The Business Case for Open Source/Asterisk

1. The Business Case for Open Source/Asterisk Carl Davis

2. Benefits of Open Source • Build using open standards • Best Breed Architectural Design • Collaboration of many individuals on a product that could not be achieved alone or by small organizations • Rapid bug-fixes and changes • Increased Security • code is in public view where it is exposed to extreme scrutiny • problems being found and fixed instead of being kept secret for job security or other reasons These benefits are fundamental in increased reliability.

3. Reliability Problem If builders built houses the way programmers built programs, the first woodpecker to come along would destroy civilization Gerald P. Weinberg

4. I Submit to You the Latest Results… • DNS • sendmail • Open Source TCP/IP stacks and utility suites • Apache • Perl Since the founding of the Open Source Initiative (OSI) in 1998, open source programs have demonstrated an astonishing level of reliability and robustness under fast-changing conditions even when compared to the best closed commercial software.

5. …And a Further Example • Who would have thought that a world-class operating system could be done by several thousand part time developers/hackers scattered all over the planet, connected only by the tenuous strands of the Internet? • Linus Torvalds's style of development • release early and often • delegate everything you can • be open • resemble a great babbling bazaar of differing agendas and approaches

6. Why Do Developer’s Contribute? • Certainly not for $$$ ;-) • Is it Glory? • Is it Recognition? • Or is it simply “I Can Do Better!!!!” Every good work of software starts by scratching a developer's personal Itch.

7. The Rules • Good programmers know what to write. Great ones know what to rewrite (and reuse). • If you want to get it right, be ready to start over at least once • Treating users as co-developers is the best route to rapid code improvement and effective debugging.

8. Licenses OSI (Open Source Initiative) is your first stop to determine the right license. www.opensource.org • GPL – GNU Public License • prohibits proprietary patents related to modifications of the software, prohibits royalties, and requires that the same terms be attached when redistributing the software or a derivative of it. • allows free distribution and modifying but all bundled and derivative works must be under the GPL

9. More Licenses • BSD, MIT, Apache –licenses are all permissive allowing free distribution, modifying, and license change • LGPL is used to license free software so that it can be incorporated into both free software and proprietary software. • requires that you open the source code to your own extensions to the software. • allows free distribution, modifying and license change if bundled as a whole into new work; derivative works must be under LGPL or GPL • LGPL code can be included within a larger proprietary software package. • Commercial – allows the use of software only in specific circumstances and hence these may be called all restrictive licenses

10. Commercial Licenses These allow the use of software only in specific circumstances and hence may be called all restrictive licenses. Read you end user license agreement (EULA) sometime.

11. The History of Asterisk • After seeing the accomplishments of D’lcaza and Miller at the 1998 Atlanta Linux Showcase, Mark Spencer focused his energies on doing something big to help Open Source. • Starting Linux Support Systems, he created Asterisk to have a PBX with the features he needed without the $$$. • Originally wasn’t particularly useful to others outside of Mark’s own needs • In 1999 he rewrote it in the form we see today and released it to the Open Source community. • He went on to found Digium, providing a commercial base for Asterisk and Zaptel • Over 250,000 users and over 300 contributors to date • Asterisk is licensed under the GPL

12. Emiliano Zapata Plan de Ayala The lands, forests and water that have been usurped…will be immediately restored…to the citizens who have title to them… http://Flag.balckened.net/revolt/mexico/ip/axap.html

13. Zaptel Short for Zapata Telephony • Jim Dixon's open computer telephony hardware driver API. • Zaptel drivers were first released for FreeBSD • Dixon created the Tormenta series of DIY T1 interface cards. • Digium produced interface cards from the designs, improving the Zaptel drivers for the Linux platform.

14. What is Asterisk!?! An open source, multi-protocol PBX based on general computer hardware and an open source operating system. • Central Office? • THE VoIP Solution? • SIP Application Server? • Delusions of Grandeur?

15. The Future of Asterisk • Version 1.4 • Whisper • Follow me • And More! • VoiceXML • IM/Presence via googletalk and Jabber • Video Calls • Video Conferencing • Megaco

16. The Business Case of Asterisk • OEM implementations • Hosted implementations • Private Networks • Get out there, Start a Team of your own or invest in the open community. The developers await your command and participation!!!

17. Resources • www.voip-info.org/wiki • Mailing List (users, developers, biz) • www.asteriskdocs.org • O’Reilly Book Download www.asteriskdocs.org/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=11

18. Q&A Carl Davis President & Chief Architect Stellar System Technologies, Inc carl_davis@stellarsystech.com www.stellarsystech.com Executive Director High Tech Business Council of Rochester www.htbc.org