Amazon EC2 and SipXecs: Making Progress!
Early today, I started the build process of compiling SipXecs on Amazon EC2. SipXecs, like Asterisk, is another open source PBX for the telephony geek at heart. The process of installing SipXecs is a bit involved and I’m still wrangling with a few issues. It’s certainly a matter of “trail and error” at this point.
I’ll keep you updated about my progress. I’m pretty anxious to try out this platform. Once I’ve succeeded in making SipXecs work, I’ll move on to conquer YATE and FreeSWITCH. We already know that Asterisk is a cakewalk — I’ve been using it for months now on EC2.
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Asterisk PBX on Amazon EC2 How-to Guide Almost Complete!
The much sought after Asterisk on Amazon EC2 How-to Guide is coming soon!
The guide will be available for download on a new website I’m launching that’s specifically focused on cloud computing! As long as you follow the instructions completely, you’ll have a powerful telephony solution “in the cloud” in 15 minutes or less! (I previously stated an hour — That’s overkill!)
Update: Just as you’re anxious to read this guide, I’m pretty antsy to deliver it. Below is a PREVIEW release of the upcoming guide, which is coming soon! Read it, test it and provide your feedback. Enjoy!
It’s All About The Cloud! Cloud! Cloud! Cloud!
Any day now, I’ll create a spoof of Steve Ballmer chanting the importance of cloud computing. In just months, we’ve witnessed an increasing trend in computing where developers and small businesses are consolidating their IT infrastructure and outsourcing it to the likes of Amazon (EC2). Why is cloud computing becoming a hot topic in technology today? I think I have an easy answer:
Cost effective access to unlimited computing power
Do you have a server farm in your shed or back office? Do you have the latest in high-performing blade servers that are ready to host demanding applications and web sites? Do you have vast amounts of bandwidth to power your global reach?
If you’re a consultant, developer or small business owner, there’s a strong likelihood that you lack the technological resources of an enterprise. Now, thanks to cloud computing, the data center is now virtual and available for any tasks you can throw at it.
This website is powered by Amazon’s multi-billion dollar IT infrastructure. It lives on one of thousands of servers within the company’s vast network of server farms. The only limits are defined by the server you launch and configure. The Digg effect? What’s that? Amazon EC2 is truly a dream come true.
Cloud computing is one of the most exciting developments in technology that I’ve personally witnessed in the last decade. It puts the power of the enterprise in the hands of smaller operations — For pennies a day. I cannot think of a better way to launch new companies, develop new Internet applications or create the ‘next big thing’ in technology.
Imagine all the possibilities of cloud computing and Amazon EC2:
1. Web hosting
2. Software development
3. Telecommunications (Asterisk PBX)
4. Storage
The future of computing and the Internet is “in the cloud”.
Note: I am not endorsed by Amazon Web Services.
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EC2 Consulting: Asterisk and Telephony Reinvented — In The Cloud
More than three years ago, I began my experimentation with Asterisk and IP telephony on Linux. I had previously ditched my reliance on POTS (”Plain Old Telephone Service”) in favor of a new player in the VoIP space: Vonage.
Amazed and equally blown away by the feature set and possibilities of VoIP, I began to wonder how anyone could implement this technology for their own use. That’s when I discovered Asterisk.
Today, my implementations of Asterisk no longer reside on a physical server shoved in a closet somewhere. Instead, they now live “in the cloud” within Amazon’s vast IT enterprise environment in Seattle, Washington. I can remotely manage and administer my Asterisk installation from anywhere in the world, including the addition of extensions, troubleshooting the dial plan and much more.
To date, there’s been no downtime in almost 200 days of running Asterisk on Amazon’s EC2 platform. No downtime! What’s even better about implementing Asterisk in the cloud is that it’s painless and hassle free. Servers can be launched almost instantly — and in real-time — without unboxing and installing necessary hardware to “turn up” new installations for service expansion, etc.
As someone with a near 20 year history with technology, the combination of IP telephony with cloud computing is an amazing development in the telecom world. The possibilities are endless and only limited by one’s imagination. Welcome to a new world of telephony — Reinvented in the cloud.
If you’d like to experience Asterisk and IP telephony in the cloud for yourself, I’d be more than happy to welcome your SIP or IAX-based phone into my dial plan for a real-time conversation to test the quality and reliability of VoIP on Amazon EC2. For everyone else, please take advantage of my consulting offer for a 10% discount on Amazon AWS (EC2 and S3) services as mentioned on Amazon’s blog.
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