Asterisk Architecture Overview

The Asterisk core handles these items internally:

PBX Switching - The essence of Asterisk, of course, is a Private Branch Exchange Switching system, connecting calls together between various users and automated tasks. The Switching Core transparently connects callers arriving on various hardware and software interfaces.

Application Launcher - launches applications which perform services for uses, such as voicemail, file playback, and directory listing.

Codec Translator - uses codec modules for the encoding and decoding of various audio compression formats used in the telephony industry. A number of codecs are available to suit diverse needs and arrive at the best balance between audio quality and bandwidth usage.

Scheduler and I/O Manager - handles low-level task scheduling and system management for optimal performance under all load conditions.

Loadable Module APIs:
Four APIs are defined for loadable modules, facilitating hardware and protocol abstraction. Using this loadable module system, the Asterisk core does not have to worry about details of how a caller is connecting, what codecs are in use, etc.

Channel API - the channel API handles the type of connection a caller is arriving on, be it a VoIP connection, ISDN, PRI, Robbed bit signaling, or some other technology. Dynamic modules are loaded to handle the lower layer details of these connections.

Application API - the application API allows for various task modules to be run to perform various functions. Conferencing, Paging, Directory Listing. Voicemail, In-line data transmission, and any other task which a PBX system might perform now or in the future are handled by these separate modules.

Codec Translator API - loads codec modules to support various audio encoding and decoding formats such as GSM, Mu-Law, A-law, and even MP3.

File Format API - handles the reading and writing of various file formats for the storage of data in the filesystem.

Using these APIs Asterisk achieves a complete abstraction between its core functions as a PBX server system and the varied technologies existing (or in development) in the telephony arena. The modular form is what allows Asterisk to seamlessly integrate both currently implemented telephony switching hardware and the growing Packet Voice technologies emerging today. The ability to load codec modules allows Asterisk to support both the extremely compact codecs necessary for Packet Voice over slow connections such as a telephone modem while still providing high audio quality over less constricted connections.

The application API provides for flexible use of application modules to perform any function flexibly on demand, and allows for open development of new applications to suit unique needs and situations. In addition, loading all applications as modules allows for a flexible system, allowing the administrator to design the best suited path for callers on the PBX system and modify call paths to suit the changing communication needs of a going concern.

Asterisk is carefully designed for maximum flexibility. Specific APIs are defined around a central PBX core system. This advanced core handles the internal interconnection of the PBX, cleanly abstracted from the specific protocols, codecs, and hardware interfaces from the telephony applications. This allows Asterisk to use any suitable hardware and technology available now or in the future to perform its essential functions, connecting hardware and applications.