10.4. Manager
Asterisk Manager provides an API that allows
external programs the ability to create, monitor and manage
Asterisk. The Manager interface is a powerful mechanism for integrating
external programs of all kinds into Asterisk.
To use the Manager, you must define an account
in the file /etc/asterisk/manager.conf. This file will
look something like this:
[general]
enabled = yes
|
Surprisingly, one of the easiest ways to get
respectable-quality recordings is not through a PC with fancy
editing software, but rather through a telephone set. There are
many reasons for this, but the most important is that the telephone
will tend to filter out background noise (such as white noise
caused by HVAC equipment) and will record at a consistent audio
level.
This little addition to your dialplan will allow
you to easily create recordings, which will be placed in your
system's /tmp/ folder (from there,
you can rename them and move them wherever you'd like):
exten => _66XX,1,Wait(2)
exten => _66XX,2,Record(/tmp/prompt${EXTEN:2}:wav)
exten => _66XX,3,Wait(1)
exten => _66XX,4,Playback(/tmp/prompt${EXTEN:2})
exten => _66XX,5,Wait(2)
exten => _66XX,6,Hangup( )
This little snippet will allow you to dial from
6600 to 6699, and it will record prompts in the /tmp/ folder using the names prompt00.wav to prompt99.wav. After you complete recording (by
pressing the # key), it will play your prompt back to you
and hang up.
Be sure to move your prompts out of the
/tmp/ dir to the Asterisk sounds
directory. To keep the dialplan readable, rename your promptXX files to a meaningful namese.g.,
mv /tmp/prompt00.wav
/var/lib/asterisk/sounds/custom/welcome-message.wav.
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port = 5038
bindaddr = 0.0.0.0
[oreilly]
secret = notvery
;deny=0.0.0.0/0.0.0.0
;permit=209.16.236.73/255.255.255.0
read = system,call,log,verbose,command,agent,user
write = system,call,log,verbose,command,agent,user
In the [general] section, you have to
enable the service by setting the parameter enabled = yes.
The TCP port to use will default to 5038.
For each user, you will specify the username in
square brackets ([]), followed by the password for that
user (secret), any IP addresses you wish to deny
access to, any IP addresses you wish to permit access to,
and the read and write permissions for that
user.
10.4.1. Manager Commands
It is important to keep in mind that the Manager
interface is designed to be used by programs, not fingers. That's
not to say that you can't issue commands to it directlyjust don't expect a typical
console interface, because that's not what Manager is for.
Commands to Manager are delivered in packages
with the following syntax (lines are terminated with CRLF):
Action: <action type>
<Key 1>: <Value 1>
<Key 2>: <Value 2>
etc ...
<Variable>: <Value>
<Variable>: <Value>
etc...
For example, to authenticate with
Manager (which is required if you
expect to have any interaction whatsoever), you would send the
following:
Action: login
Username: oreilly
Secret: notvery
<CRLF>
An extra CRLF on a blank line will send the
entire package to Manager.
Once authenticated, you will be able to initiate
actions, as well as see events generated by Asterisk. On a busy
system, this can get quite complicated and become totally
impossible to keep track of with the unaided eye.
10.4.2. The Flash Operator Panel
The Flash Operator Panel (FOP) is far and
away the most popular example of the power of the Manager
interface. FOP creates a web-based visual view of your system and
allows you control of calls.
FOP is most commonly used to enable a live
attendant to view the users in the system and connect calls between
them. It can also be used in a call-center environment to provide
CRM-triggered screen pops.
The FOP management interface is shown in
Figure
10-1. To grab a copy of FOP, head to http://www.asternic.org. |
