp3/README
A addons/mp3/decode_i386.c
A addons/mp3/dct64_i386.c
A addons/mp3/MPGLIB_TODO
A addons/mp3/mpg123.h
A addons/mp3/layer3.c
A addons/mp3/mpglib.h
A addons/mp3/decode_ntom.c
A addons/mp3/interface.c
Exported revision 202.Confirm all dependencies are installed using install_prereq script.
sudo contrib/scripts/install_prereq installMessage output from successful installation:
....
Setting up odbcinst (2.3.6-0.1+b1) ...
Setting up odbcinst1debian2:amd64 (2.3.6-0.1+b1) ...
Setting up unixodbc-dev:amd64 (2.3.6-0.1+b1) ...
Processing triggers for initramfs-tools (0.140) ...
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-5.10.0-8-amd64
Processing triggers for libglib2.0-0:amd64 (2.66.8-1) ...
No schema files found: doing nothing.
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.31-13) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.9.4-2) ...
Setting up libgmime-3.0-dev:amd64 (3.2.7-1) ...
#############################################
## install completed successfully
#############################################Step 4: Build and Install Asterisk 18 LTS on Debian 11 / Debian 10
After installation of dependencies and we are good to initiate build and installation ofAsterisk 18 LTS on Debian 11 / Debian 10.
Run the configure script to satisfy build dependencies.
sudo ./configureSample output of successful execution:
.....
configure: creating ./config.status
config.status: creating makeopts
config.status: creating autoconfig.h
configure: Menuselect build configuration successfully completed
.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$=..
.$7$7.. .7$$7:.
.$$:. ,$7.7
.$7. 7$$$$ .$$77
..$$. $$$$$ .$$$7
..7$ .?. $$$$$ .?. 7$$$.
$.$. .$$$7. $$$$7 .7$$$. .$$$.
.777. .$$$$$$77$$$77$$$$$7. $$$,
$$$~ .7$$$$$$$$$$$$$7. .$$$.
.$$7 .7$$$$$$$7: ?$$$.
$$$ ?7$$$$$$$$$$I .$$$7
$$$ .7$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ :$$$.
$$$ $$$$$$7$$$$$$$$$$$$ .$$$.
$$$ $$$ 7$$$7 .$$$ .$$$.
$$$$ $$$$7 .$$$.
7$$$7 7$$$$ 7$$$
$$$$$ $$$
$$$$7. $$ (TM)
$$$$$$$. .7$$$$$$ $$
$$$$$$$$$$$$7$$$$$$$$$.$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
configure: Package configured for:
configure: OS type : linux-gnu
configure: Host CPU : x86_64
configure: build-cpu:vendor:os: x86_64 : pc : linux-gnu :
configure: host-cpu:vendor:os: x86_64 : pc : linux-gnu :Customize your Asterisk installation using the menu options.
sudo make menuselectUse the arrow keys in your keyboard to navigate through the menus, and Enter key to select.
Example selecting Add-ons to install in Asterisk 18:
Example on adding extra Core Sound Packages to build.
For Music On Hold, select the following minimal modules
On Extra Sound Packages select as shown below:
Enable app_macro under Applications menu.
Feel free to enable or disable any modules as you see fit. After all the configurations, use the “Save and Exit” button to update.
To build Asterisk 18 LTS on Debian 11 / Debian 10 by running the command below:
sudo makeThe build process should complete in the next few minutes or seconds depending on your compute power:
.....
[LD] res_pjsip_publish_asterisk.o -> res_pjsip_publish_asterisk.so
[CC] res_calendar_exchange.c -> res_calendar_exchange.o
[LD] res_calendar_exchange.o -> res_calendar_exchange.so
[CC] res_pjsip_registrar.c -> res_pjsip_registrar.o
[LD] res_pjsip_registrar.o -> res_pjsip_registrar.so
Building Documentation For: third-party channels pbx apps codecs formats cdr cel bridges funcs tests main res addons
+--------- Asterisk Build Complete ---------+
+ Asterisk has successfully been built, and +
+ can be installed by running: +
+ +
+ make install +
+-------------------------------------------+The final step is installation of Asterisk on Debian using the make install command:
sudo make installStep 5: Configure Asterisk 18 LTS after the installation
After a successful installation, you can install Asterisk documentation:
sudo make progdocsInstall default configurations for Asterisk and samples.
sudo make samples
sudo make config
sudo ldconfigCreate Asterisk User
Create a separate user and group to run asterisk services, and assign correct permissions:
sudo groupadd asterisk
sudo useradd -r -d /var/lib/asterisk -g asterisk asterisk
sudo usermod -aG audio,dialout asterisk
sudo chown -R asterisk.asterisk /etc/asterisk
sudo chown -R asterisk.asterisk /var/{lib,log,spool}/asterisk
sudo chown -R asterisk.asterisk /usr/lib/asteriskLet’s confirm the id of Asterisk user:
$ id asterisk
uid=997(asterisk) gid=1001(asterisk) groups=1001(asterisk),20(dialout),29(audio)Set the user and group that asterisk service will run as
$ sudo vim /etc/default/asterisk
AST_USER="asterisk"
AST_GROUP="asterisk"The default configuration file used by asterisk is /etc/asterisk/asterisk.conf. You can open the file and see if any change is required.
$ sudo vim /etc/asterisk/asterisk.conf
runuser = asterisk ; The user to run as.
rungroup = asterisk ; The group to run as.Restart asterisk service after making the changes:
sudo systemctl restart asteriskAlso enable the service to start with the system boot
$ systemctl status asterisk
● asterisk.service - LSB: Asterisk PBX
Loaded: loaded (/etc/init.d/asterisk; generated)
Active: active (running) since Wed 2021-12-08 11:20:08 UTC; 1min 24s ago
Docs: man:systemd-sysv-generator(8)
Tasks: 70 (limit: 2340)
Memory: 46.0M
CPU: 1.635s
CGroup: /system.slice/asterisk.service
└─48369 /usr/sbin/asterisk -U asterisk -G asterisk
Dec 08 11:20:08 debian-bullseye-01 systemd[1]: Starting LSB: Asterisk PBX...
Dec 08 11:20:08 debian-bullseye-01 asterisk[48355]: Starting Asterisk PBX: asterisk.
Dec 08 11:20:08 debian-bullseye-01 systemd[1]: Started LSB: Asterisk PBX.To use Asterisk CLI, run:
$ sudo asterisk -rvv
Asterisk 18.11.1, Copyright (C) 1999 - 2021, Sangoma Technologies Corporation and others.
Created by Mark Spencer <[email protected]>
Asterisk comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; type 'core show warranty' for details.
This is free software, with components licensed under the GNU General Public
License version 2 and other licenses; you are welcome to redistribute it under
certain conditions. Type 'core show license' for details.
=========================================================================
Connected to Asterisk 18.11.1 currently running on debian-bullseye-01 (pid = 48369)
debian-bullseye-01*CLI>Running some asterisk commands to test the functionality.
debian-bullseye-01*CLI> core show uptime
System uptime: 16 minutes, 29 seconds
Last reload: 16 minutes, 29 seconds
debian-bullseye-01*CLI> core show sysinfo
System Statistics
-----------------
System Uptime: 18 hours
Total RAM: 2030244 KiB
Free RAM: 160672 KiB
Buffer RAM: 58964 KiB
Total Swap Space: 0 KiB
Free Swap Space: 0 KiB
Number of Processes: 172
debian-bullseye-01*CLI> exit
Asterisk cleanly ending (0).
Executing last minute cleanupsWe have now installed and configured Asterisk 18 LTS on Debian 11 / Debian 10 Linux machine. A detailed configuration guide and complete documentation is available on the official Asterisk website.
