The first time I ever wrote about the Asterisk open source VoIP PBX was nearly four years ago when the 1.0 milestone was released. I met Asterisk creator Mark Spencer a few months later in Toronto where he delivered a keynote at the VON (Voice on the Net event) of that year.

While turn-key Asterisk solutions are making open source VoIP deployments easier, one of the attractions of open source is the ability to manage your own voice systems.

This article will present a simple VoIP solution using Asterisk, an open source private branch exchange (PBX) product. It will show you how to install Asterisk, configure it using its LDAP backend, and connect to it using the Ekiga software VoIP client and a Cisco 7900 Series VoIP telephone to make calls.

While the strongest uptake of Asterisk is in the education sector, analyst firm Gartner says businesses should be open to using Asterisk.

If you’re a managed service provider mulling your VoIP options, keep this in mind: A growing number of customers — especially in Europe — are embracing IP phone systems that leverage open source and Asterisk. In fact, the European market for open source VoIP is growing 70 percent annually, according to one market researcher. Here’s the scoop.

The open source Asterisk VoIP PBX is now at its 1.6.x release -- it's a number that Asterisk is going to stay at for a long time. That's the message that Kevin Fleming, Director of Software Technologies at Digium and co-maintainer of the Asterisk told attendess at the IT360 conference here in Toronto.

The VAR Guy has spent considerable time wondering if — or when — Cisco was going to meld its VoIP platforms with Asterisk, the open source IP telephony platform.

Mark Spencer never expected to be where he is today, but the Auburn, Ala., native is making a name for himself in the world of technology.

Like many VoIP telephony companies, Junction Networks uses Asterisk and other open source software to provide its customers with highly customizable VoIP service. Junction has been able to migrate its business model from a conference bridge service provider to a full-fledged telephone services company largely because of the flexibility and lower capital requirements of open source. "We're a completely bootstrapped company," says Mike Oeth, founder and CEO. "We were never locked into a business plan that was sold to investors." He says Junction is successful because it has been able to follow its customers' desires with open source.