asterisk(8)

1ASTERISK(8)                                                        ASTERISK(8)
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NAME

6       asterisk - All-purpose telephony server.
7

SYNOPSIS

9       asterisk [ -tThfdvVqpRgciIn ] [ -C file ] [ -U user ] [ -G group ] [ -x
10       command ] [ -M value ]
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12
13       asterisk -r [ -v ] [ -x command ]
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15

DESCRIPTION

17       asterisk is a full-featured telephony  server  which  provides  Private
18       Branch eXchange (PBX), Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Automated Call
19       Distribution (ACD), Voice over IP (VoIP) gatewaying, Conferencing,  and
20       a  plethora  of  other telephony applications to a broad range of tele‐
21       phony devices including packet voice (SIP, IAX2, MGCP,  Skinny,  H.323)
22       devices  (both endpoints and proxies), as well as traditional TDM hard‐
23       ware including T1, E1, ISDN PRI, GR-303, RBS,  Loopstart,  Groundstart,
24       ISDN BRI, and many more.
25
26       At  start, Asterisk reads the /etc/asterisk/asterisk.conf main configu‐
27       ration file and locates the rest of the configuration  files  from  the
28       configuration  in  that file. The -C option specifies an alternate main
29       configuration file.  Virtually all aspects of the operation  of  aster‐
30       isk's  configuration  files  can  be  found in the sample configuration
31       files.  The format for those files is generally  beyond  the  scope  of
32       this man page.
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34       When  running  with  -c, -r or -R options, Asterisk supplies a powerful
35       command line, including command completion, which may be used to  moni‐
36       tors  its  status, perform a variety of administrative actions and even
37       explore the applications that are currently loaded into the system.
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39       Asterisk is a trademark of Digium, Inc.
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OPTIONS

42       -C file
43              Use file as master configuration file instead  of  the  default,
44              /etc/asterisk/asterisk.conf
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46       -c     Provide  a  control console on the calling terminal.  Specifying
47              this option implies -f and will cause asterisk to no longer fork
48              or detach from the controlling terminal.
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50       -d     Enable extra debugging statements.
51
52              Note:  This always sets the debug level in the asterisk process,
53              even if it is running in the background. This  will  affect  the
54              size of your log files.
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56       -f     Do not fork or detach from controlling terminal.
57
58       -g     Remove  resource  limit  on  core size, thus forcing Asterisk to
59              dump core in the unlikely event of a segmentation fault or abort
60              signal.   NOTE:  in some cases this may be incompatible with the
61              -U or -G flags.
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63       -G group
64              Run as group group instead of the  calling  group.   NOTE:  this
65              requires substantial work to be sure that Asterisk's environment
66              has permission to write the files required  for  its  operation,
67              including logs, its comm socket, the asterisk database, etc.
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69       -h     Provide brief summary of command line arguments and terminate.
70
71       -i     Prompt  user  to  initialize any encrypted private keys for IAX2
72              secure authentication during startup.
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74       -L loadaverage
75              Limits the maximum load  average  before  rejecting  new  calls.
76              This  can  be useful to prevent a system from being brought down
77              by terminating too many simultaneous calls.
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79       -m     Disable log and verbose output to remote (-r) consoles.
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81       -M value
82              Limits the maximum number of calls to the specified value.  This
83              can  be  useful  to  prevent a system from being brought down by
84              terminating too many simultaneous calls.
85
86       -n     Disable ANSI colors even  on  terminals  capable  of  displaying
87              them.
88
89       -p     If  supported  by  the operating system (and executing as root),
90              attempt to run with realtime priority for increased  performance
91              and  responsiveness  within the Asterisk process, at the expense
92              of other programs running on the same machine.
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94       -q     Reduce default console output when running in  conjunction  with
95              console mode (-c).
96
97       -r     Instead of running a new Asterisk process, attempt to connect to
98              a running Asterisk process and provide a console  interface  for
99              controlling it.
100
101       -R     Much  like  -r.   Instead  of  running  a  new Asterisk process,
102              attempt to connect to a running Asterisk process and  provide  a
103              console  interface  for controlling it. Additionally, if connec‐
104              tion to the Asterisk process is lost, attempt to  reconnect  for
105              as long as 30 seconds.
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107       -I     Enable  internal timing if Zaptel timer is available The default
108              behaviour is that outbound packets are phase locked  to  inbound
109              packets.  Enabling  this  switch causes them to be locked to the
110              internal Zaptel timer instead.
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112       -t     When recording files, write them first into a temporary  holding
113              directory, then move them into the final location when done.
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115       -T     Add  timestamp  to  all  non-command related output going to the
116              console when running with verbose and/or logging to the console.
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118       -U user
119              Run as user user  instead  of  the  calling  user.   NOTE:  this
120              requires substantial work to be sure that Asterisk's environment
121              has permission to write the files required  for  its  operation,
122              including logs, its comm socket, the asterisk database, etc.
123
124       -v     Increase  the  level  of  verboseness  on the console.  The more
125              times -v is specified, the more verbose the output is.  Specify‐
126              ing  this option implies -f and will cause asterisk to no longer
127              fork or detach from the controlling terminal.  This  option  may
128              also be used in conjunction with -r and -R.
129
130              Note:  This  always  sets  the  verbose  level  in  the asterisk
131              process, even if it is running  in  the  background.  This  will
132              affect the size of your log files.
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134       -V     Display version information and exit immediately.
135
136       -x command
137              Connect to a running Asterisk process and execute a command on a
138              command line, passing any output through  to  standard  out  and
139              then  terminating when the command execution completes.  Implies
140              -r when -R is not explicitly supplied.
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EXAMPLES

143       asterisk - Begin Asterisk as a daemon
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145       asterisk -vvvgc - Run on controlling terminal
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147       asterisk -rx "core show channels" - Display channels on running server
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BUGS

150       Bug reports and feature requests may be filed at http://bugs.digium.com
151

AUTHOR

172       Mark Spencer <markster@digium.com>
173
174       Countless other contributors, see CREDITS with  distribution  for  more
175       information
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179asterisk 1.2                    25 October 2005                    ASTERISK(8)