CentOS 5.x + Asterisk 1.4.x + FreePBX 2.3.x
http://powerontech.com/FreePBX-Production-Install-Guide.htm

Still not quite there as I was fighting with some bugs in FreePBX 2.3 b1 on Asterisk 1.4 but it more or less works now.

I like Debian but the reality is that RHEL/CentOS is the default standard OS used/tested with Asterisk and FreePBX and is also the default standard OS supported/tested by many hardware vendors such as 3ware and SuperMicro etc.

So all other preferences/philosophies aside, CentOS is the logical way to go IMHO.

I did go down the Debian road at one time though.
http://powerontech.com/freepbx-on-debian.htm

I started with Debian way back..
I soon learned I was fighting a uphill battle, every time I turned around an update broke something.

Centos just makes more sense, and I can not think of a single reason to use a different version of linux, not one.

As the PBX is to be a PBX and not some shared server, the OS really does not matter to the end user.

A stable working with atleast some type of support is what I am building, not sure about those who wish to "change the normal way of doing things"

But Hey some times we NEED a little pain in our lives..
It lets u know u r alive.

GOOD LUCK...you will need it in the long run...

Hi all,
I think you need to step back a bit and think about what the end result is supposed to be..

If you were talking about a word processor, photo editor or game, then targeting one version of Linux would be dumb, these are applications that people want to be able to use on whatever system they already have.

Asterisk & FreePBX are Server-side applications, not at all like those typical user/desktop apps.

It's running a telephone system where, in the majority of cases, reliability is paramount - if it fails in a big way it could be anything from losing customers to wrecking a business.

RHEL/Centos are workhorse operating systems which are intended to be rock solid stable for business use, and updates are available for many years for each release so frequent re-installs are not required to keep up with security fixes etc.

An operating system like this is the perfect foundation for an overall reliable system.

Centos is certainly not a difficult system to install - from booting a DVD to having a basic Asterisk / FreePBX setup running can be done in a couple of hours, and once you get to that stage and are working via the web interface from another machine, what difference does the flavor of OS make?

talkeasy,
Me thinks u r confused..

>>>>>>It's a shame that folk like bubba miss the point so much - we don't all want to spend our lives with our head burried in linux code trying things out.<<<<

Sir I think your post there just support's MY postion.

To build a stable FreePBX system you must start with a stable (and some what supported) distro (yes you can use others BUT they will cause un-needed issues)

Using CENTOS there is nothing to figure out / hack/ tweak...any other version there is a bunch of tweak'n (not talking about rpath here)

with Centos the ease of install is a scripted install which has work across 7 or 8 version's of centos with a few lines of coded added or changed.

You will not see this with ANY OTHER distro linux... period.

I have done more Asterisk installs on more Distro's and hardware than most folks have or will, so I have a good bit of background here.

If we all put our efforts into a single focused efforted we can build a better Server.
and that means sticking a single distro install across the board, not a bunch of disrto's.

Any PRO who builds a Freepbx system for a client using any other distro than Centos, is really doing the customer a dis-service, as this will cause tech support issues, if not some really nasty downtime due to the "wrong version of the OS".

simple facts of life here folks...

I agree w/ Bubba about CentOS, but how difficult would it be to write a install script which mounts a CD containing just the latest sources and builds everything for you, so we don't have to manually hash everything out?

e.g.) install_freepbx.sh will look to the cd for asterisk-*.tar.gz, and go through an automated routine for everything required on a vanilla install of CentOS.

I'm sure there's a way to determine what distrib the script is being run on, and execute a diff set of commands based on that distrib (yum, apt, etc). SOoooooooooo... all we'd be doing is make sure we have the latest install script & load up the CD w/ all the appropriate files.

Pleaz overlook my ignorance, I just don't know... I mean if I can write scripts to install various apps & hacks, why would this not be doable?

- J

So, how long will it be before Asterisk starts being coded specifically for CentOS? What happens to those who *want* to experiment with other distros at that point? I understand that CentOS is the current defacto distro for Asterisk and this seems to be because of Trixbox using it. The original O'Reilly guide for Asterisk (1st edition) never gave a specific distribution point. The second edition one says they used CentOS 5. Now, again, this is all well and good, but it seems like this is making Asterisk proprietary to CentOS. Asterisk should be developed and documented on as many distros as humanly possible, for the simple fact that next year a new distro might come along which is much more stable and secure than CentOS and the asterisk community might want to adopt it. With the mentality you have here, bubba, this simply won't be possible.

Undrhil