How To: VoIP Message With Openfire & Asterisk

VoIP is used by businesses to increase communication with employees.

Asterisk is a private branch exchange voice over Internet protocol software that allows voice communications and multimedia sessions over the Internet. Voice, fax, texting or instant messages and voice-messaging can all be done with VoIP. The Openfire program is the VoIP. Asterisk is a type of small program called a plug-in that is installed on the Openfire and used to send instant messages to people on the Internet. Openfire and Asterisk are both free programs available on the Internet.

Instructions

1. Download the free OpenFire software from the Ignite Realtime website and install it. Download the "OpenFire Asterisk IM Plugin .jar" file from the Ignite Realtime website. Open the "OpenFire Asterisk IM Plugin .jar" file and copy its contents to the "OPENFIRE_HOME/plugins directory." Close Openfire and restart it.

2. Log in to the PBX Integration page on the Asterisk server with your user account. Type the following responses into the Asterisk command window to authenticate the manager.

   Action: login
   Username: admin
   Secret: god

3. Return to the "Openfire" window. Select the "Asterisk-IM" tab. The admin page will open up. Fill the required information next to the text boxes that have an asterisk by them such as "Server," "Username" and "Password."

4. Copy and paste the following into the "client API" field.

   XMPPConnection conn = new XMPPConnection("myserver.foo.com", "user", "password");
   PhoneClient client = new PhoneClient(conn);

5. Find your computer's IP address by clicking on the "Start" or Windows icon on the lower-left corner of the screen. Click "All Programs". Select "Accessories". Click on "Command Prompt" to make the "Command Prompt" text box appear on the screen. Type "ipconfig" into the "Command Prompt" text box and hit the "Enter" key. Your computer's IP address will appear on the screen in a series of numbers. Write this down on a piece of paper with a pen, complete with the periods between the numbers.

6. Open your Internet search engine. Type in your IP address followed by "9090" into the search bar and hit the "Enter" key. You will be taken to the "Openfire Admin Console Server" configuration webpage. Follow the instructions on the screen to set up the server.

7. While still at the Openfire Admin Console Sever Information webpage, click on "Plug-ins". Select the "Asterisk IM plugin". Enter the receiving person's username and the message that you wish to send, then click the "Send" button.

References

• Ingite Realtime: Asterisk-IM Plugin Readme
• VoIP-Info.org: Asterisk manager API
• Olex: Instant Messaging in the Enterprise with Openfire
• Indiana University: How do I Determine my Computer's IP Address?

Resources

• Ingite Realtime.org: Openfire