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Faxing Returns for Incredible PBX 2027 Platforms



As you may know, the introduction of Rocky 8, Debian 11, Ubuntu 22.04, and PHP 7.4 blew our HylaFax/AvantFax/IAXmodem faxing solution out of the water leaving all of the Incredible PBX 2027 builds with no fax capabilities. With some tips from our long-time contributor, Bill Simon, we are happy to report that an alternative solution is now available. It now provides BOTH incoming and outgoing fax support with email PDF delivery of all received faxes. While there are numerous free and paid options that support Outbound Faxing, we now have added an easy-to-use script that provides this functionality on Incredible PBX 2027 platforms.

Inbound Faxing Solution with Incredible PBX 2027

The new inbound faxing solution works much like it did with HylaFax and IAXmodem. You configure your Inbound Routes in FreePBX® to listen for fax tones. When an incoming fax is detected, the call is transferred to a SpanDSP fax context in Asterisk®. The incoming fax is then recorded as a .tiff image. When the recording is finished, we use the TIFF2PDF application to convert the image to a PDF file which is then emailed to a designated email address which you configure as part of this fax setup procedure. The prerequisite, of course, is to assure that Incredible PBX 2027 can send emails. This was covered in the initial setup tutorials, but we will repeat it below for slow learners.

Let’s first get your Incredible PBX 2027 platform configured to detect and process incoming fax calls. Log into your server as root and issue the following commands.

1. For Rocky 8 platforms: yum install libtiff && yum install libtiff-tools
    For Debian, Ubuntu, and Raspberry Pi platforms: apt install libtiff-tools -y

2. Issue the following commands to put the inbound fax context in place:

sed -i '/^\[custom-fax/,/^$/d' /etc/asterisk/extensions_custom.conf
echo '
[ext-group](+)
exten => fax,1,Noop(Fax detected)
exten -> fax,2,Goto(custom-fax-iaxmodem,s,1)

[custom-fax-iaxmodem]
exten => s,1,Answer
exten => s,n,Wait(1)
exten => s,n,Verbose(3,Incoming Fax)
exten => s,n,Set(FAXEMAIL=)     ; fax email address of recipient
exten => s,n,Set(FAXDEST=/tmp)  ; folder where faxes will be stored
exten => s,n,Set(tempfax=${STRFTIME(,,%C%y%m%d%H%M)})
exten => s,n,ReceiveFax(${FAXDEST}/${tempfax}.tif)
exten => s,n,System(/usr/bin/tiff2pdf -o "${FAXDEST}/${tempfax}.pdf" "${FAXDEST}/${tempfax}.tif")
exten => s,n,System(/usr/bin/echo "Incoming fax is attached." | /usr/bin/mail -s "Incoming FAX  Received" -A "${FAXDEST}/${tempfax}.pdf" "${FAXEMAIL}")
exten => s,n,Hangup

' >> /etc/asterisk/extensions_custom.conf

3. Update the fax context to include your email address for delivery of inbound faxes. Insert your email address in the code below replacing yourname@gmail.com:

sed -i 's|FAXEMAIL=|FAXEMAIL=yourname@gmail.com|' /etc/asterisk/extensions_custom.conf

4. Download and install the Fax module for FreePBX:

fwconsole ma downloadinstall fax
rm /tmp/*
fwconsole reload

5. Open the FreePBX GUI and check to be sure you still have a Custom Destination called Fax (HylaFax). If not, create it:

Target: custom-fax-iaxmodem,s,1
Description: Fax (HylaFax)
Return: No

6. In the FreePBX GUI, modify each of your Inbound Routes to support incoming faxes from the DIDs you’ll be using for inbound faxes. In the new Fax tab, edit the settings as shown below, save the settings, and reload your dialplan.

 Yes
 SIP
 No
 5
 Custom Destinations
  Fax (HylaFax)

7. Be sure you have configured Outbound Email with SendMail using the instructions below before continuing.

8. Send a test fax from FaxZero to one of your fax-enabled DID’s while watching the Linux CLI for issues.


Configuring Gmail as Smart Relay Host

Most Incredible PBX implementations will be on networks managed by companies like Comcast, Spectrum, and AT&T that block downstream mail servers (that’s you) from sending email. The solution is to use Gmail or your local ISP as a smart relay host to send mail from your server. You’ll need this to deliver voicemails and faxes via email. Here’s how to set it up using a Gmail account.

IMPORTANT: You MUST obtain and use a Gmail App Password instead of your Gmail account password when running the script below. If you’re a Google hater, here’s an alternative.

/root/enable-gmail-smarthost-for-sendmail

Now send yourself a test email message to make sure things are working properly:

echo "test" | mail -s testmessage yourname@yourmailprovider.com

Outbound Faxing Solutions with Incredible PBX 2027

We’ve now developed a sendfax.sh script for use on Incredible PBX 2027 platforms. It lets you send any PDF document as a fax by simply copying the file to the /tmp directory and running the sendfax.sh script. You’ll be prompted for the name of the PDF file to send, the trunk to use for the call, and the phone number of the destination fax in the format required by your designated trunk. Make certain that you have provided the appropriate CallerID number in your Trunk setup, or the outbound calls may fail. After you complete the steps above to enable Inbound Faxing, issue the following commands to install this new Outbound Faxing addition:

cd /root
wget http://incrediblepbx.com/sendfax2027.tar.gz
tar zxvf sendfax2027.tar.gz
rm -f sendfax2027.tar.gz

Now let’s be sure your platform has the necessary components to support Outbound Faxing.

On Rocky 8 platforms, issue the following commands:

yum install libtiff
yum install libtiff-tools
yum install ghostscript

On Debian, Ubuntu and Raspberry Pi platforms, issue the following commands:

 apt update
 apt install libtiff-tools -y
 apt install ghostscript -y
 

Next edit /root/sendfax.sh and enter the callerid, faxheader, and faxstationid for your new Outbound Faxing Engine.

Disable the messages prompting for these components by issuing the command:
touch /etc/pbx/.sendfax

Finally, for installs before 9/27/2023, if you will be using a PJsip trunk to send outbound faxes, issue the following command to adjust the syntax in the sendfax.sh script. This is automatic for new installs.

sed -i 's|SIP/$mytrunk/$faxnumber|PJSIP/$faxnumber@$mytrunk|' /root/sendfax.sh

Now you’re ready to take Outbound Faxing for a test drive. Deposit a PDF file in the /tmp directory of your server. Then issue the following command to begin the Outbound Faxing process: /root/sendfax.sh. When prompted, enter the file name of your PDF file, the trunk name which will be used to make the call, and the phone number for the fax destination. That’s all the setup that’s required.

When you run the script, it will stay active until the fax has been delivered in order to alert you as to whether the fax transmission was successful. If, for some reason, the fax transmission fails, you can resend it with the following commands:

cp -ap /root/sendfax.call /tmp/cf
rm -f /var/spool/asterisk/outgoing_done/cf
mv /tmp/cf /var/spool/asterisk/outgoing/

You can verify receipt of the new fax attempt by waiting a reasonable time and then issuing these commands:

cd /var/spool/asterisk/outgoing_done
date -d @`cat cf | grep StartRetry | cut -f 2 -d "(" | cut -f 1 -d ")"`
cat cf | grep Status


While it is no longer possible to send faxes directly using AvantFax, there are some additional alternatives. A free one is faxzero.com, which lets you send 5 free faxes a day with up to 3 pages of text plus a cover sheet. A second alternative for infrequent use is to pay FaxZero $2.09 per fax to send up to 25 pages with an optional cover page. Another option is to send and receive faxes from your computer or mobile phone using a dedicated fax number from a service such as FaxDeck. Outbound faxing works almost identically to AvantFax. FaxDeck lets you send and receive up to 300 pages to the U.S. and Canada for $5 a month. Or, for $10 a month, you can send and receive up to 1,000 pages. That’s a penny per page which is less than the cost of most VoIP calls. Many of our recommended providers including Skyetel, ClearlyIP, VoIP.ms, and Vitelity also offer dedicated fax numbers as well as email-to-fax solutions.

Originally published: Monday, January 30, 2023    Updated: September 27, 2023



Need help with Asterisk? Visit the VoIP-info Forum.


 

Special Thanks to Our Generous Sponsors


FULL DISCLOSURE: ClearlyIP, Skyetel, Vitelity, DigitalOcean, Vultr, VoIP.ms, 3CX, Sangoma, TelecomsXchange and VitalPBX have provided financial support to Nerd Vittles and our open source projects through advertising, referral revenue, and/or merchandise. As an Amazon Associate and Best Buy Affiliate, we also earn from qualifying purchases. We’ve chosen these providers not the other way around. Our decisions are based upon their corporate reputation and the quality of their offerings and pricing. Our recommendations regarding technology are reached without regard to financial compensation except in situations in which comparable products at comparable pricing are available from multiple sources. In this limited case, we support our sponsors because our sponsors support us.

BOGO Bonaza: Enjoy state-of-the-art VoIP service with a $10 credit and half-price SIP service on up to $500 of Skyetel trunking with free number porting when you fund your Skyetel account. No limits on number of simultaneous calls. Quadruple data center redundancy. $25 monthly minimum spend required. Tutorial and sign up details are here.

The lynchpin of Incredible PBX 2020 and beyond is ClearlyIP components which bring management of FreePBX modules and SIP phone integration to a level never before available with any other Asterisk distribution. And now you can configure and reconfigure your new Incredible PBX phones from the convenience of the Incredible PBX GUI.

VitalPBX is perhaps the fastest-growing PBX offering based upon Asterisk with an installed presence in more than 100 countries worldwide. VitalPBX has generously provided a customized White Label version of Incredible PBX tailored for use with all Incredible PBX and VitalPBX custom applications. Follow this link for a free test drive!
 

Special Thanks to Vitelity. Vitelity is now Voyant Communications and has halted new registrations for the time being. Our special thanks to Vitelity for their unwavering financial support over many years and to the many Nerd Vittles readers who continue to enjoy the benefits of their service offerings. We will keep everyone posted on further developments.
 



Santa’s Surprise: Free Faxing Returns for FreePBX 16



As most of you know, free faxing with HylaFax, AvantFax, and IAXmodem has been an integral component of Incredible PBX since its introduction. That changed with the Incredible PBX 2022 Beta release last week because of the FreePBX® 16 prerequisite of a PHP 7.4 platform. That prompted us to become a student again and explore the possibility of deploying two simultaneously available versions of PHP. AvantFax is the web GUI for sending and receiving free faxes. It is no longer under active development and depends upon PHP 5.6 to function. Thus, we were faced with the Hobson’s Choice of deploying PHP 7.4 for FreePBX 16 or PHP 5.6 for AvantFax. We chose the lesser of two evils in the initial release of Incredible PBX 2022 by choosing to support FreePBX 16. Today we finally have good news.

We’ve managed to restore the full functionality of Incredible PBX including free faxing by reconfiguring PHP 7.4 and PHP 5.6 to run simultaneously. Incredible PBX 2022 now can be deployed with Asterisk® 19, FreePBX 16, and AvantFax happily coexisting. To get this working, you’ll need a Debian 10 platform running Incredible PBX 2021. Once you have it up and running, here are the steps to add the latest Incredible PBX 2022 Beta including faxing.

1. Install Incredible PBX 2021 on Debian 10 platform
2. Run /root/incrediblefax2021-debian10.sh to install free faxing
3. Set the Apache and FreePBX admin passwords:
    /root/apache-pw-change /root/admin-pw-change
4. Reboot
5. Verify that pbxstatus shows everything working
6. Obtain FQDN linked to your server’s public IP address
7. Verify access to Incredible PBX using this FQDN
(NOTE: Do this NOW before proceeding or step 11 will fail)
8. Install Incredible PBX 2022 Beta
9. Reboot
10. Verify that pbxstatus shows everything working
11. Run install-dual-php script to activate dual PHP stack:

cd /root
wget http://incrediblepbx.com/install-dual-php
chmod +x install-dual-php
./install-dual-php

 
Now you should be able to login to FreePBX using your server’s public IP address.
And you should be able to login to AvantFax using the FQDN you created (step 6).
At the first login prompt for AvantFax, it’s asking for your Apache admin credentials (step 3).
Then you’ll be prompted for your AvantFax admin credentials. Default is admin:password

We hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas!

Originally published: Saturday, December 25, 2021



Need help with Asterisk? Visit the VoIP-info Forum.


 

Special Thanks to Our Generous Sponsors


FULL DISCLOSURE: ClearlyIP, Skyetel, Vitelity, DigitalOcean, Vultr, VoIP.ms, 3CX, Sangoma, TelecomsXchange and VitalPBX have provided financial support to Nerd Vittles and our open source projects through advertising, referral revenue, and/or merchandise. As an Amazon Associate and Best Buy Affiliate, we also earn from qualifying purchases. We’ve chosen these providers not the other way around. Our decisions are based upon their corporate reputation and the quality of their offerings and pricing. Our recommendations regarding technology are reached without regard to financial compensation except in situations in which comparable products at comparable pricing are available from multiple sources. In this limited case, we support our sponsors because our sponsors support us.

BOGO Bonaza: Enjoy state-of-the-art VoIP service with a $10 credit and half-price SIP service on up to $500 of Skyetel trunking with free number porting when you fund your Skyetel account. No limits on number of simultaneous calls. Quadruple data center redundancy. $25 monthly minimum spend required. Tutorial and sign up details are here.

The lynchpin of Incredible PBX 2020 and beyond is ClearlyIP components which bring management of FreePBX modules and SIP phone integration to a level never before available with any other Asterisk distribution. And now you can configure and reconfigure your new Incredible PBX phones from the convenience of the Incredible PBX GUI.

VitalPBX is perhaps the fastest-growing PBX offering based upon Asterisk with an installed presence in more than 100 countries worldwide. VitalPBX has generously provided a customized White Label version of Incredible PBX tailored for use with all Incredible PBX and VitalPBX custom applications. Follow this link for a free test drive!
 

Special Thanks to Vitelity. Vitelity is now Voyant Communications and has halted new registrations for the time being. Our special thanks to Vitelity for their unwavering financial support over many years and to the many Nerd Vittles readers who continue to enjoy the benefits of their service offerings. We will keep everyone posted on further developments.
 



Revolutionary: Incredible PBX & Fax 2020 for Raspberry Pi



Enhancements to the Raspberry Pi 4 platform have been fast and furious this fall. Last week we introduced a $45 bootable SSD for the Raspberry Pi. And this week we’re showcasing the $70 Raspberry Pi 400 keyboard PC and a new release of the Incredible PBX 2020 image supporting both of these additions with all the latest Raspberry Pi firmware.

As we’re all hunkered down hiding from the Coronavirus, it seemed a perfect time to finally tackle the project we’ve been putting off for longer than we care to publish, integrating Incredible Fax with HylaFax and Avantfax into the base image of Incredible PBX® 2020 on the Raspberry Pi 4 platform. This build also features Asterisk® 16 with the latest FreePBX® 15 GPL modules plus the feature sets of Incredible PBX® and RasPBX and RonR’s latest build. It includes support for plug-and-play Incredible IP Phones and a new trunking platform that integrates SMS messaging into your Asterisk platform. And it’s all rolled into one terrific bundle that can be installed in about a minute after you burn the image to a microSD card.

Unlike other aggregations, there’s nothing to compile with Incredible PBX/FAX 2020 for Raspbian 10. And, unlike the FreePBX Distro, we don’t rely on static packages which make it difficult to add future modifications on your own. Instead, Incredible PBX/Fax 2020 offers a snapshot image with a complete toolkit to make future modifications as desired. Last, but not least, Incredible PBX/Fax 2020 features the new ClearlyIP module repository which protects you from proprietary modifications that limit or cripple your PBX moving forward.

What’s Included? Incredible PBX/Fax 2020 for Raspbian 10 serves up a never before available VoIP powerhouse featuring Asterisk 16 and all FreePBX 15 GPL modules, an Apache web server, the latest MariaDB SQL server (formerly MySQL), Exim4 mail server, Incredible Fax with turnkey Hylafax and AvantFax, and most of the Incredible PBX feature set including SIP, SMS, voice recognition, AsteriDex, PicoTTS Text-to-Speech VoIP applications plus email delivery of faxes in PDF format, Click-to-Dial, News, Weather, Telephone Reminders, and hundreds of features that typically are found in commercial PBXs: Conferencing, IVRs and AutoAttendants, Email Delivery of transcribed voicemails, Voicemail Blasting, and more. We’ve also incorporated the Zero Trunk Configuration feature from the LITE build which lets you sign up with one of four VoIP providers and start making and receiving calls instantly. Or you can use the new ClearlyIP trunking module included in the GUI for seamless integration of SMS messaging into FreePBX and its User Control Panel.

Choosing a SIP Provider. As we mentioned, Incredible PBX/Fax 2020 comes preconfigured to support five of the major SIP providers: ClearlyIP, Skyetel, VoIP.ms, V1VoIP, and Anveo Direct. We obviously hope you’ll choose ClearlyIP, Skyetel, or VoIP.ms trunking because they financially support Nerd Vittles and our open source projects. As the old saying goes, they may not be the cheapest, but you get what you pay for. With all five providers, you only pay for minutes you use so signing up with more than one provider is a smart idea.

>

Assembling the Required Raspberry Pi Components

Before you can deploy Incredible PBX 2020, you’ll first need the necessary Raspberry Pi hardware. To support the enhanced Incredible PBX/Fax platform, we strongly recommend either the Raspberry Pi 400 or the Raspberry Pi 4B with at least 2GB RAM for under $42. You can choose a reseller below for quicker delivery. Assuming you already own an HDMI-compatible monitor and a USB keyboard (only required if you don’t buy a RasPi 400)…

  • Raspberry Pi 4B or Raspberry Pi 400
  • $8 USB-C RasPi 4 (only) Power Supply
  • $8 32GB microSDHC Class 10 card (strongly recommended!)
  • $5 Official RasPi 4B Case or see above for our favorite
  • Getting Started with Incredible PBX 2020

    Here’s our 10-Step Guide to installation and setup. "Automatic" means just watch. Steps #1 and #2: follow the links. For the remaining steps, we’ll further document the procedures.

    1. Download and unzip latest Incredible PBX/FAX 2020.3 image from SourceForge
    2. Transfer Incredible PBX/FAX 2020 image to microSD card and Boot server
    3. Login to RasPi console as root:password to initialize your server (Automatic)
    4. In Localization Options, set Locale, TimeZone, Keyboard, & WiFi Country
    5. Reboot after writing down your server IP address (Automatic)
    6. Login via SSH or Putty as root:password to set passwords & setup firewall (Automatic)
    7. Enter an email address for receipt of incoming faxes in PDF format
    8. Run admin-pw-change to set the admin password for access to the web GUI
    9. Register for and configure at least one trunk provider for Incredible PBX 2020
    10. Set up and test your Exim mail server as documented below

    ALERT: Reportedly, the latest Raspberry Pi 4 board will not boot with the image above. We will post an updated image as soon as we can get our hands on a new Raspberry Pi. In the meantime, there’s a workaround if you have an older (working) Raspberry Pi. Begin by installing the Incredible PBX image above onto a new microSD card and boot the older RasPi 4 with that card. Login as root and immediately press Ctrl-C. Then issue the following commands and, following shutdown, insert the new microSD card into your new RasPi 4.

    apt update
    apt dist-upgrade
    halt
    

    First Boot of Incredible PBX 2020 with Wi-Fi

    Incredible PBX 2020 requires Internet connectivity to complete its automated install. If you’re using a wired network connection, you can skip to the next section. With the Raspberry Pi 3B, 4B and 400, WiFi is built into the hardware. But you still have to insert your SSID name and SSID password to make a connection to your WiFi network. To do so, follow these next steps carefully. Insert the Incredible PBX 2020 microSD card into your Raspberry Pi and apply power to the hardware. When the bootup procedure finishes, login as root with the default password: password. At the first prompt, DO NOT PRESS THE ENTER KEY! Instead, press Ctrl-C to break out of the setup script. At the command prompt, issue the following commands to bring up the WiFi config file:

    cd /etc/wpa_supplicant
    nano -w wpa_supplicant.conf
    

    If your WiFi network does not require a password, uncomment or insert the four lines below and save the file: Ctrl-X, Y, then Enter. Now restart your server: reboot. When the reboot finishes, you now should have network connectivity.

    network={
     key_mgmt=NONE
     priority=1
     country=US
    }
    

    If your WiFi network requires a password, uncomment or insert the following into wpa_supplicant.conf:

    ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev
    update_config=1
    country=US
    
    network={
     ssid="YourSSID"
     psk="YourSSIDpassword"
     key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
     scan_ssid=1
     priority=7
    }
    

     
    Then scroll down to the SSID entry and replace YourSSID with the actual SSID of your WiFi network. Make sure you preserve the entry with the quotes as shown. Next, replace YourSSIDpassword with the SSID password of your WiFi network. Save the file: Ctrl-X, Y, then Enter. Now restart your server: reboot. When the reboot finishes, you now should have network connectivity.

    Once the reboot process finishes, you should see an entry on about the middle line displayed on your monitor which reads: "My IP address is…". Write down the IP address shown. You’ll need it in a minute. Skip the next section since you are using a WiFi connection.

    If you don’t see an IP address assigned to your server, then correct the network deficiency (invalid WiFi credentials, DHCP not working, Internet down), and reboot until you see an IP address assigned to your server. DO NOT PROCEED WITHOUT AN ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS. NOTE: The Raspberry Pi 400 requires the latest Incredible PBX image for Wi-Fi connectivity.

    You’ll also need to change the default PortKnocker setting to your wireless LAN connection:

    sed -i 's|eth0|wlan0|' /etc/default/knockd
    service knockd restart
    

     

    First Boot of Incredible PBX Using Wired Connection

    Incredible PBX 2020 requires Internet connectivity to complete its automated install. After connecting your server to your local network with a network cable, insert the Incredible PBX 2020 microSD card into your Raspberry Pi and apply power to the hardware. When the bootup procedure finishes, you should see an entry on about the middle line displayed on your monitor which reads: "My IP address is…". Write down the IP address shown. You’ll need it in the next step.

    If you don’t see an IP address assigned to your server, then correct the network deficiency (cable not connected, DHCP not working, Internet down), and reboot until you see an IP address assigned to your server. DO NOT PROCEED WITHOUT AN ASSIGNED IP ADDRESS.

    Completing the Incredible PBX Initialization Procedure

    Unless your desktop PC and RasPi are both on the same private LAN, the remainder of the install procedure should be completed from a desktop PC using SSH or Putty. This will assure that your desktop PC is also whitelisted in the Incredible PBX firewall. Using the console to complete the install is NOT recommended as your desktop PC will not be whitelisted in the firewall. This may result in your not being able to log in to your server. Once you have network connectivity, log in to your server as root from a desktop PC using the default password: password. Accept the license agreement by pressing ENTER. You then will be redirected to raspi-config. This is the utility used to expand your Incredible PBX 2020 image to use your entire microSD card; however, this new build does this for you so you can skip this step. Next, choose Localization Options and set Locale, TimeZone, Keyboard, & WiFi Country. Review the other items and then exit and reboot.

    Once your server reboots and you log back in as root, you’ll first be prompted to enter an email address for delivery of incoming faxes in PDF format. All of your passwords then will be randomly assigned with the exception of the root user Linux password and your admin passwords for access to the web GUI and AvantFax. You can set the root password by issuing the command: passwd. Set the admin password for access to the web GUI with this command: /root/admin-pw-change. Set the admin password for access to AvantFax with this command: /root/avantfax-pw-change. With the exception of these passwords, the remaining passwords can be displayed using the command: /root/show-passwords.

    Finally, if your PBX is sitting behind a NAT-based router, you’ll need to redirect incoming UDP 5060-5061 and UDP 10000-20000 traffic to the private IP address of your RasPi. This is required for all of the SIP providers included in the Incredible PBX 2020 build. Otherwise, all inbound calls will fail.

    Configuring Skyetel for Incredible PBX 2020

    If you’ve decided to go with Skyetel, here’s the drill. Sign up for Skyetel service and take advantage of the Nerd Vittles Free $10 credit and BOGO special. First, complete the Prequalification Form here. You then will be provided a link to the Skyetel site to complete your registration. Once you have registered on the Skyetel site and your account has been activated, open a support ticket and request the $10 credit for your account by referencing the Nerd Vittles special offer. Once you are happy with the service, open another ticket after funding your account and request that Skyetel match your deposit of up to $250. That gets you up to $500 of helf-price calling. Credit is limited to one per person/company/address/location. If you have numbers to port in, you can do it at no cost after funding your account. Effective 10/1/2023, $25/month minimum spend required.

    Skyetel does not use SIP registrations to make connections to your PBX. Instead, Skyetel utilizes Endpoint Groups to identify which servers can communicate with the Skyetel service. An Endpoint Group consists of a Name, an IP address, a UDP or TCP port for the connection, and a numerical Priority for the group. For incoming calls destined to your PBX, DIDs are associated with an Endpoint Group to route the calls to your PBX. For outgoing calls from your PBX, a matching Endpoint Group is required to authorize outbound calls through the Skyetel network. Thus, the first step in configuring the Skyetel side for use with your PBX is to set up an Endpoint Group. Here’s a typical setup for Incredible PBX 2020:

    • Name: MyPBX
    • Priority: 1
    • IP Address: PBX-Public-IP-Address
    • Port: 5060
    • Protocol: UDP
    • Description: 2020.incrediblepbx.com

    To receive incoming PSTN calls, you’ll need at least one DID. On the Skyetel site, you acquire DIDs under the Phone Numbers tab. You have the option of Porting in Existing Numbers (free for the first 60 days after you fund your account) or purchasing new ones under the Buy Phone Numbers menu option.

    Once you have acquired one or more DIDs, navigate to the Local Numbers or Toll Free Numbers tab and specify the desired SIP Format and Endpoint Group for each DID. Add SMS/MMS and E911 support, if desired. Call Forwarding and Failover are also supported. That completes the VoIP setup on the Skyetel side. System Status is always available here.

    Configuring VoIP.ms for Incredible PBX 2020

    To sign up for VoIP.ms service, may we suggest you use our signup link so that Nerd Vittles gets a referral credit for your signup. Once your account is set up, you’ll need to set up a SIP SubAccount and, for Authentication Type, choose Static IP Authentication and enter your Incredible PBX 2020 server’s public IP address. For Transport, choose UDP. For Device Type, choose Asterisk, IP PBX, Gateway or VoIP Switch. Order a DID in their web panel, and then point the DID to the SubAccount you just created. Be sure to specify atlanta1.voip.ms as the POP from which to receive incoming calls. On the Incredible PBX side, simply Enable the VoIPms trunk and save your update.

    Configuring V1VoIP for Incredible PBX 2020

    To sign up for V1VoIP service, sign up on their web site. Then login to your account and order a DID under the DIDs tab. Once the DID has been assigned, choose View DIDs and click on the Forwarding button beside your DID. For Option #1, choose Forward to IP Address/PBX. For the Fowarding Address, enter the public IP address of your server. For the T/O (timeout) value, set it to 2o seconds. Then click the Update button. Under the Termination tab, create a new Endpoint with the public IP address of your server so that you can place outbound calls through V1VoIP. On the Incredible PBX side, simply Enable the V1VoIP trunks and save your updates.

    Configuring Anveo Direct for Incredible PBX 2020

    To sign up for Anveo Direct service, sign up on their web site and then login. After adding funds to your account, purchase a DID under Inbound Service -> Order DID. Next, choose Configure Destination SIP Trunk. Give the Trunk a name. For the Primary SIP URI, enter $[E164]$@server-IP-address. For Call Options, select your new DID from the list. You also must whitelist your public IP address under Outbound Service -> Configure. Create a new Call Termination Trunk and name it to match your server. For Dialing Prefix, choose six alphanumeric characters beginning with a zero. In Authorized IP Addresses, enter the public IP address of your server. Set an appropriate rate cap. We like $0.01 per minute to be safe. Set a concurrent calls limit. We like 2. For the Call Routing Method, choose Least Cost unless you’re feeling extravagant. For Routes/Carriers, choose Standard Routes. Write down your Dialing Prefix and then click the Save button. On the Incredible PBX side, simply Enable the AnveoDirect trunks and save your updates.

    Before you can make outbound calls through Anveo Direct from your PBX, you first must configure the Dialing Prefix that you wrote down in the previous step. Using a browser, login to the GUI as admin. Navigate to Connectivity -> Trunks -> Anveo-Out. Click the Pencil icon to edit the trunk settings. Then click the Custom Settings tab. Replace anveo-pin with your actual Anveo PIN. Click Submit and Apply Settings to save your changes.

    By default, incoming Anveo Direct calls will be processed by the Default inbound route on your PBX. If you wish to redirect incoming Anveo Direct calls using DID-specific inbound routes, then you’ve got a bit more work to do. In addition to creating the inbound route using the 11-digit Anveo Direct DID, enter the following commands after logging into your server as root using SSH/Putty:

    cd /etc/asterisk
    echo "[from-anveo]" >> extensions_custom.conf
    echo "exten => _.,1,Ringing" >> extensions_custom.conf
    echo "exten => _.,n,Goto(from-trunk,\\${SIP_HEADER(X-anveo-e164)},1)" >> extensions_custom.conf
    asterisk -rx "dialplan reload"
    

    Adding a Bootable SSD to Raspberry Pi

    Shown below are the two components that make up the 256GB storage solution for the Raspberry Pi. These include the M.2 SSD SATA drive and the M.2 enclosure which provides a USB connector that’s compatible with your RasPi. Assembly of the components takes less than a minute as shown in the steps below:




    You can order the M.2 SSD SATA drive and the UGREEN M.2 enclosure using our Amazon referral links which help support Nerd Vittles and the Incredible PBX open source project.

    Once you have assembled your SSD in the sleeve, log back in as root using SSH or Putty. For best performance, insert the SSD drive into one of the blue USB 3.0 ports and verify that /dev/sda device is shown when you issue the command: fdisk -l

    Now proceed with the following steps to copy the image from your microSD card to the new SSD SATA drive:

    rpi-clone -l -e sda -f sda
    # answer prompts with yes and incred2020
    # once the image is copied, dismount the drive when prompted
    mount /dev/sda2 /mnt/clone
    cd /mnt/clone/boot
    cp -p -r /boot/* .
    sed -i 's|sda2|mmcblk0p2|' /boot/cmdline.txt
    cd /
    umount /mnt/clone
    halt
    

     
    Now you’re ready to restart your Raspberry Pi from the SSD SATA drive. Remove the microSD card and reboot your server.



    Configuring a Softphone for Incredible PBX 2020

    We’re in the home stretch now. You can connect virtually any kind of telephone to your new PBX. Plain Old Phones require an analog telephone adapter (ATA) which can be a separate board in your computer from a company such as Digium. Or it can be a standalone SIP device such as ObiHai’s OBi100 or OBi110 (if you have a phone line from Ma Bell to hook up as well). SIP phones can be connected directly so long as they have an IP address. These could be hardware devices or software devices such as the YateClient softphone. We’ll start with a free one today so you can begin making calls. You can find dozens of recommendations for hardware-based SIP phones both on Nerd Vittles and the PIAF Forum when you’re ready to get serious about VoIP telephony.

    We recommend YateClient for Windows which is free. Download it from here. Run YateClient once you’ve installed it and enter the credentials for the 701 extension on Incredible PBX. You can find them by running /root/show-passwords. You’ll need the IP address of your server plus your extension 701 password. In the YateClient, fill in the blanks using the IP address of your Server, 701 for your Username, and whatever Password was assigned to the extension when you installed Incredible PBX. Click OK to save your entries.

    Once you are registered to extension 701, close the Account window. Then click on YATE’s Telephony Tab and place some test calls to the numerous apps that are preconfigured on Incredible PBX. Dial a few of these to get started:

    DEMO - Apps Demo
    123 - Reminders
    947 - Weather by ZIP Code
    951 - Yahoo News
    TODAY - Today in History
    LENNY - The Telemarketer's Worst Nightmare
    

    If you are a Mac user, another great no-frills softphone is Telephone. Just download and install it from the Mac App Store.

    Audio Issues with Incredible PBX 2020

    Only if you experience one-way or no audio on some calls, add your external IP address and LAN subnet in the GUI by navigating to Settings -> Asterisk SIP Settings. In the NAT Settings section, click Detect Network Settings. Click Submit and Apply Settings to save your changes.

    Configuring Gmail as Exim Smart Relay Host

    Most Raspberry Pi implementations will be on networks managed by companies like Comcast, Spectrum, and AT&T that block downstream mail servers (that’s you) from sending email. The solution is to use Gmail or your local ISP as a smart relay host to send mail from your server. You’ll need this to deliver voicemails via email. Here’s how to set it up using a Gmail account without two-step authentication. Log into your server as root and run dpkg-reconfigure exim4-config. Choose "mail sent by smarthost; received via SMTP or fetchmail." Accept all the defaults until you get to Outgoing Smarthost prompt. Enter: smtp.gmail.com::587. At the following prompts, choose NO, NO, mbox, and NO. When the setup completes, edit /etc/exim4/passwd.client and insert the following line using your Gmail AcctName and AcctPW. NOTE: If you are using a Gmail account with 2-step verification enabled, you MUST use a Gmail App Key instead of your Gmail account password. You also must enable Less Secure Apps access to your Gmail account.

    smtp.gmail.com:AcctName@gmail.com:AcctPW
    

    Save the file and then issue the following commands to complete the setup:

    update-exim4.conf
    systemctl restart exim4
    exim4 -qff
    

    Now send yourself a test email message to make sure things are working properly:

    echo "test" | mail -s testmessage yourname@yourmailprovider.com
    

    Once you have email messages flowing, incoming faxes automatically will be delivered to the email address you assigned when setting up your PBX. You can change this email address with the command: avantfax-email-change.

    Some prefer an email notification whenever your server is booted. Once you have configured a relay host above, you can add the feature by editing /etc/rc.local and adding the following lines with your actual email address just above the service knockd start line:

    _PRIVATE="Private IP: `cat /etc/hostip | cut -f1-2 -d " "`"
    _PUBLIC=" Public IP: `curl -s -S --user-agent \\
    "Mozilla/4.0" http://myip.incrediblepbx.com | awk 'NR==2'`"
    echo "$_PRIVATE\\n$_PUBLIC" | mail -s "RasPi 2020 has booted" yourname@yourmailserver.com
    

    Configuring Inbound Routes for Fax Detection

    Not all VoIP trunks support fax transmission, e.g. Vitelity. Assuming yours do and you’ll only know by trial and error, here’s how to configure FreePBX to automatically detect incoming faxes and process them for PDF delivery by email. The default inbound route is preconfigured to support email delivery of your faxes. So, any trunks using that default route require no further configuration. If you add additional Inbound Routes, here’s how to enable fax detection on those routes.

    Under the Fax tab of each new Inbound Route, enter the following settings:

    Detect Faxes: YES
    Fax Detection Type: SIP
    Fax Ring: YES
    Fax Detect Time: 4
    Fax Destination: Custom Destinations -> Fax (Hylafax)
    



    Managing Faxes with AvantFax

    You can manage your incoming and outgoing faxes using AvantFax. Click on the AvantFax tab in FreePBX to access it. The default credentials are admin:password. When you first access AvantFax with a browser, you may get a missing page error. Just press the back arrow key in your browser and the AvantFax main page will appear.

    If you want to change the admin password for AvantFax, log into your server as root with SSH/Putty and issue the command: /root/avantfax-pw-change.

    Send yourself a fax at no cost in the United States from FaxZero.

    Building the Incredible PBX Demo IVR

    If you’d like to try your hand at building an IVR, here are the steps to build the Incredible PBX Demo IVR. From the FreePBX Dashboard, choose Applications -> IVR -> Add IVR. Then fill in the template using the entries shown below. Then click Submit and Reload Dialplan.



    Building the Incredible PBX Stealth AutoAttendant

    Many users prefer to play an announcement to incoming callers with a brief pause thereafter which indicates that the call is being connected. If configured properly, this lets you embed several dial codes which can be entered while the announcement is playing and the call is being transferred. For example, you might wish to route incoming calls to Lenny if a caller presses 0. Or you might wish to immediately route an incoming call to a Ring Group if the caller presses 1. Here’s a sample IVR setup to get you started.


    Incredible PBX 2020 Administration

    We’ve eased the pain of administering your new PBX with a collection of scripts which you will find in the /root folder after logging in with SSH or Putty. Here’s a quick summary of what each of the scripts does.

    admin-pw-change lets you update the admin password for web browser access to the Incredible PBX GUI.

    apache-pw-change lets you update the admin password for Apache applications such as AsteriDex and Reminders.

    avantfax-pw-change lets you update the root password for AvantFax access (coming soon!).

    add-fqdn is used to whitelist a fully-qualified domain name in the firewall. Because Incredible PBX 2020 blocks all traffic from IP addresses that are not whitelisted, this is what you use to authorize an external user for your PBX. The advantage of an FQDN is that you can use a dynamic DNS service to automatically update the IP address associated with an FQDN so that you never lose connectivity.

    add-ip is used to whitelist a public IP address in the firewall. See the add-fqdn explanation as to why this matters.

    del-acct is used to remove an IP address or FQDN from the firewall’s whitelist.

    configure-exim-email lets you reconfigure the email server if you need to use an SMTP relay such as Google to get outbound email flowing. Tutorial here.

    iptables-restart is the ONLY command you should ever use to restart the IPtables firewall and Fail2Ban.

    knock.FAQ contains your PortKnocker credentials for emergency access to your server if the firewall locks you out. Tutorial here.

    proximity (once configured) will automatically forward calls to your cellphone when you are out of BlueTooth range from your RasPi. Also must enable running of script in /etc/crontab.

    reset-conference-pins is a script that automatically and randomly resets the user and admin pins for access to the preconfigured conferencing application. Dial C-O-N-F from any registered SIP phone to connect to the conference.

    reset-extension-passwords is a script that automatically and randomly resets ALL of the SIP passwords for extensions 701-705. Be careful using this one, or you may disable existing registered phones and cause Fail2Ban to blacklist the IP addresses of those users. HINT: You can place a call to the Ring Group associated with all five extensions by dialing 777.

    reset-reminders-pin is a script that automatically and randomly resets the pin required to access the Telephone Reminders application by dialing 123. It’s important to protect this application because a nefarious user could set up a reminder to call a number anywhere in the world assuming your SIP provider’s account was configured to allow such calls.



    rpi-clone is a utility that makes it easy to make a bootable image of the microSD card used to start your Raspberry Pi. You’ll need a USB-to-microSD adapter to begin. Insert a backup microSD card large enough to hold all of the data on the primary microSD card (df -h). Insert the USB stick with the card. Identify the backup microSD card, usually sda (fdisk -l). Format the backup microSD card: mkfs.vfat /dev/sda1 && mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda2. Then issue the following command to clone the primary microSD card: rpi-clone -f sda. Tutorial here.

    show-feature-codes is a cheat sheet for all of the feature codes which can be dialed from any registered SIP phone. It documents how powerful a platform Incredible PBX 2020 actually is. A similar listing is available in the GUI at Admin -> Feature Codes.

    show-passwords is a script that displays ALL of the passwords associated with Incredible PBX 2020. This includes SIP extension passwords, voicemail pins, conference pins, telephone reminders pin, and your Anveo Direct outbound calling pin (if configured). Note that voicemail pins are configured by the user of a SIP extension the first time the user accesses the voicemail system by dialing *97.

    timezone-setup lets you reconfigure the correct time zone for your server.

    purge-cdr-cel-records cleans out all existing entries in both the CDR and CEL tables of the Asterisk CDR database.

    log-cleanup removes all entries from most of the logs in /var/log.

    sig-fix disables module signature checking in FreePBX. It is automatically disabled upon installation.

    readme-RonR.txt documents the scripts provided from RonR build. We do NOT recommend using the FCC Blacklist because of its current size.

    update-asterisk16 is a utility that updates Asterisk 16 to the latest release. This should only be necessary when a security issue or bug is identified that affects the operation of your PBX.

    update-IncrediblePBX is the Automatic Update Utility which checks for server updates from incrediblepbx.com every time you log into your server as root using SSH or Putty. Do NOT disable it as it is used to load important fixes and security updates when necessary. We recommend logging into your server at least once a week.

    pbxstatus (shown above) displays status of all major components of Incredible PBX 2020.

    Forwarding Calls to Your Cellphone. Keep in mind that inbound calls to your DIDs automatically ring all five SIP extensions, 701-705. The easiest way to also ring your cellphone is to set one of these five extensions to forward incoming calls to your cellphone. After logging into your PBX as root, issue the following command to forward calls from extension 705 to your cellphone: asterisk -rx "database put CF 705 6781234567"

    To remove call forwarding: asterisk -rx "database del CF 705"

    Keeping FreePBX 15 Modules Current

    We strongly recommend that you periodically update all of your FreePBX modules to eliminate bugs and to reduce security vulnerabilities. Make a backup image with rpi-clone first! From the Linux CLI, log into your server as root and issue the following commands:

    rm -f /tmp/*
    fwconsole ma upgradeall
    fwconsole reload
    /root/sig-fix
    systemctl restart apache2
    /root/sig-fix
    

    Upgrading Asterisk 16 to Asterisk 18

    For those that enjoy living on the bleeding edge, we’ve create a script which makes it easy to upgrade Incredible PBX 2020 to Asterisk 18. The tutorial is available on the new Incredible PBX Wiki along with dozens of other tutorials.

    Continue Reading: Icing on the Cake for Incredible PBX and Raspberry Pi

    Now Available: Amazon’s Polly TTS for Incredible PBX. Works great on the RasPi platform!

    Originally published: Tuesday, March 24, 2020  Updated: Monday, February 22, 2021



    Need help with Asterisk? Visit the VoIP-info Forum.


     

    Special Thanks to Our Generous Sponsors


    FULL DISCLOSURE: ClearlyIP, Skyetel, Vitelity, DigitalOcean, Vultr, VoIP.ms, 3CX, Sangoma, TelecomsXchange and VitalPBX have provided financial support to Nerd Vittles and our open source projects through advertising, referral revenue, and/or merchandise. As an Amazon Associate and Best Buy Affiliate, we also earn from qualifying purchases. We’ve chosen these providers not the other way around. Our decisions are based upon their corporate reputation and the quality of their offerings and pricing. Our recommendations regarding technology are reached without regard to financial compensation except in situations in which comparable products at comparable pricing are available from multiple sources. In this limited case, we support our sponsors because our sponsors support us.

    BOGO Bonaza: Enjoy state-of-the-art VoIP service with a $10 credit and half-price SIP service on up to $500 of Skyetel trunking with free number porting when you fund your Skyetel account. No limits on number of simultaneous calls. Quadruple data center redundancy. $25 monthly minimum spend required. Tutorial and sign up details are here.

    The lynchpin of Incredible PBX 2020 and beyond is ClearlyIP components which bring management of FreePBX modules and SIP phone integration to a level never before available with any other Asterisk distribution. And now you can configure and reconfigure your new Incredible PBX phones from the convenience of the Incredible PBX GUI.

    VitalPBX is perhaps the fastest-growing PBX offering based upon Asterisk with an installed presence in more than 100 countries worldwide. VitalPBX has generously provided a customized White Label version of Incredible PBX tailored for use with all Incredible PBX and VitalPBX custom applications. Follow this link for a free test drive!
     

    Special Thanks to Vitelity. Vitelity is now Voyant Communications and has halted new registrations for the time being. Our special thanks to Vitelity for their unwavering financial support over many years and to the many Nerd Vittles readers who continue to enjoy the benefits of their service offerings. We will keep everyone posted on further developments.
     



    Introducing Incredible Fax 2020 for Raspberry Pi



    Incredible Fax 2020 for the Raspberry Pi was the final missing piece in our 2020 rollout, and today we’re pleased to introduce it. Incredible Fax 2020 provides fax detection on incoming calls, email deliveries of incoming faxes in PDF format, and the ability to send faxes with attachments from the convenience of your favorite web browser. And, as with every Incredible PBX 2020 platform, all of the software is FREE.

    Installation of Incredible Fax 2020 on the Raspbian platform is pretty simple. Just issue the following commands to put all the pieces in place and run the HylaFax and AvantFax installers. Before faxes can actually be delivered in PDF format, you obviously need outbound emails working on your Raspberry Pi. We’ll cover that in the next section. Before incoming faxes can be detected on Inbound Routes for your trunks, you’ll need to set that up in FreePBX®. We’ll cover that below as well.

    Installing Incredible Fax 2020 for Raspbian 10


    Let’s begin by installing the Incredible Fax 2020 software. Log into the Linux command line interface as root using SSH or Putty. Then execute the following commands:

    cd /root
    rm -f incrediblefax*
    wget http://incrediblepbx.com/incrediblefax2020-raspi.tar.gz
    tar zxvf incrediblefax2020-raspi.tar.gz
    rm -f incrediblefax2020-raspi.tar.gz
    ./incrediblefax2020-raspi.sh
    fwconsole ma downloadinstall fax
    fwconsole reload
    

    Once the HylaFax/AvantFax install begins, press the ENTER key about a dozen times to accept all of the defaults during the install procedure. Then reboot your server.



    Configuring Gmail as Exim Smart Relay Host

    Most Raspberry Pi implementations will be on networks managed by companies like Comcast, Spectrum, and AT&T that block downstream mail servers (that’s you) from sending email. The solution is to use Gmail or your local ISP as a smart relay host to send mail from your server. You’ll need this to deliver voicemails and faxes via email. Here’s how to set it up using a Gmail account without two-step authentication. Log into your server as root and run dpkg-reconfigure exim4-config. Choose "mail sent by smarthost; received via SMTP or fetchmail." Accept all the defaults until you get to Outgoing Smarthost prompt. Enter: smtp.gmail.com::587. At the following prompts, choose NO, NO, mbox, and NO. When the setup completes, edit /etc/exim4/passwd.client and insert the following line using your Gmail AcctName and AcctPW. NOTE: If you are using a Gmail account with 2-step verification enabled, you MUST use a Gmail App Key instead of your Gmail account password. You also must enable Less Secure Apps access to your Gmail account.

    smtp.gmail.com:AcctName@gmail.com:AcctPW
    

    Save the file and then issue the following commands to complete the setup:

    update-exim4.conf
    systemctl restart exim4
    exim4 -qff
    

    Now send yourself a test email message to make sure things are working properly:

    echo "test" | mail -s testmessage yourname@yourmailprovider.com
    

    Configuring Inbound Routes for Fax Detection

    Not all VoIP trunks support fax transmission, e.g. Vitelity. Assuming yours do and you’ll only know by trial and error, here’s how to configure FreePBX to automatically detect incoming faxes and process them for PDF delivery by email.

    Edit each of your Inbound Routes. Under the Fax tab, enter the following settings:

    Detect Faxes: YES
    Fax Detection Type: SIP
    Fax Ring: YES
    Fax Detect Time: 4
    Fax Destination: Custom Destinations -> Fax (Hylafax)
    

    Managing Faxes with AvantFax

    You can manage your incoming and outgoing faxes using AvantFax. Click on the AvantFax tab in FreePBX to access it. The default credentials are admin:password. When you first access AvantFax with a browser, you may get a missing page error. Just press the back arrow key in your browser and the AvantFax main page will appear.

    If you want to change the admin password for AvantFax, log into your server as root with SSH/Putty and issue the command: /root/avantfax-pw-change.

    Send yourself a fax at no cost in the United States from FaxZero. Enjoy!

    Originally published: Tuesday, February 25, 2020



    Need help with Asterisk? Visit the VoIP-info Forum.


     

    Special Thanks to Our Generous Sponsors


    FULL DISCLOSURE: ClearlyIP, Skyetel, Vitelity, DigitalOcean, Vultr, VoIP.ms, 3CX, Sangoma, TelecomsXchange and VitalPBX have provided financial support to Nerd Vittles and our open source projects through advertising, referral revenue, and/or merchandise. As an Amazon Associate and Best Buy Affiliate, we also earn from qualifying purchases. We’ve chosen these providers not the other way around. Our decisions are based upon their corporate reputation and the quality of their offerings and pricing. Our recommendations regarding technology are reached without regard to financial compensation except in situations in which comparable products at comparable pricing are available from multiple sources. In this limited case, we support our sponsors because our sponsors support us.

    BOGO Bonaza: Enjoy state-of-the-art VoIP service with a $10 credit and half-price SIP service on up to $500 of Skyetel trunking with free number porting when you fund your Skyetel account. No limits on number of simultaneous calls. Quadruple data center redundancy. $25 monthly minimum spend required. Tutorial and sign up details are here.

    The lynchpin of Incredible PBX 2020 and beyond is ClearlyIP components which bring management of FreePBX modules and SIP phone integration to a level never before available with any other Asterisk distribution. And now you can configure and reconfigure your new Incredible PBX phones from the convenience of the Incredible PBX GUI.

    VitalPBX is perhaps the fastest-growing PBX offering based upon Asterisk with an installed presence in more than 100 countries worldwide. VitalPBX has generously provided a customized White Label version of Incredible PBX tailored for use with all Incredible PBX and VitalPBX custom applications. Follow this link for a free test drive!
     

    Special Thanks to Vitelity. Vitelity is now Voyant Communications and has halted new registrations for the time being. Our special thanks to Vitelity for their unwavering financial support over many years and to the many Nerd Vittles readers who continue to enjoy the benefits of their service offerings. We will keep everyone posted on further developments.
     



    Getting Started: Faxing with Issabel



    Incredible PBX for Issabel includes turnkey fax support with Issabel. Once you have added a trunk that supports VoIP faxing (HINT: Google Voice trunks work great!), fax configuration with Issabel only takes a minute. Start by logging into the Issabel web interface as admin. First, navigate to PBX:PBX Configuration:Extensions:Fax and obtain your password for extension 329. Next, navigate to Fax:Virtual Fax:New Virtual Fax. Fill in the form as shown below using your actual email address and phone number for receiving faxes as well as your actual extension 329 secret. Then click SAVE. Assuming you typed your secret correctly, you will see a status notification showing virtual fax machine "Running and idle on ttyIAX1."



    Assuming you already have set up a Google Voice trunk as outlined above, the next step is to modify the Inbound Route for this trunk to support fax detection. In that way, incoming fax calls will automatically be redirected to extension 329 and the received faxes will be emailed to you in PDF format. Set the email address in Fax:Fax Master. In addition, the faxes can be downloaded and managed from Fax:Virtual Fax:Fax Viewer. Modify your Inbound Route to match the #3 settings shown below. Then save/reload your changes.



    To receive the incoming faxes by email, navigate to Fax:Fax Master and enter your email address. Then click SAVE.

    The final step is to designate the IP addresses of those authorized to send faxes using Issabel. Navigate to Fax:Fax Clients and specify the public and private IP addresses (one per line) authorized to send faxes. Then click SAVE. Hylafax clients can be used remotely, or you can use the web utility included with Issabel: Fax:Virtual Fax:Send Fax.




    The best way to test things out is to send yourself a test fax. FaxZERO lets you send 5 free faxes of up to 3 pages every day. Give it a whirl.

    To send a fax out from your server from the Linux CLI using either a text document or PDF file, the syntax looks like the following:

    sendfax -n -d 8005551212 smsmsg.txt
    

    That completes the basic fax setup with Incredible PBX for Issabel. Our basic tutorial will walk you through the entire feature set that awaits you with Incredible PBX for Issabel.

    Meet the New Incredible Fax: A $10 Fax Machine for Asterisk



    Every year, technology gets better and cheaper. And, believe it or not, that even includes faxing especially with Asterisk® and Incredible PBX™. Today we take another giant leap forward by introducing fax technology with the $10 Raspberry Pi Zero W. Adding a free Google Voice trunk provides not only free calling in the U.S. and Canada, but now you also get free faxing as well. And the latest release of Incredible PBX lets your RasPi determine whether incoming calls are humans or faxes, and it’ll route them accordingly. To send faxes, you can use the bundled AvantFax GUI client which lets you send PDF documents as faxes with a couple button clicks.




    Overview. Once you’ve downloaded the Incredible PBX for RasPi image and made yourself a microSD card for your RasPi, the setup goes like this. First, we’ll configure a WiFi connection to support your server. Then we’ll install a Google Voice trunk. Next, we’ll use the included Incredible Fax installer to put the HylaFax and AvantFax components in place and to set up an email address for delivery of incoming faxes in PDF format. And finally we’ll use the GUI to configure your Google Voice trunk to manage incoming calls from both fax machines and individuals that actually want to talk to you. Faxes will be delivered to your email address, and traditional calls will be routed to a SIP phone or smartphone of your choice. In under 30 minutes, you’ll have a plug-and-play computer that’s about the size of a couple sticks of chewing gum.

    Raspberry Pi Zero W Shopping List

    Before you can install Incredible PBX, you’ll need a compatible Raspberry Pi Zero W platform. Unless you already have some of the components, the easiest way to begin is to purchase a bundle that includes all the components you’ll need. Here’s your best bet. It’s $35 and includes everything except a USB keyboard and an HDMI monitor and cable. Click on the image for ordering info:



    Incredible PBX Installation Tutorial

    Here’s everything you need to know about installation and setup. Just follow the links.

    1. Download and unzip Incredible PBX image from SourceForge (with GV OAuth support!)
    2. Transfer Incredible PBX image to microSD card
    3. Boot Raspberry Pi Zero W from new microSD card
    4. Login to RasPi console as pi:raspberry to initialize your server and configure WiFi
    5. Reboot after writing down your server IP address
    6. Login via SSH as root:password to secure your passwords & configure firewall
    7. Download latest Incredible Fax installer: http://nerd.bz/2nSeHKs
    8. Install Incredible Fax: /root/incrediblefax13_raspi3.sh (Credentials: admin:password)

    Once everything is set up and working, you can remove the keyboard and monitor and put the Raspberry Pi Zero W on a shelf and run it with nothing more than a power adapter. Each time you reboot Incredible PBX, you’ll get an email with the IP address of your server. The recommended setup is to reserve the IP address assigned by your DHCP server in your router’s configuration. Then you have the equivalent of a static IP address while preserving the flexibility to move your RasPi to another network if the need ever presents itself.

    Incredible PBX Initialization Steps

    With a USB keyboard and HDMI monitor attached to your RasPi, power up the device. Login as pi with the password: raspberry. Incredible PBX first will whir through a few initialization steps. As part of the Raspbian OS, the Raspberry Pi Foundation includes a handy utility called raspi-config. This gets run automatically as part of the initial setup procedure in Step #4. At a minimum, you should configure the following options:

    • Expand Filesystem (to use your entire microSD card)
    • Wait for Network at Boot (choose Slow to Enable)
    • International Options (configure all four options)
    • Advanced Options – HostName (name your server)
    • Finish (Save your settings but Delay reboot)

    Incredible PBX WiFi Setup

    The Raspberry Pi Zero W has WiFi-only networking. To get Internet connectivity, you’ll need to configure your server in Step #4 so that it can find your WiFi Access Point. Edit /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf and insert the SSID and password (psk) for your WiFi network. Then save the file. Finally, stop and restart the wlan0 interface on your RasPi device, count to 15, and check the status of your server to decipher the new IP address for your WiFi connection. If no WiFi address, rinse and repeat.

    ifdown wlan0
    ifup wlan0
    pbxstatus
    

    Incredible PBX Phase 2 Configuration

    Once you have your network IP address in hand, reboot your RasPi: reboot. Then use SSH or Putty to login to your RasPi from your desktop computer. The credentials are root:password. Complete the setup process by answering the prompts and be sure to set up a very secure root password and GUI admin password for your server.

    Configuring a Gmail SmartHost for SendMail

    Because of spammers, most Internet service providers now block mail from downstream mail servers. Your RasPi qualifies. There’s an easy way to determine if email service from your server is blocked. Just run the following command substituting your email address. Be sure to check your inbox and spam folder to determine whether you received the email.

    echo "This is a test message." | mail -s testmessage yourname@youremaildomain.com
    

    If you flunked the test, here’s what to do next. Modify SendMail to use an existing Gmail account as a SmartHost for email delivery. This means Gmail will actually send the messages rather than your server. Log into your RasPi as root and issue these commands:

    cd /etc/mail
    hostname -f > genericsdomain
    touch genericstable
    makemap -r hash genericstable.db < genericstable
    mv sendmail.mc sendmail.mc.original
    wget http://incrediblepbx.com/sendmail.mc.gmail
    cp sendmail.mc.gmail sendmail.mc
    mkdir -p auth
    chmod 700 auth
    cd auth
    echo AuthInfo:smtp.gmail.com \\"U:smmsp\\" \\"I:user_id\\" \\"P:password\\" \\"M:PLAIN\\" > client-info
    echo AuthInfo:smtp.gmail.com:587 \\"U:smmsp\\" \\"I:user_id\\" \\"P:password\\" \\"M:PLAIN\\" >> client-info
    echo AuthInfo:smtp.gmail.com:465 \\"U:smmsp\\" \\"I:user_id\\" \\"P:password\\" \\"M:PLAIN\\" >> client-info
    nano -w client-info
    

    When the nano editor opens the client-info file, change the 3 user_id entries to your Gmail account name without @gmail.com and change the 3 password entries to your actual Gmail password. Save the file: Ctrl-X, Y, then ENTER.

    Now issue the following commands. In the last step, press ENTER to accept all of the default prompts:

    chmod 600 client-info
    makemap -r hash client-info.db < client-info
    cd ..
    make
    sed -i 's|sendmail-cf|sendmail\/cf' /etc/mail/sendmail.mc
    sed -i 's|sendmail-cf|sendmail\/cf|' /etc/mail/sendmail.mc
    sed -i 's|sendmail-cf|sendmail\/cf|' /etc/mail/Makefile
    sed -i 's|sendmail-cf|sendmail\/cf|' /etc/mail/sendmail.cf
    sed -i 's|sendmail-cf|sendmail\/cf|' /etc/mail/databases
    sed -i 's|sendmail-cf|sendmail\/cf|' /etc/mail/sendmail.mc.gmail
    sed -i 's|sendmail-cf|sendmail\/cf|' /etc/mail/sendmail.cf.errors
    sendmailconfig
    

    Finally, stop and restart SendMail and then send yourself a test message. Be sure to check your spam folder!

    /etc/init.d/sendmail stop
    /etc/init.d/sendmail start
    apt-get install mailutils -y
    echo "test" | mail -s testmessage yourname@yourdomain.com
    

    Check mail success with: tail /var/log/mail.log. If you have trouble getting a successful Gmail registration (especially if you have previously used this Google account from a different IP address), try this Google Voice Reset Procedure. It usually fixes connectivity problems. If it still doesn’t work, enable Less Secure Apps using this Google tool.

    The last step is to add the following command to /etc/rc.local to send you an email with your IP address and SSID whenever the RasPi is rebooted. Insert the following commands just above the exit 0 line at the end of the file. Use an email address to which you have access on the road!

    echo "IP address for your Raspberry Pi: $(hostname -I) plus wireless network, if any: `iwconfig`" | mail -s "Raspberry Pi IP Address" yourname@yourdomain.com
    

    Installing a Google Voice Trunk for Free Calling

    If you want to use Google Voice, you'll need a dedicated Google Voice account to support Incredible PBX. The more obscure the username (with some embedded numbers), the better off you will be. This will keep folks from bombarding you with unsolicited Gtalk chat messages, and who knows what nefarious scheme will be discovered using Google messaging six months from now. So keep this account a secret!

    IMPORTANT: Do NOT under any circumstances take Google’s bait to switch from Google Chat to Hangouts, or you may forever lose the ability to use Google Chat with Incredible PBX. Also be sure to enable the Google Chat option as one of your phone destinations in Settings, Voice Setting, Phones. That's the destination we need for The Incredible PBX to work its magic! Otherwise, all inbound and outbound calls will fail. Good News! You're in luck. Google has apparently had a change of heart on discontinuing Google Chat support so it's enabled by default in all new Google Voice accounts. Once you've created a Gmail and Google Voice account, go to Google Voice Settings and click on the Calls tab. Make sure your settings match these:

    • Call Screening - OFF
    • Call Presentation - OFF
    • Caller ID (In) - Display Caller's Number
    • Caller ID (Out) - Don't Change Anything
    • Do Not Disturb - OFF
    • Call Options (Enable Recording) - OFF
    • Global Spam Filtering - ON

    Click Save Changes once you've adjusted your settings. Under the Voicemail tab, plug in your email address so you get notified of new voicemails. Down the road, receipt of a Google Voice voicemail will be a big hint that something has come unglued on your PBX.

    UPDATE: Google has improved things... again. You may not see the options documented above at all. Instead, you may be presented with the new Google Voice interface which does not include the Google Chat option. But fear not. At least for now there's still a way to get there. After you have set up your new phone number, click on (1) Settings -> Phone Numbers and then click (2) Transfer (as shown below). That returned the old UI. Make sure the Google Chat option is selected and disable forwarding calls to default phone number.



    One final word of caution is in order regardless of your choice of providers: Do NOT use special characters in any provider passwords, or nothing will work!

    Now you're ready to configure your Google Voice account in Incredible PBX. First, you'll need to obtain an OAuth 2 token for your Google Voice account. For a complete Google Voice OAuth tutorial, follow steps 8-10 in this Nerd Vittles tutorial. Once you have your credentials, you can do the rest of the Google Voice setup from within the Incredible PBX GUI. Choose Connectivity -> Google Voice. Once you've entered your credentials, you MUST restart Asterisk from the command line, or Google Voice calls will fail: amportal restart

    If you have trouble getting Google Voice to work (especially if you have previously used your Google Voice account from a different IP address), try this Google Voice Reset Procedure. It usually fixes connectivity problems. If it still doesn’t work, enable Less Secure Apps using this Google tool.

    Another option is to use an inexpensive SIP Gateway to Google Voice. The Simonics trunk in the Incredible PBX GUI is preconfigured for this purpose. All you'll need is your Google Voice credentials. Get started with this tutorial.

    Installing Incredible Fax with HylaFax & AvantFax

    Once you complete the initial configuration and get your mail server and Google Voice trunk squared away, it's time to run the Incredible Fax installer: ./incrediblefax13_raspi3.sh. You'll be prompted for an email address to which to deliver incoming faxes. After that, everything is pretty much automatic. A few prompts will appear during the installation process. Just press the ENTER key each time and ignore any errors you might see scrolling across your screen. They're harmless. When the HylaFax and AvantFax installs finish, reboot your server. Faxing won't work until you do!




    Next, you need to change the default password for AvantFax which is a web-based interface to send faxes and read incoming faxes. From a browser, log into the IP address of your server. When the Incredible PBX menu appears, click the Users tab to display the Administrator menu. Then click on the AvantFax icon to load AvantFax. When prompted for credentials, enter admin:password for your username and password. You'll be prompted to change your password. Make it secure!

    Finally, we need to configure your PBX to properly answer calls from fax machines as well as humans. Return to the Incredible PBX Admin menu and click the Incredible GUI icon. Then click the Server Administration icon. When prompted for your username and password, enter admin and the password you configured when you set up your server above. When the System Status screen displays, choose Connectivity -> Inbound Routes -> Default. Make the bottom section of the template look like this substituting your desired Destination for voice calls if you don't want them sent to the Incredible PBX IVR. Click Submit to save your changes and then reload your dialplan when prompted.



    The best way to test things out is to send yourself a test fax. FaxZERO lets you send 5 free faxes of up to 3 pages every day. Give it a whirl. When you're ready to send a fax from Incredible PBX, log back into AvantFax, click on the Send Fax icon, and follow your nose.

    Mastering the Incredible PBX Feature Set

    Now would be a good time to explore the Incredible PBX applications. Continue reading there. If you have questions, join the PBX in a Flash Forums and take advantage of our awesome collection of gurus. There's an expert available on virtually any topic, and the price is right. As with Incredible PBX, it's absolutely free. Enjoy!

    Originally published: Monday, March 27, 2017   Updated: Friday, May 12, 2017


    Support Issues. With any application as sophisticated as this one, you're bound to have questions. Blog comments are a difficult place to address support issues although we welcome general comments about our articles and software. If you have particular support issues, we encourage you to get actively involved in the PBX in a Flash Forum. It's the best Asterisk tech support site in the business, and it's all free! Please have a look and post your support questions there. Unlike some forums, the PIAF Forum is extremely friendly and is supported by literally hundreds of Asterisk gurus and thousands of users just like you. You won't have to wait long for an answer to your question.



    Need help with Asterisk? Visit the PBX in a Flash Forum.


     

    Special Thanks to Our Generous Sponsors


    FULL DISCLOSURE: ClearlyIP, Skyetel, Vitelity, DigitalOcean, Vultr, VoIP.ms, 3CX, Sangoma, TelecomsXchange and VitalPBX have provided financial support to Nerd Vittles and our open source projects through advertising, referral revenue, and/or merchandise. As an Amazon Associate and Best Buy Affiliate, we also earn from qualifying purchases. We’ve chosen these providers not the other way around. Our decisions are based upon their corporate reputation and the quality of their offerings and pricing. Our recommendations regarding technology are reached without regard to financial compensation except in situations in which comparable products at comparable pricing are available from multiple sources. In this limited case, we support our sponsors because our sponsors support us.

    BOGO Bonaza: Enjoy state-of-the-art VoIP service with a $10 credit and half-price SIP service on up to $500 of Skyetel trunking with free number porting when you fund your Skyetel account. No limits on number of simultaneous calls. Quadruple data center redundancy. $25 monthly minimum spend required. Tutorial and sign up details are here.

    The lynchpin of Incredible PBX 2020 and beyond is ClearlyIP components which bring management of FreePBX modules and SIP phone integration to a level never before available with any other Asterisk distribution. And now you can configure and reconfigure your new Incredible PBX phones from the convenience of the Incredible PBX GUI.

    VitalPBX is perhaps the fastest-growing PBX offering based upon Asterisk with an installed presence in more than 100 countries worldwide. VitalPBX has generously provided a customized White Label version of Incredible PBX tailored for use with all Incredible PBX and VitalPBX custom applications. Follow this link for a free test drive!
     

    Special Thanks to Vitelity. Vitelity is now Voyant Communications and has halted new registrations for the time being. Our special thanks to Vitelity for their unwavering financial support over many years and to the many Nerd Vittles readers who continue to enjoy the benefits of their service offerings. We will keep everyone posted on further developments.
     



    Some Recent Nerd Vittles Articles of Interest...

    The 5-Minute PBX: Incredible PBX 11 and Incredible Fax for PBX in a Flash 3

    With the release of version 3 of PBX in a Flash™, it seemed only fitting to reintroduce our one-click wonder that takes advantage of the latest and greatest feature sets in both Asterisk® 11 and FreePBX® 2.11. Incredible PBX™ 11 gives you the best of all worlds plus all of the very best, preconfigured Asterisk applications we could find. And the installer together with all of the apps are pure open source so you can learn how to build a system like this for yourself if that happens to be your thing.

    You’ll need two components to get started: a CentOS 6.5-compatible operating system and the latest PIAF-Green which includes Asterisk® 11 and FreePBX® 2.11. Once you have these components in place and before you make any additions to your server, download and run the Incredible PBX 11 installer. If you wish to add fax support, run the Incredible Fax 11 installer. It’s easy enough for a fifth grader! Five minutes later you’re ready to begin the VoIP adventure. It’s FREE!

    News Flash: Incredible PBX 11 and Incredible Fax also are available for the $35 Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone Black.

    So what’s included? Dozens of upgraded Asterisk Apps. 9-Layer Security. 20 Preconfigured VoIP Provider Trunks. One-Click Installers for Asterisk.everything. Certified Asterisk support. Google Voice connectivity with Asterisk Motif until May 15. (HINT: It’s time to start looking elsewhere!) Voice-enabled SMS messaging and script-based SMS message blasting. Incredible PBX Automatic Updates. And Incredible Fax™ 11 delivers free faxing with HylaFax™ and AvantFax®. Both the Incredible PBX and Incredible Fax installers now are GPL2-licensed so add all the tweaks you like. And you’re licensed to use our trademarks so long as you retain the original functionality of the Incredible PBX and Incredible Fax collection of applications.

    The Incredible PBX 11 Inventory. For those that have never heard of The Incredible PBX, here’s the current 11.9 feature set in addition to the base install of PBX in a Flash with a CentOS 6.5-compatible OS, Asterisk 11, FreePBX 2.11, and Apache, SendMail, MySQL, PHP, phpMyAdmin, IPtables Linux firewall, Fail2Ban, and WebMin. Incredible Fax, NeoRouter and PPTP VPNs, and all sorts of backup solutions are still just one command away and may be installed using the scripts included with Incredible PBX 11 and PBX in a Flash. Type help-pbx and browse /root for dozens of one-click installation scripts.

    And then there’s the Incredible Freebie! As they say, "Never look a gift horse in the mouth." What began as a kludgey, dual-call, dual-provider Google Voice implementation to take advantage of Google’s free PSTN calling in the U.S. and Canada with Asterisk 1.4 and 1.6 is now a zippy-quick, Gtalk-based calling platform that rivals the best SIP-to-SIP calls on the planet. The Incredible PBX Google Voice implementation provides virtually instantaneous PSTN connections to almost anybody, anywhere. Trust us! Except for the price which is still free, you’ll never know you weren’t connected via Ma Bell’s overpriced long-distance lines and neither will the Little Mrs.

    Creating the Base Linux Platform for PBX in a Flash

    We’re not doing anything special here. In fact, you can build your base Linux platform for PBX in a Flash on a standalone server, on a virtual machine of your choice, or in the cloud using a provider such as Amazon or RentPBX. You can use CentOS 6.5, Scientific Linux 6.5, or the PIAF 6.5 OS. The easiest way is documented here because the ISO is the smallest to download and install. The results will be the same with the other Linux OS flavors documented above.

    Start by downloading the 32-bit or 64-bit CentOS 6.5 minimal install ISO. You can do exactly the same thing using Scientific Linux if you prefer. The PIAF 3.0.6.5 OS images and torrents for VirtualBox are available on SourceForge. With the ISOs, go through the usual drill of preparing an installer from the ISO. Burn the ISO to a USB Thumb Drive or a CD/DVD using a Mac or Windows machine. With VirtualBox .ova images, you can build a virtual machine in under 2 minutes. So pick your favorite methodology and create your Linux platform on the hardware of your choice. If you want your drive partitions configured without LVM in the standard PIAF2 methodology, follow this tutorial.

    IMPORTANT NOTE: Neither CentOS nor Scientific Linux installs with network connectivity enabled. This is one of the primary reasons that we previously have customized CentOS for use with PBX in a Flash. After performing a minimal OS install, log in as root and issue the following commands to prepare your server for PBX in a Flash:

    sed -i 's|no|yes|' /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
    ifup eth0
    yum -y install wget nano

    Creating a PBX in a Flash 3.0.6.5 Server

    Now you’re ready to install PIAF-Green with Asterisk 11 and FreePBX 2.11. Just download the PIAF3 Installer and run it. It works exactly as it always has. The installer is plain text so feel free to customize it to meet your own requirements. If you need the complete PIAF installation tutorial, jump to this link.

    cd /root
    wget http://pbxinaflash.com/piaf3-install.tar.gz
    tar zxvf piaf3-install.tar.gz
    ./piaf3-install

    Installing Incredible PBX 11

    The installation process is simple. Log into your server as root and issue the following commands:

    cd /root
    wget http://incrediblepbx.com/incrediblepbx11.gz
    gunzip incrediblepbx11.gz
    chmod +x incrediblepbx11
    ./incrediblepbx11

    When the installation finishes, you’ll be prompted whether to install Travelin’ Man 3 and Travelin’ Man 2. As documented below, Incredible PBX is designed for use behind a hardware-based firewall with no Internet port exposure. If you need phones at remote locations that are not behind your firewall, then you also need a way to protect your server from the bad guys since you’ll have to allow port 5060 and 10000-20000 UDP access to your server through the firewall. Travelin’ Man 3 does this by setting up a whitelist of safe Internet addresses and domains. Travelin’ Man 2 lets end-users take control by creating safe IP addresses using a web browser. If you don’t have external phones, you don’t need either of these resources so you can just cancel the rest of the Incredible PBX install by pressing Ctrl-C. Then restart Asterisk with this command: amportal restart.

    A Few Words About Security. Thanks to its Zero Internet Footprint™ design, Incredible PBX is different. It remains the most secure Asterisk-based PBX around. What this means is The Incredible PBX has been engineered to sit safely behind a NAT-based, hardware firewall with no Internet port exposure to your actual server. For those needing remote telephone support, Incredible PBX optionally loads Travelin’ Man 2 and 3 for you so your IPtables Linux Firewall can be either self-managed by end-users or set up with predefined IP addresses and FQDNs for all of your remote sites. Read about this Asterisk SIP vulnerability. Then you’ll understand why WhiteList-based server security has become absolutely essential. WhiteList Security means only those devices with a registered IP address in your WhiteList can get to your server’s resources. To the NSA and everyone else, your server doesn’t even exist. Their only way to connect to you is with a POTS telephone and your published phone number. Can you hear me now?

    For those with multiple servers to interconnect, we’ve provided one-click installers for not one but two VPN solutions: NeoRouter and PPTP. Suffice it to say, Incredible PBX has Security in Spades™: customized IPtables Linux Firewall, Fail2Ban tweaked for Asterisk security monitoring, FreePBX Extension Lockdown by IP address, randomized FreePBX extension passwords, Travelin’ Man 2 and 3 WhiteList Security, multiple VPN solutions for encrypted server-to-server communications, plus a bottom-up design focused on flawless operation behind a hardware-based firewall. You won’t find a more secure Personal Branch Exchange™ at any price.

    Here’s the Incredible PBX 9-Layer Security Model:

    Prerequisites. For standalone hardware buffs, here’s what we recommend to get started properly:

    We’ve shifted gears on our recommended Atom platform for PIAF3 after excellent results with both the single-core and dual-core Atom kits manufactured by Foxconn (pictured on the left below). That’s the dLink Gaming Router on the right. Seems kinda silly to spend twice as much for a machine that you can build yourself in under 5 minutes. Basically you remove four screws, insert a Phillips screwdriver in one of the holes and gently pry the cover away from the box. Then you pop off the back by inserting a small flat-blade screwdriver, remove four more screws, slide in a solid-state drive (SSD) and a 4GB stick of notebook computer RAM, and you’re done in a couple minutes. Replace the screws and the cover, and you have a perfect PIAF2 platform with terrific performance and no moving parts for about $200. The link above will take you to the PIAF Forum thread for these machines. They go on sale almost weekly. See the right column of Nerd Vittles (just below our tweets) for this week’s special at Amazon. The dual-core Atom box typically is under $150. It could easily handle an office with 50+ employees sitting on a bookshelf with an Internet connection (wired or wireless!). No noise. Very little heat. Low power requirements. Perfect!

    Configuring Google Voice

    If you plan to use Google Voice, be advised that, according to Google, it’s going away in less than 6 weeks on May 15. If you want to use it anyway, you’ll need a dedicated Google Voice account to support Incredible PBX 11. If you want to use the inbound fax capabilities of Incredible Fax 11, then you’ll need an additional Google Voice line that can be routed to the FAX custom destination using FreePBX. The more obscure the username (with some embedded numbers), the better off you will be. This will keep folks from bombarding you with unsolicited Gtalk chat messages, and who knows what nefarious scheme will be discovered using Google messaging six months from now. So keep this account a secret!

    We’ve tested this extensively using an existing Gmail account, and inbound calling is just not reliable. The reason seems to be that Google always chooses Gmail chat as the inbound call destination if there are multiple registrations from the same IP address. So, be reasonable. Do it our way! Set up a dedicated Gmail and Google Voice account, and use it exclusively with Incredible PBX 11. It’s free at least through 2013. Google Voice no longer is by invitation only so, if you’re in the U.S. or have a friend that is, head over to the Google Voice site and register.

    You must choose a telephone number (aka DID) for your new account, or Google Voice calling will not work… in either direction. Google used to permit outbound Gtalk calls using a fake CallerID, but that obviously led to abuse so it’s over! You also have to tie your Google Voice account to at least one working phone number as part of the initial setup process. Your cellphone number will work just fine. Don’t skip this step either. Just enter the provided 2-digit confirmation code when you tell Google to place the test call to the phone number you entered. Once the number is registered, you can disable it if you’d like in Settings, Voice Setting, Phones. But…

    IMPORTANT: Be sure to enable the Google Chat option as one of your phone destinations in Settings, Voice Setting, Phones. That’s the destination we need for The Incredible PBX to work its magic! Otherwise, all inbound and outbound calls will fail. If you don’t see this option, you may need to call up Gmail and enable Google Chat there first. Then go back to the Google Voice Settings.

    While you’re still in Google Voice Settings, click on the Calls tab. Make sure your settings match these:

    • Call ScreeningOFF
    • Call PresentationOFF
    • Caller ID (In)Display Caller’s Number
    • Caller ID (Out)Don’t Change Anything
    • Do Not DisturbOFF
    • Call Options (Enable Recording)OFF
    • Global Spam FilteringON

    Click Save Changes once you adjust your settings. Under the Voicemail tab, plug in your email address so you get notified of new voicemails. Down the road, receipt of a Google Voice voicemail will be a big hint that something has come unglued on your PBX.

    One final word of caution is in order regardless of your choice of providers: Do NOT use special characters in any provider passwords, or nothing will work!

    [purehtml id=10]

    Accessing The FreePBX 2.11 GUI

    Using a web browser, you access the FreePBX GUI by pointing your browser to the IP address of Incredible PBX 11. Click on the Users tab. It will change to Admin. Now click the FreePBX Admin button. When prompted for a username, it’s maint. When prompted for the password, it’s whatever you set up as your maint password when you installed PBX in a Flash. If you forget it, you can always reset it by logging into your server as root and running passwd-master.

    Configuring Google Voice Trunks in FreePBX. All trunk configurations now are managed within FreePBX, including Google Voice. This makes it easy to customize your Incredible PBX to meet your specific needs. If you plan to use Google Voice, here’s how to quickly configure one or more Google Voice trunks within FreePBX. After logging into FreePBX with your browser, click the Connectivity tab and choose Google Voice/Motif. To Add a new Google Voice account, just fill out the form. Do NOT check the third box or incoming calls will never ring!

    While you’re still in FreePBX, choose Applications, Extensions, and click on the 701 extension. Write down your extension and voicemail passwords. You’ll need them to configure a phone in a minute.

    IMPORTANT LAST STEP: Google Voice will not work unless you restart Asterisk from the Linux command line at this juncture. Using SSH, log into your server as root and issue the following command: amportal restart.

    Installing Incredible Fax 11

    If you want the added convenience of having your Incredible PBX double as a free fax machine, run /root/incrediblefax11.sh after the Incredible PBX 11 install completes. Plug in your email address for delivery of incoming faxes and enter your home area code when prompted. For every other prompt, just press the Enter key. If you’d like to also add the optional OCR utility, just choose it when prompted. For complete documentation, see this Nerd Vittles article. Don’t forget that a REBOOT OF YOUR SERVER is required when the install is finished, or faxing won’t work! Then log in through the PIAF GUI as maint with your password. You’ll find the AvantFax GUI on the Admin menu.

    Also be sure to set up a second, dedicated DID or Google Voice trunk if you want support for inbound faxing. Once the credentials are configured in FreePBX for the additional line, simply add an Inbound Route for this DID to point to the Custom Destination: Fax (Hylafax). This comes preconfigured with Incredible PBX 11.

    Troubleshooting Audio and DTMF Problems

    You can avoid one-way audio on calls and touchtones that don’t work with these simple settings in FreePBX: Settings -> Asterisk SIP Settings. Just plug in your public IP address and your private IP subnet. Then set ULAW as the only Audio Codec.

    Configuring a Desktop Softphone

    PBX in a Flash supports all kinds of telephones, but we’ll start with the easy (free) one today. You can move on to "real phones" once you’re smitten with the VoIP bug. For today, you’ll need to download a softphone to your desktop PC or Mac.

    The easiest way to get started is to set up a YATE softphone on your Desktop computer. Versions are available at no cost for Macs, PCs, and Linux machines. Just download the appropriate one and install it from this link. Once installed, it’s a simple matter to plug in your extension credentials and start making calls. Run the application and choose Settings -> Accounts and click the New button. Fill in the blanks using the IP address of your server, 201 for your account name, and whatever password you created for the extension. Click OK.

    Once you are registered to extension 701, close the Account window. Then click on YATE’s Telephony Tab and place your first call. It’s that easy!

    Taking Incredible PBX 11 for a Spin

    The proof is in the pudding as they say. So let’s try two simple tests. First, let’s place an outbound call. Using the softphone, dial your 10-digit cellphone number. Google Voice or your other SIP trunk should transparently connect you. Answer the call and make sure you can send and receive voice on both phones. Second, from another phone, call the number that you’ve dedicated to The Incredible PBX. Your softphone should begin ringing shortly. The call will be answered by the Nerd Vittles sample IVR. You can explore all of the preconfigured options at your leisure.

    Learn First. Explore Second. Even though the installation process has been completed, we strongly recommend you do some reading before you begin your VoIP adventure. VoIP PBX systems have become a favorite target of the hackers and crackers around the world and, unless you have an unlimited bank account, you need to take some time learning where the minefields are in today’s VoIP world. Start by reading our Primer on Asterisk Security. We’ve secured all of your passwords except your root password and your passwd-master password. We’re assuming you’ve put very secure passwords on those accounts as if your phone bill depended upon it. It does! There’s loads of additional documentation on the PBX in a Flash documentation web site.

    Incredible PBX 11 Automatic Update Utility

    Incredible PBX 11 includes an automatic update utility to assist in keeping your system current and secure. It runs each time you log into your server as root. The first ten updates are at no cost. You then can elect to continue the service by subscribing to the update service which is available for a modest $20 for the remainder of the calendar year. Whether you subscribe or not, new releases of PBX in a Flash and Incredible PBX will always be free! This simply is a way for us to recover our costs in providing a service that many of our users have asked for. We hope you like it.

    Choosing VoIP Providers

    Nothing beats free when it comes to long distance calls. But nothing lasts forever. And, in the VoIP World, redundancy is dirt cheap. So we strongly recommend you set up another account with Vitelity using our special link below. This gives your PBX a secondary way to communicate with every telephone in the world, and it also gets you a second real phone number for your new system… so that people can call you. Here’s how it works. You pay Vitelity a deposit for phone service. They then will bill you $3.99 a month for your new phone number. This $3.99 also covers the cost of unlimited inbound calls (two at a time) delivered to your PBX for the month. For outbound calls, you pay by the minute and the cost is determined by where you’re calling. If you’re in the U.S., outbound calls to anywhere in the U.S. are a little over a penny a minute. If you change your mind about Vitelity and want a refund of the balance in your account, all you have to do is ask. The trunks for Vitelity already are preconfigured with The Incredible PBX. Just insert your credentials using FreePBX and uncheck the Disable Trunk checkbox. Then add the Vitelity trunk as the third destination for your default outbound route. That’s it. Congratulations! You now have a totally redundant phone system.

    Incredible PBX 11 includes preconfigured trunk setups for all of your favorite trunk providers. Just plug in your credentials and activate the trunks you need. In less than a minute, you’re done. Here’s the Incredible PBX Top 20 Trunk List with some reasons why these providers made our short list:

    • AxVoice ($14.99/mo. Business Plan; $16.58/mo. Unlimited Calls to 45 Countries)
    • CallCentric (Good International Calling Rates)
    • DIDforSale (20 channels per DID; unlimited DID calls for $8.99/mo.)
    • ENUM
    • FlowRoute (Good International Calling Rates)
    • FreeNum
    • Future-Nine (Supports CallerID Spoofing)
    • Google Voice (Free DIDs and free U.S./Canada calling)
    • IPkall (Free SIP/IAX DIDs)
    • Les.net (Supports CallerID Spoofing; very low rates)
    • LocalPhone (Dirt-cheap DIDs and calling rates worldwide; Free iNum DID)
    • Simon Telephonics (Free SIP-to-GoogleVoice Gateway)
    • SIPgate (Free residential DIDs sometimes)
    • Skype (Free Skype-to-Skype calls worldwide)
    • Teliax (Unlimited inbound DID $5/mo.)
    • Vitelity (Our supporter and the Best in the Business!)
    • VoIPms (CallerID spoofing; Free iNum calling; Very low rates)
    • VoIPMyWay (Residential Unlimited: $15.50/mo. Business Unlimited: $40/mo.)
    • VoIPStreet (Free DID)

    Configuring Email Noticing in FreePBX

    You’re going to want to be notified when updates are available for FreePBX, and you may also want notifications when new voicemails arrive. Everything already is set up for you except actually entering your email notification address. Using a web browser, open the FreePBX GUI by pointing your browser to the IP address of your Incredible PBX. Then click Administration and choose FreePBX. To set your email address for FreePBX updates, go to Admin -> Module Admin and click on the shield on the right margin. To configure emails to notify you of incoming voicemails, go to Applications -> Extensions -> 701 and scroll to the bottom of the screen. Then follow your nose. Be sure to reload FreePBX when prompted after saving your changes.

    A Final Word About Security

    In case you couldn’t tell, security matters to us, and it should matter to you. Not only is the safety of your system at stake but also your wallet and the safety of other folks’ systems. Unless you subscribe to the new Automatic Update Utility, our only means of alerting you to security issues which arise is through the RSS Feed that we maintain for the PBX in a Flash project. This feed is prominently displayed in the web GUI which you can access with any browser pointed to the IP address of your server. Check It Daily! Or add our RSS Feed to your favorite RSS Reader. We also recommend you follow @NerdUno on Twitter. We’ll keep you entertained and provide immediate notification of security problems that we hear about. Finally, visit the PIAF Forums regularly. You’ll be surprised what you can learn in 10 minutes of browsing. Be safe!

    Kicking the Tires

    NEWS FLASH: Google Speech Recognition was an integral part of several Incredible PBX apps including the 949 Weather Reports and 411 Phonebook Directory Lookups with AsteriDex. Google changed their API to now require a personal API key for further use of the service. Thanks to Lefteris Zafiris, the speech recognition engine has been restored to operation. For instructions on obtaining your own API key and for properly reconfiguring your system to support speech-to-text, see this thread on the PIAF Forum. Google’s API is for personal and development use only!

    That’s enough tutorial for today. Let’s play. Using your new softphone, begin your adventure by dialing these extensions:

    • D-E-M-O – Incredible PBX Demo (running on your PBX)
    • T-I-D-E – Get today’s tides and lunar schedule for any U.S. port
    • 4-1-1 – Phonebook lookup/dialer with AsteriDex
    • C-O-N-F – Set up a MeetMe Conference on the fly (PIN: 1234)
    • 1-2-3 – Schedule regular/recurring reminder (PW: 12345678)
    • 2-2-2 – ODBC/Timeclock Lookup Demo (Empl No: 12345)
    • 2-2-3 – ODBC/AsteriDex Lookup Demo (Code: AME)
    • 3-3-3 – Look up a definition for any word or term
    • 9-4-9 – Weather forecast for any city in the world
    • 9-5-0 – Retrieve stock report by stock symbol
    • 9-5-1 – Latest Google News headlines
    • Dial *68 – Schedule a hotel-style wakeup call from any extension

    Don’t forget to List Yourself in Directory Assistance so everyone can find you by dialing 411. And add your new number to the Do Not Call Registry to block telemarketing calls. Or just call 888-382-1222 from your new number.

    Deals of the Week. A relatively new company called Copy.com is offering 20GB of free cloud storage with no restrictions on file size uploads (which are all too common with other free offers). Copy.com has free sync apps for Windows, Macs, and Linux systems. To take advantage of the offer, just click on our referral link here. We get 5GB of extra storage, too, which will assist with our disaster recovery plan.

    Originally published: Thursday, April 3, 2014



    Need help with Asterisk? Visit the PBX in a Flash Forum.


     

    Special Thanks to Our Generous Sponsors


    FULL DISCLOSURE: ClearlyIP, Skyetel, Vitelity, DigitalOcean, Vultr, VoIP.ms, 3CX, Sangoma, TelecomsXchange and VitalPBX have provided financial support to Nerd Vittles and our open source projects through advertising, referral revenue, and/or merchandise. As an Amazon Associate and Best Buy Affiliate, we also earn from qualifying purchases. We’ve chosen these providers not the other way around. Our decisions are based upon their corporate reputation and the quality of their offerings and pricing. Our recommendations regarding technology are reached without regard to financial compensation except in situations in which comparable products at comparable pricing are available from multiple sources. In this limited case, we support our sponsors because our sponsors support us.

    BOGO Bonaza: Enjoy state-of-the-art VoIP service with a $10 credit and half-price SIP service on up to $500 of Skyetel trunking with free number porting when you fund your Skyetel account. No limits on number of simultaneous calls. Quadruple data center redundancy. $25 monthly minimum spend required. Tutorial and sign up details are here.

    The lynchpin of Incredible PBX 2020 and beyond is ClearlyIP components which bring management of FreePBX modules and SIP phone integration to a level never before available with any other Asterisk distribution. And now you can configure and reconfigure your new Incredible PBX phones from the convenience of the Incredible PBX GUI.

    VitalPBX is perhaps the fastest-growing PBX offering based upon Asterisk with an installed presence in more than 100 countries worldwide. VitalPBX has generously provided a customized White Label version of Incredible PBX tailored for use with all Incredible PBX and VitalPBX custom applications. Follow this link for a free test drive!
     

    Special Thanks to Vitelity. Vitelity is now Voyant Communications and has halted new registrations for the time being. Our special thanks to Vitelity for their unwavering financial support over many years and to the many Nerd Vittles readers who continue to enjoy the benefits of their service offerings. We will keep everyone posted on further developments.
     



    Some Recent Nerd Vittles Articles of Interest…

    The 5-Minute PBX: Incredible PBX 11 and Incredible Fax Get a Facelift

    With the release of PBX in a Flash™ 2.0.6.4.4 last week, it seemed only fitting to reintroduce our one-click wonder that takes advantage of the latest and greatest feature sets in both Asterisk® 11 and FreePBX® 2.11. Incredible PBX™ 11 gives you the best of all worlds plus all of the very best, preconfigured Asterisk applications we could find. And the installer together with all of the apps are pure open source so you can learn how to build a system like this for yourself if that happens to be your thing. Installation is a breeze. Set up a new PBX in a Flash™ 2.0.6.4.4 server with PIAF-Green and FreePBX 2.11, download the Incredible PBX 11 installer, and five minutes later you’re ready to begin your VoIP adventure. And it’s all FREE!
     

    News Flash: Incredible PBX 11 and Incredible Fax also are available for the $35 Raspberry Pi.

    So what’s included? Dozens of upgraded Asterisk Apps. 9-Layer Security. 20 Preconfigured VoIP Provider Trunks. 1-Click Installers for Asterisk.everything. Certified Asterisk support. All-new Google Voice connectivity with Asterisk Motif. Voice-enabled SMS messaging and script-based SMS message blasting. Incredible PBX Automatic Update Utility. Incredible Fax™ 11 delivers free faxing with HylaFax™ and AvantFax®. And Incredible PBX and Incredible Fax are now GPL2-licensed.

    The Incredible PBX 11 Inventory. For those that have never heard of The Incredible PBX, here’s the current 11.0 feature set in addition to the base install of PBX in a Flash with the CentOS 6.4, Asterisk 11, FreePBX 2.11, and Apache, SendMail, MySQL, PHP, phpMyAdmin, IPtables Linux firewall, Fail2Ban, and WebMin. Incredible Fax, NeoRouter and PPTP VPNs, and all sorts of backup solutions are still just one command away and may be installed using the scripts included with Incredible PBX 11 and PBX in a Flash. Type help-pbx and browse /root for dozens of one-click install scripts.

    And then there’s the Incredible Freebie! As they say, "Never look a gift horse in the mouth." What began as a kludgey, dual-call, dual-provider Google Voice implementation to take advantage of Google’s free PSTN calling in the U.S. and Canada with Asterisk 1.4 and 1.6 is now a zippy-quick, Gtalk-based calling platform that rivals the best SIP-to-SIP calls on the planet. The Incredible PBX Google Voice implementation provides virtually instantaneous PSTN connections to almost anybody, anywhere. Trust us! Except for the price which is still free, you’ll never know you weren’t connected via Ma Bell’s overpriced long-distance lines and neither will the Little Mrs.

    To get started, download the latest PBX in a Flash 2.0.6.4.4 ISO from SourceForge, burn to then boot from the PIAF2 CD, choose the PIAF-Green option to load Asterisk 11, and pick FreePBX 2.11 when prompted. Take a look at the PIAF Quick Start Guide for step-by-step installation instructions. Once the PIAF2 install is completed, just download and run the new Incredible PBX 11 installer.

    A Few Words About Security. Thanks to its Zero Internet Footprint™ design, Incredible PBX is different. It remains the most secure Asterisk-based PBX around. What this means is The Incredible PBX has been engineered to sit safely behind a NAT-based, hardware firewall with no Internet port exposure to your actual server. For those needing remote telephone support, Incredible PBX optionally loads Travelin’ Man 2 and 3 for you so your IPtables Linux Firewall can be either self-managed by end-users or set up with predefined IP addresses and FQDNs for all of your remote sites. Read about this Asterisk SIP vulnerability. Then you’ll understand why WhiteList-based server security has become absolutely essential. WhiteList Security means only those devices with a registered IP address in your WhiteList can get to your server’s resources. To the NSA and everyone else, your server doesn’t even exist. Their only way to connect to you is with a POTS telephone and your published phone number. Can you hear me now?

    For those with multiple servers to interconnect, we’ve provided one-click installers for not one but two VPN solutions: NeoRouter and PPTP. Suffice it to say, Incredible PBX has Security in Spades™: customized IPtables Linux Firewall, Fail2Ban tweaked for Asterisk security monitoring, FreePBX Extension Lockdown by IP address, randomized FreePBX extension passwords, Travelin’ Man 2 and 3 WhiteList Security, multiple VPN solutions for encrypted server-to-server communications, plus a bottom-up design focused on flawless operation behind a hardware-based firewall. You won’t find a more secure Personal Branch Exchange™ at any price.

    Here’s the Incredible PBX 9-Layer Security Model:

    Prerequisites. Here’s what we recommend to get started properly:

    We’ve shifted gears on our recommended Atom platform for PIAF2 after excellent results with both the single-core and dual-core Atom kits manufactured by Foxconn (pictured on the left below). That’s the dLink Gaming Router on the right. Seems kinda silly to spend twice as much for a machine that you can build yourself in under 5 minutes. Basically you remove four screws, insert a Phillips screwdriver in one of the holes and gently pry the cover away from the box. Then you pop off the back by inserting a small flat-blade screwdriver, remove four more screws, slide in a solid-state drive (SSD) and a 4GB stick of notebook computer RAM, and you’re done in a couple minutes. Replace the screws and the cover, and you have a perfect PIAF2 platform with terrific performance and no moving parts for about $200. The link above will take you to the PIAF Forum thread for these machines. They go on sale almost weekly. See the right column of Nerd Vittles (just below our tweets) for this week’s special at Amazon. The dual-core Atom box typically is under $150. It could easily handle an office with 50+ employees sitting on a bookshelf with an Internet connection (wired or wireless!). No noise. Very little heat. Low power requirements. Perfect!

    Installing Incredible PBX 11. The installation process is simple. Here are the 3 Easy Steps to Free Calling, and The Incredible PBX will be ready to receive and make free U.S./Canada calls immediately:

    1. Install PIAF-Green with FreePBX 2.11 using PIAF2 ISO or PIAF-Green VM
    2. Run Incredible PBX 11 installer
    3. Configure Google Voice and a softphone or SIP phone

    Configuring Google Voice. If you plan to use Google Voice, you’ll need a dedicated Google Voice account to support Incredible PBX 11. If you want to use the inbound fax capabilities of Incredible Fax 11, then you’ll need an additional Google Voice line that can be routed to the FAX custom destination using FreePBX. The more obscure the username (with some embedded numbers), the better off you will be. This will keep folks from bombarding you with unsolicited Gtalk chat messages, and who knows what nefarious scheme will be discovered using Google messaging six months from now. So keep this account a secret!

    We’ve tested this extensively using an existing Gmail account, and inbound calling is just not reliable. The reason seems to be that Google always chooses Gmail chat as the inbound call destination if there are multiple registrations from the same IP address. So, be reasonable. Do it our way! Set up a dedicated Gmail and Google Voice account, and use it exclusively with Incredible PBX 11. It’s free at least through 2013. Google Voice no longer is by invitation only so, if you’re in the U.S. or have a friend that is, head over to the Google Voice site and register.

    You must choose a telephone number (aka DID) for your new account, or Google Voice calling will not work… in either direction. Google used to permit outbound Gtalk calls using a fake CallerID, but that obviously led to abuse so it’s over! You also have to tie your Google Voice account to at least one working phone number as part of the initial setup process. Your cellphone number will work just fine. Don’t skip this step either. Just enter the provided 2-digit confirmation code when you tell Google to place the test call to the phone number you entered. Once the number is registered, you can disable it if you’d like in Settings, Voice Setting, Phones. But…

    IMPORTANT: Be sure to enable the Google Chat option as one of your phone destinations in Settings, Voice Setting, Phones. That’s the destination we need for The Incredible PBX to work its magic! Otherwise, all inbound and outbound calls will fail. If you don’t see this option, you may need to call up Gmail and enable Google Chat there first. Then go back to the Google Voice Settings.

    While you’re still in Google Voice Settings, click on the Calls tab. Make sure your settings match these:

    • Call ScreeningOFF
    • Call PresentationOFF
    • Caller ID (In)Display Caller’s Number
    • Caller ID (Out)Don’t Change Anything
    • Do Not DisturbOFF
    • Call Options (Enable Recording)OFF
    • Global Spam FilteringON

    Click Save Changes once you adjust your settings. Under the Voicemail tab, plug in your email address so you get notified of new voicemails. Down the road, receipt of a Google Voice voicemail will be a big hint that something has come unglued on your PBX.

    Incredible PBX 11 Installation. Log into your server as root and issue the following commands to run The Incredible PBX 4 installer:

    cd /root
    wget http://incrediblepbx.com/incrediblepbx11.gz
    gunzip incrediblepbx11.gz
    chmod +x incrediblepbx11
    ./incrediblepbx11

    Now have a quick cup of coffee while the installer works its magic. While you’re waiting just make sure that you’ve heeded our advice and installed your server behind a hardware-based firewall. No ports need to be opened on your firewall to support Incredible PBX. Leave it that way!

    One final word of caution is in order regardless of your choice of providers: Do NOT use special characters in any provider passwords, or nothing will work!

    [purehtml id=10]


    FINAL STEPS. Once the Incredible PBX 11 install completes, there are two optional steps for those that will have remote phones or users outside your firewall. Install both Travelin’ Man 2 and 3 for an ultra-secure system.

    Logging in to FreePBX 2.11. Using a web browser, you access the FreePBX GUI by pointing your browser to the IP address of Incredible PBX 11. Click on the Users tab. It will change to Admin. Now click the FreePBX Admin button. When prompted for a username, it’s maint. When prompted for the password, it’s whatever you set up as your maint password when you installed PBX in a Flash. If you forget it, you can always reset it by logging into your server as root and running passwd-master.

    Configuring Google Voice Trunks in FreePBX. All trunk configurations now are managed within FreePBX, including Google Voice. This makes it easy to customize your Incredible PBX to meet your specific needs. If you plan to use Google Voice, here’s how to quickly configure one or more Google Voice trunks within FreePBX. After logging into FreePBX with your browser, click the Connectivity tab and choose Google Voice/Motif. To Add a new Google Voice account, just fill out the form. Do NOT check the third box or incoming calls will never ring!

    While you’re still in FreePBX, choose Applications, Extensions, and click on the 701 extension. Write down your extension and voicemail passwords. You’ll need them to configure a phone in a minute.

    IMPORTANT LAST STEP: Google Voice will not work unless you restart Asterisk from the Linux command line at this juncture. Using SSH, log into your server as root and issue the following command: amportal restart.

    Incredible Fax 11 Installation. If you want the added convenience of having your Incredible PBX double as a free fax machine, run /root/incrediblefax11.sh after the Incredible PBX 4 install completes. Plug in your email address for delivery of incoming faxes and enter your home area code when prompted. For every other prompt, just press the Enter key. If you’d like to also add the optional OCR utility, just choose it when prompted. For complete documentation, see this Nerd Vittles article. Don’t forget that a REBOOT OF YOUR SERVER is required when the install is finished, or faxing won’t work! Then log in through the PIAF GUI using maint:password. You’ll find the AvantFax GUI on the Admin menu.

    Also be sure to set up a second, dedicated Google Voice number if you want support for inbound faxing. Once the Google Voice credentials are configured in FreePBX for the additional Google Voice line, simply add an Inbound Route for this DID to point to the Custom Destination: Fax (Hylafax). This comes preconfigured with Incredible PBX 11.

    Eliminating Audio and DTMF Problems. You can avoid one-way audio on calls and touchtones that don’t work with these simple settings in FreePBX: Settings -> Asterisk SIP Settings. Just plug in your public IP address and your private IP subnet. Then set ULAW as the only Audio Codec.

    Setting Up a Desktop Softphone. PBX in a Flash supports all kinds of telephones, but we’ll start with the easy (free) one today. You can move on to "real phones" once you’re smitten with the VoIP bug. For today, you’ll need to download a softphone to your desktop PC or Mac.

    The easiest way to get started is to set up a YATE softphone on your Desktop computer. Versions are available at no cost for Macs, PCs, and Linux machines. Just download the appropriate one and install it from this link. Once installed, it’s a simple matter to plug in your extension credentials and start making calls. Run the application and choose Settings -> Accounts and click the New button. Fill in the blanks using the IP address of your server, 201 for your account name, and whatever password you created for the extension. Click OK.

    Once you are registered to extension 701, close the Account window. Then click on YATE’s Telephony Tab and place your first call. It’s that easy!

    Incredible PBX Test Flight. The proof is in the pudding as they say. So let’s try two simple tests. First, let’s place an outbound call. Using the softphone, dial your 10-digit cellphone number. Google Voice should transparently connect you. Answer the call and make sure you can send and receive voice on both phones. Second, from another phone, call the Google Voice number that you’ve dedicated to The Incredible PBX. Your softphone should begin ringing shortly. The call will be answered by the Nerd Vittles sample IVR. You can explore all of the preconfigured options at your leisure.

    Learn First. Explore Second. Even though the installation process has been completed, we strongly recommend you do some reading before you begin your VoIP adventure. VoIP PBX systems have become a favorite target of the hackers and crackers around the world and, unless you have an unlimited bank account, you need to take some time learning where the minefields are in today’s VoIP world. Start by reading our Primer on Asterisk Security. We’ve secured all of your passwords except your root password and your passwd-master password. We’re assuming you’ve put very secure passwords on those accounts as if your phone bill depended upon it. It does! There’s loads of additional documentation on the PBX in a Flash documentation web site.

    Incredible PBX 11 Automatic Update Utility. With Incredible PBX 11, we’ve introduced a new automatic update utility to assist in keeping your system current and secure. It runs each time you log into your server as root. The first ten updates are at no cost. You then can elect to continue the service by subscribing to the update service which is available for a modest $20 for the remainder of calendar year 2013. Whether you subscribe or not, new releases of PBX in a Flash and Incredible PBX will always be free! This simply is a way for us to recover our costs in providing a service that many of our users have asked for. We hope you like it.

    Choosing VoIP Providers. Nothing beats free when it comes to long distance calls. But nothing lasts forever. And, in the VoIP World, redundancy is dirt cheap. So we strongly recommend you set up another account with Vitelity using our special link below. This gives your PBX a secondary way to communicate with every telephone in the world, and it also gets you a second real phone number for your new system… so that people can call you. Here’s how it works. You pay Vitelity a deposit for phone service. They then will bill you $3.99 a month for your new phone number. This $3.99 also covers the cost of unlimited inbound calls (two at a time) delivered to your PBX for the month. For outbound calls, you pay by the minute and the cost is determined by where you’re calling. If you’re in the U.S., outbound calls to anywhere in the U.S. are a little over a penny a minute. If you change your mind about Vitelity and want a refund of the balance in your account, all you have to do is ask. The trunks for Vitelity already are preconfigured with The Incredible PBX. Just insert your credentials using FreePBX and uncheck the Disable Trunk checkbox. Then add the Vitelity trunk as the third destination for your default outbound route. That’s it. Congratulations! You now have a totally redundant phone system.

    Incredible PBX 11 includes preconfigured trunk setups for all of your favorite trunk providers. Just plug in your credentials and activate the trunks you need. In less than a minute, you’re done. Here’s the Incredible PBX Top 20 Trunk List with some reasons why these providers made our short list:

    • AxVoice ($14.99/mo. Business Plan; $16.58/mo. Unlimited Calls to 45 Countries)
    • CallCentric (Good International Calling Rates)
    • DIDforSale (20 channels per DID; unlimited DID calls for $8.99/mo.)
    • ENUM
    • FlowRoute (Good International Calling Rates)
    • FreeNum
    • Future-Nine (Supports CallerID Spoofing)
    • Google Voice (Free DIDs and free U.S./Canada calling)
    • IPkall (Free SIP/IAX DIDs)
    • Les.net (Supports CallerID Spoofing; very low rates)
    • LocalPhone (Dirt-cheap DIDs and calling rates worldwide; Free iNum DID)
    • Simon Telephonics (Free SIP-to-GoogleVoice Gateway)
    • SIPgate (Free residential DIDs sometimes)
    • Skype (Free Skype-to-Skype calls worldwide)
    • Teliax (Unlimited inbound DID $5/mo.)
    • Vitelity (Our supporter and the Best in the Business!)
    • VoIPms (CallerID spoofing; Free iNum calling; Very low rates)
    • VoIPMyWay (Residential Unlimited: $15.50/mo. Business Unlimited: $40/mo.)
    • VoIPStreet (Free DID)

    Configuring Email. You’re going to want to be notified when updates are available for FreePBX, and you may also want notifications when new voicemails arrive. Everything already is set up for you except actually entering your email notification address. Using a web browser, open the FreePBX GUI by pointing your browser to the IP address of your Incredible PBX. Then click Administration and choose FreePBX. To set your email address for FreePBX updates, go to Admin -> Module Admin and click on the shield on the right margin. To configure emails to notify you of incoming voicemails, go to Applications -> Extensions -> 701 and scroll to the bottom of the screen. Then follow your nose. Be sure to reload FreePBX when prompted after saving your changes.

    A Final Word About Security. In case you couldn’t tell, security matters to us, and it should matter to you. Not only is the safety of your system at stake but also your wallet and the safety of other folks’ systems. Unless you subscribe to the new Automatic Update Utility, our only means of alerting you to security issues which arise is through the RSS Feed that we maintain for the PBX in a Flash project. This feed is prominently displayed in the web GUI which you can access with any browser pointed to the IP address of your server. Check It Daily! Or add our RSS Feed to your favorite RSS Reader. We also recommend you follow @NerdUno on Twitter. We’ll keep you entertained and provide immediate notification of security problems that we hear about. Finally, visit the PIAF Forums regularly. You’ll be surprised what you can learn in 10 minutes of browsing. Be safe!

    Kicking the Tires. OK. That’s enough tutorial for today. Let’s play. Using your new softphone, begin your adventure by dialing these extensions:

    • D-E-M-O – Incredible PBX Demo (running on your PBX)
    • T-I-D-E – Get today’s tides and lunar schedule for any U.S. port
    • 4-1-1 – Phonebook lookup/dialer with AsteriDex
    • C-O-N-F – Set up a MeetMe Conference on the fly (PIN: 1234)
    • 1-2-3 – Schedule regular/recurring reminder (PW: 12345678)
    • 2-2-2 – ODBC/Timeclock Lookup Demo (Empl No: 12345)
    • 2-2-3 – ODBC/AsteriDex Lookup Demo (Code: AME)
    • 3-3-3 – Look up a definition for any word or term
    • 9-4-9 – Weather forecast for any city in the world
    • 9-5-0 – Retrieve stock report by stock symbol
    • 9-5-1 – Latest Google News headlines
    • Dial *68 – Schedule a hotel-style wakeup call from any extension

    Don’t forget to List Yourself in Directory Assistance so everyone can find you by dialing 411. And add your new number to the Do Not Call Registry to block telemarketing calls. Or just call 888-382-1222 from your new number.

    Deals of the Week. There are a couple of amazing deals still on the street, but you’d better hurry. First, for new customers, Sangoma is offering a board of your choice from a very impressive list at 75% off. For details, see this thread on the PIAF Forum. Second, a new company called Copy.com is offering 20GB of free cloud storage with no restrictions on file size uploads (which are all too common with other free offers). Copy.com has free sync apps for Windows, Macs, and Linux systems. To take advantage of the offer, just click on our referral link here. We get 5GB of extra storage, too, which will help avoid another PIAF Forum disaster.

    Originally published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013



    Need help with Asterisk? Visit the PBX in a Flash Forum.


     

    Don’t miss the first-ever FreePBX World on August 27-28 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. For complete details, see this post on the FreePBX blog.


     


    We are pleased to once again be able to offer Nerd Vittles’ readers a 20% discount on registration to attend this year’s 10th Anniversary AstriCon in Atlanta. And, if you hurry, you also can take advantage of the early bird registration discount. Here’s the Nerd Vittles Discount Code: AC13NERD.


     

    Special Thanks to Our Generous Sponsors


    FULL DISCLOSURE: ClearlyIP, Skyetel, Vitelity, DigitalOcean, Vultr, VoIP.ms, 3CX, Sangoma, TelecomsXchange and VitalPBX have provided financial support to Nerd Vittles and our open source projects through advertising, referral revenue, and/or merchandise. As an Amazon Associate and Best Buy Affiliate, we also earn from qualifying purchases. We’ve chosen these providers not the other way around. Our decisions are based upon their corporate reputation and the quality of their offerings and pricing. Our recommendations regarding technology are reached without regard to financial compensation except in situations in which comparable products at comparable pricing are available from multiple sources. In this limited case, we support our sponsors because our sponsors support us.

    BOGO Bonaza: Enjoy state-of-the-art VoIP service with a $10 credit and half-price SIP service on up to $500 of Skyetel trunking with free number porting when you fund your Skyetel account. No limits on number of simultaneous calls. Quadruple data center redundancy. $25 monthly minimum spend required. Tutorial and sign up details are here.

    The lynchpin of Incredible PBX 2020 and beyond is ClearlyIP components which bring management of FreePBX modules and SIP phone integration to a level never before available with any other Asterisk distribution. And now you can configure and reconfigure your new Incredible PBX phones from the convenience of the Incredible PBX GUI.

    VitalPBX is perhaps the fastest-growing PBX offering based upon Asterisk with an installed presence in more than 100 countries worldwide. VitalPBX has generously provided a customized White Label version of Incredible PBX tailored for use with all Incredible PBX and VitalPBX custom applications. Follow this link for a free test drive!
     

    Special Thanks to Vitelity. Vitelity is now Voyant Communications and has halted new registrations for the time being. Our special thanks to Vitelity for their unwavering financial support over many years and to the many Nerd Vittles readers who continue to enjoy the benefits of their service offerings. We will keep everyone posted on further developments.
     



    Some Recent Nerd Vittles Articles of Interest…