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**NOTE: You will need to have Linux CLI experience and also know how to use a Linux text editor**

MySQL Passwords:

The first is the password for the MySQL user that the trixbox uses to make updates to its database; this user is named ‘asteriskuser’.

You’ll need to log into MySQL at the Linux CLI.

You will then be promoted for a password, the default password that is supplied with every Trixbox installation is:

‘passw0rd’ (with a zero)

You’ll then want to enter the following commands:

Where you would replace ‘new_pass_here’ with your desired password.

**NOTE: MySQL and the PBX Config does not like the exclamation point (!) character, so don’t use it in a password.**

Now doing this, will cause files that run Trixbox to not work correctly because they are set to use the old password, so we will have to update those as well.

Amportal.conf

First we need to edit the /etc/amportal.conf file to use the new password:

You need to find the line that says:

‘AMPDBPASS=amp109′

You will want to change the ‘amp109′ to the new password that you just set in MySQL.  Please note that there are two places to set this password.  The first one at the beginning of the file is commented out, while the second one is near the very end of the file, and that is the one that needs to be changed.

Save and exit the file.

Files that Use the MySQL Password:

Next we’ll need to change all the files that are utilizing the MySQL password, which specifically are:

• /etc/asterisk/cdr_mysql.conf (for call detail records)
• /etc/asterisk/res_mysql (honestly don’t know what this file does, but you have to update it)
• /var/www/html/maint/modules/cdrreport/config/database.php

You’ll want to do the same thing as when you edited the /etc/amportal.conf file, open the top two in a text editor, find the line that says ‘password=amp109′ and change the ‘amp109′ to the new password.  Save and exit the files.

For the final file (/var/www/html/maint/modules/cdrreport/config/database.php), you’ll want to open it in a text editor just like the rest:

You’ll need to find the line that says ‘connection’ => ‘mysqli://asteriskuser:amp109@localhost/asteriskcdrdb’

Change the ‘amp109′ (shown in red above) to the asteriskuser password you set in MySQL.

Once you have edited those last two files, you’ll need to restart MySQL and the AMPortal (basically the Trixbox service) so that everything starts utilizing these passwords.

Now while not necessary, its definitely a good idea to also replace the MySQL root user password from its default.  To do so, type the following:

Where ‘new_password_here’ is the new desired root user password (should NOT be the same as the asteriskuser).  When you hit ‘Enter’ you’ll be prompted to enter a password, you’ll want to enter the default MySQL root password of ‘passw0rd’ (with a zero).

Now just like before, we’ll have to change a few files to use this new password.

First, you’ll want to edit the following file:

Search for the line that says ‘password=passw0rd’ and change it to the new password that you just set.  Save and exit the file.

Next you’ll need to edit this file:

Edit the line that says $password = ‘passw0rd’; to $password = ‘your_new_mysql_root_password’; Save and exit the file.

Now all your passwords should be up to date, and you can restart MySQL one last time:

Surpisingly, they decided to put the option to name the trunk in the middle of the page, as opposed to at the top so it would be the first thing you fill out.  You can name your trunk anything that you want to, but I suggest making it something easy to identify what that trunk is being used for.  For example, my outgoing trunk leads to my Callcentric SIP provider, so I named my trunk “Callcentric.”

After naming your trunk, you’ll move on to setting up the “Peer Details” section of your trunk setup.  This part of the setup requires you to know some information specifically from your SIP provider, which can often be confusing.  To make it easier, I provided a link in Part 1 of this walkthrough, which will bring you to pre-configured setup files, that are known to work, so that you do not have to futz around making sure that the information that your provider gave to you is correct.  Here is that link again:

• Trunk Setup Configuration Files

You will want to copy and paste the pre-built config file into the Peer details box when setting up your trunk.  The config file will look something like this:

In this example, you will replace “your_account_password” with the password you use to log into your account, the number shown as “1777xxxxxxx” is the main number that is associated with your user ID at your provider.

The final piece to setup for your outgoing trunk, is the Register String.  For the example above, you will want to use the following string, and replace the specific values as mentioned above.

1777xxxxxxx:your_account_password@callcentric.com/1777xxxxxxx

After that, you’re all set.  You can now setup your dial rules (covered in a different tutorial) and use your outgoing trunk to call any phone number that you want.  If you’re trunk is not working correctly, you will know pretty quickly.  Go back and check over your settings to make sure there is not something that you left out.  Need your own PBX Solution that you can manage, Get a Virtual Trixbox PBX System today.

Trixbox Cheat Sheet

All These commands work with RackWire’s Trixbox Virtual VOIP Server.

Some things you will need for this section are:

• The phone number provided to you by your SIP Provider
• This Link

The link provided is because often times, a Voip provider will not always give you the correct information that you will need to enter into the trunk configuration.  The above link are several up to date trunk configurations for several Voip providers.  This takes a lot of the guess work out of setting up a trunk to work with your provider, as you can simply copy and paste the configuration that matches your provider, and then enter in your specific information.

example:

In the trixbox admin section, select “PBX” and then “PBX Settings.”  Once there, select from the left columns “Trunks.”  This will bring you to a page that allows you to add a Trunk.

The first thing you will notice is that there are far more options than simply a SIP trunk.  We will concern ourselves with those later, as they have other functions.   Select the option that says “Add SIP Trunk.”

As with most of the options in trixbox, not all of them are required to be filled in, only a select few need to be configured for the PBX to work.  Like I have said before, if you are unsure about a particular option, you can hover over the name of the option to have a little pop-up describe what that option does.

The only required fields for this setup are the follwing:

• Dial Rules
• Trunk Name
• Peer Details
• Registration String

The other options are helpful, and can be very useful, but for the purpose of this instruction, we will only stick to the required fields.  One thing to note, is that the field “Outbound Caller ID” is not required to be filled in, but can be useful if you have setup with your SIP to allow multiple Outbound CIDs.

The first thing that is important to setup with an outgoing trunk, is the Outgoing Dial Rules.  These can tend to get a bit confusing, so Asterisk has included a real nice wizard to help you along the way.  The thing to remember about Trunk Dial Rules is that they are only used for adding numbers to, or subtracting numbers from the number being sent to the trunk, and not to allow or restrict numbers that a user has dialed.  With that in mind, lets show an example of a common trunk dial rule.

Most phone calls that you place almost always require you to type a 1 before the area code and number.  And it’s really pretty annoying if you forget, and have to hang up and dial again.  So you will want to add this dial rule:

1+NXXNXXXXXX

What this rule does, is add the number 1 to any number that is dialed and sent to the trunk, if that number starts with a 3 digit area code, and is followed by a 7 digit number.  Similarly, you can also make a 1 and the area code added to a 7 digit number that is sent to the trunk with the following dial rule:

1585+NXXXXXX (where 585 is your area code).

You can use the Dial Rules Wizard that is included in trixbox to create the correct digit structure for each type of number (e.g. NXXXXXX).

Check out How to Setup a Trixbox Voip Trunk – Part 2

Also you can get your own Trixbox Virtual VOIP Server Here.

The most common type of device that you are going to be using (and the type for this walk through) is a Generic SIP (Software IP Phone) Device.  So, in the drop down box next to “Devices” select “Generic SIP Device.”

Click on the “Submit” button.

At the next screen, you will see that there are a lot of configuration options for your new extension.  Most of these options are not required, and are used to make using your SIP Device more robust by adding advanced options.  For now, we will just cover the required settings; however the great thing about trixbox, is that if you want to learn more about what each option is, you can simply hover over the option name, and a pop-up box will display a description of that option:

The first required field is “User Extension,” which is the first option on the page to fill out.  This can be any number that you want really, but should have some form of logical order (such as 101, 102, 103, etc), for obvious reasons.

Next you’ll need to enter a “Display Name,” which is what will show up on other SIP devices when you call them.  Again, this can be anything that you like, but would be best if it followed some guideline, such as first and last name.  If you want to make use of the company directory service included in trixbox, you will want to make sure you use real names (first name first, last name last).

The last required field to enter is the “Secret.”  This is the password that will be shared between the SIP device and the PBX box to authenticate who they are.  It is important to make this secret something that cannot be easily guessed, or else an intruder could easily gain unauthorized access.

Now that you’ve filled in those fields, can click on the “Submit” button located at the bottom of the page.  You have now created an extension, that can be called from any other extension, and that can also call any other extension.  For configuring the more advanced options for each extension, check out my other blog entries.

Also you can get your own Trixbox Virtual VOIP Server Here.

Just like with your Internet Service Provider, in order to use the protocol that will transfer data from your location to an outside one, you have to pay for it.  The good thing however, is that its much cheaper than separate phone service, which is what makes all of this worthwhile.

There are many different VOIP providers out there, all of them ranging in price, minutes, customer support, etc.  For this tutorial, we will be using one of our preferred solutions, CallCentric.

The steps are pretty self explanatory, you just need to navigate through the site in the same manner as you would for any site that you wish to purchase something from.

You’ll need to pick what plan suites you and your business.  The nice part about using a carrier such as CallCentric, is that if you don’t make a lot of calls, but want the ease and convenience of using a VOIP system, you can purchase a plan that charges you per minute, compared to buying a plan that causes you to pay for wasted minutes.

Also you can get your own Trixbox Virtual VOIP Server Here to use with CallCentric VOIP Service Provider.