Asterisk – VOIP Server on Linux FedoraCore

This guide walks you through installing Asterisk on a fresh Fedora Core system. Make sure you install the system without any preconfigured package options.

1. Initial Setup

Log in as root.

Mount the CD-ROM:

Bash
mkdir /mnt/cdrom
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

2. Install YUM and Required Dependencies

Bash
rpm -i /mnt/cdrom/Fedora/RPMS/rpm-python-4.4.2-32.i386.rpm
rpm -i /mnt/cdrom/Fedora/RPMS/python-elementtree-1.2.6-5.i386.rpm
rpm -i /mnt/cdrom/Fedora/RPMS/python-sqlite-1.1.7-1.2.1.i386.rpm
rpm -i /mnt/cdrom/Fedora/RPMS/python-urlgrabber-2.9.9-2.noarch.rpm
rpm -i /mnt/cdrom/Fedora/RPMS/yum-metadata-parser-1.0-8.fc6.i386.rpm
rpm -i /mnt/cdrom/Fedora/RPMS/yum-3.0-6.noarch.rpm

3. Install Kernel Sources

Bash
rpm -i /mnt/cdrom/Fedora/RPMS/kernel-devel-2.6.18-1.2798.fc6.i686.rpm
ln -s /usr/src/kernels/2.6.18-1.2798.fc6-i686/ /usr/src/linux

4. Install Compiler and Development Tools

Bash
yum install gcc ncurses-devel openssl-devel gcc-c++ gnutls-devel make -y

5. Install wget and SSH

Bash
rpm -i /mnt/cdrom/Fedora/RPMS/wget-1.10.2-7.i386.rpm
yum install openssh openssh-clients openssh-server -y
/etc/init.d/sshd start

6. Install and Configure VSFTPD

Bash
yum install vsftpd -y
/etc/init.d/vsftpd start
chkconfig vsftpd on

7. Copy Source Files

Bash
cd /
umount /dev/cdrom
# Insert the next CD if required
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
cp /mnt/cdrom/* /usr/src/ -R

8. Disable SELinux

Edit the SELinux configuration:

Bash
vi /etc/selinux/config

Change SELINUX=enforcing to SELINUX=disabled.

Also remove root from the following files:

/etc/vsftpd/user_list
/etc/vsftpd/ftpusers

Then reboot the system

9. Download Asterisk and Related Packages

Bash
cd /usr/src
wget http://ftp.digium.com/pub/zaptel/releases/zaptel-1.2.16.tar.gz
wget http://ftp.digium.com/pub/libpri/releases/libpri-1.2.4.tar.gz
wget http://ftp.digium.com/pub/asterisk/releases/asterisk-1.2.17.tar.gz
wget http://ftp.digium.com/pub/asterisk/releases/asterisk-sounds-1.2.1.tar.gz

10. Install Madplay and mpg123 (for Music on Hold)

Bash
yum install libid3tag -y
rpm -i /usr/src/libmad-0.15.1b-4.fc6.i386.rpm
rpm -i /usr/src/madplay-0.15.2b-32.i586.rpm

cd /usr/src/mpg123-0.65/
./configure
make
make install
ln -s /usr/local/bin/mpg123 /usr/bin/mpg123

11. Install Zaptel

Bash
cd /usr/src/zaptel-1.2.16/
make clean
make
make install
make install-udev
make config

Start Zaptel:

/etc/init.d/zaptel start

12. Install LibPRI

Bash
cd /usr/src/libpri-1.2.4/
make clean
make
make install

13. Install Asterisk

Bash
cd /usr/src/asterisk-1.2.17/
make clean
make
make install
make samples
make config

14. Install Asterisk Sounds

Bash
cd /usr/src/asterisk-sounds/
make install

15. Additional Configuration Notes

• Disable the firewall if required:
  chkconfig iptables off
• Disable root SSH login for better security by editing /etc/ssh/sshd_config and setting PermitRootLogin no.
  Install MySQL if you plan to use Realtime:
• yum install mysql mysql-server mysql-devel -y

This guide is based on Fedora Core 6 and Asterisk 1.2.x, which are extremely outdated. For modern installations, it is strongly recommended to use a current Linux distribution (such as AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, or Debian) along with the latest supported version of Asterisk.