Complete Image with Asterisk and FreePBX

Please check the Downloads page for a complete, bootable image with Asterisk and FreePBX preinstalled. This image is in fact a BeagleBone Black (BBB) port of the original RasPBX, which can be found on the Asterisk for Raspberry Pi project website. You can read the whole history of this project there.
The name stays the same, meaning there are now 2 flavors of RasPBX, the original Raspberry Pi (RPi) version as well as the new BBB edition. The feature set is identical on both platforms. RasPBX for BBB includes all features of the latest RPi edition including all upgrades.
The porting process was pretty straight forward, thanks to both platforms being very similar. Ubuntu 13.04 has been selected as base distribution. It is widely used on the BeagleBones and therefore well supported. Ubuntu is using apt repositories in the same way as Debian does. This has 2 advantages over any other distro (besides Debian itself of course): 1. The RasPBX apt repository can be used directly, providing software updates and upgrades for both platforms at the same time. 2. All existing RasPBX installer scripts use apt to install software. They are working in the same way now on the BBB platform as well.
As the BeagleBone Black is pretty new at the time of this writing, so is the Asterisk distro for it. Please provide us with feedback if there are any issues coming up.

30 thoughts on “Complete Image with Asterisk and FreePBX”

  1. Laurent

    Very nice! I wand to give it a try. Can it be used with a 4G dongle to route data over the data channel and use the GSM/SIP to route phone calls?

  2. Milton Alvis

    Has anyone worked on pairing the BeagleBone Black with a 2.5″ Hard Drive and PBX-in-A-Flash?
    Apparently several people, over the last couple of years, have gotten the BeagleBone boards to redirect and boot from a Hard Drive via the USB connector.

    Given the limited space and reliability of current small SS storage media. I would think that for both:
    1. flexible IVR voice response storage and
    2. especially voice recording,
    a hard drive will likely be a much more practical storage medium long term.

    I now have a BeagleBone Black in hand, but have only limited experience with Linux.
    So any suggestions would be appreciated.

    1. Gernot Post author

      This is quite easy to do. Just follow the instructions given here except for step 4:
      http://www.raspberry-asterisk.org/documentation/running-raspbx-from-an-external-usb-hdd-or-thumb-drive/

      Then concerning step 4, edit the file /boot/uboot/uEnv.txt instead of the RPi specific file cmdline.txt. In this file locate the line
      mmcroot=/dev/mmcblk0p2 ro
      and replace it with
      mmcroot=/dev/sda2 ro
      On the next reboot, the root partition will be located on your external drive.

  3. Arash

    Does the image raspbx-bbb-09-09-2013.img.xz have issues? I’m unable to boot this image off an SD card. I’ve downloaded and rewritten to my SD card multiple times and it never boots (always boots of eMMC). When I reflash the SD card with the May release, it boots.

    Are there any known issues with the latest version?
    Thanks!

    1. Gernot Post author

      Did you try to press the boot button while powering on the BBB? Does a different image (such as the original Angstrom or another Ubuntu) work from the same SD card?

      1. Arash

        Yes. Other images boot fine (including the older one from May 2013). I’m not using the boot button however. Do I need to hold the boot button? I didn’t need to hold it with the other images. Could you please verify?
        Thanks!

        1. Gernot Post author

          The official support pages mention the boot button. That’s why I think it is worth trying it, maybe there is a difference. I never had to use it myself.
          You can also use the older image and install all the upgrades. In the end it will be the same as the newer image, except for an older kernel version and the console output change. But if you don’t need that you will be just fine.
          I will prepare a new image based on Ubuntu 14.04 in April.

          1. Arash

            I’ve tried with boot and without, using two different SD cards, on two different BeagleBoardBlack devices and it won’t boot. I’ve tried redownloading it, and flashing the SD card using Linux, Windows, and Mac.

            Won’t boot 🙁

  4. Rich

    I have a working knowledge of linux and am looking into Asterisk for our small business (8 employees), which led me to this website. I have never setup a PBX or experimented with RPi/BBB, so would need to lean on forums from time to time when I get in over my head. Is a noob like me better off with an x86 implementation? Mostly I’m looking for the path of least resistance.

  5. Wilfried GĂśdert

    I did set up yours Software to the beaglebone black. It will be nice for beginners to write a first setup. All preconfigured systems like incredible PBX what i did find are fo USA use. In Germany where i come from are different rules. And after first steps i can maybe help and provide audiofiles for a first running system. At the Moment i use Localphone as Provider. It would be nice if you help with a first setup. I use Grandview and Snom IP Phones for testing and they run well as long i try not to connect them with PBX. In Case its possible to give access to teamviewer.
    An Examble for a basic system i did found for Astrisk inGerman. Because of the suggestions there i decide to try seting up PBX in a simmilar way
    http://www.kammerath.net/asterisk-virtuelle-telefonanlage.html
    https://www.localphone.com/help/voip/device_guides/softphone/asterisk
    Other Phonesystem for Raspberry Pi is available inGerman and English as far i know
    https://github.com/amooma/GS5/wiki/GemeinschaftPi:-GS5-auf-einem-RaspberryPi
    Thanks in advantage for my in future hopefully running PBX

  6. Wilfried GĂśdert

    Another Question is i have no possibility for a Dyndns Account and also no fixed IP adress. Any Suggestions?
    Original PBX in a flash provide intheir images a Webmin integration. Will be nice if you include it in the next version.

  7. Hann

    I’m using asterisk on Raspberry Pi for some time without any problems. I wanted to try it on a Beaglebone black, unfortunately it doesn’t recognize my Huawei E173. Has anyone successfully used such a USB GSM Modem with a BBB?

    1. JD

      For the person that asked about the Huawei E173, there are two versions of it and the one the DOES NOT have voice capability is the most prevalent. I bought one and had it “unlocked” only to find out later that it did not have voice because of the chipset. Do yourself a favor and buy the E153 instead (I got mine from this seller: http://www.ebay.com/itm/400668966334?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 ) . I have a BBB running Raspbx and I just connected the E153 I got from them and had no issues other than determining the inbound CID that my Lyca-Mobile sim supported. Once I figured that out, calls went outbound and came inbound as expected. For the half hour or so of calls that I have placed or received, I have suffered no audio problems at all. Note that I am using a powered USB hub, it’s a D-Link DUB-H7.

  8. Gernot Post author

    Try rebooting your BBB with the modem plugged in. USB hotplug support is unfortunately not working well, sometimes a reboot is required to get devices detected. It is also not sure if there is enough current available on the USB host port to power the modem. Try also with a powered USB hub. It might be necessary to cut the red wire on the connector of the hub to make it working with the BBB. This is no joke! I found this tip on forums, it finally made my hub working. See:
    https://code.google.com/p/beagleboard/issues/detail?id=119

    1. Hann

      Thank you very much Gernot. Interesting approach.

      Do you have a Huawei successfully running on a BBB?

      1. Gernot Post author

        The powered USB hub I have here is unfortunately too weak to sustain the modem during a call. The modem registers with the network, but disconnects when a call comes in. To make this work for me I would have to get a different hub with more available current.

  9. Juergen

    Hi!

    First off all, thanks a lot for your work you have done! I really appreciate it!
    I got the file and at least (after waiting for months) the BBB yesterday, Now I like to create a system with some cisco hardware (7960, 9951, 9971). So far so good, but now I am stuck now with reading, what´s going next ;=)
    Let me apologize in front, I am just a newbie in Linux and PBX – but I managed a working 7960 on SIP, which is running since a couple of years.
    Ok, what´s the point, right now:
    A) I found the “gareth-11.9.0” patch at https://issues.asterisk.org/jira/browse/ASTERISK-13145
    and the installation wiki at: http://docs.acsdata.co.nz/asterisk-cisco/patching-asterisk.shtml
    hmm, now the version 11.10.2 is the last one – and I have no glue, if the patch is working which that. Cause I don’t find a 11.9 anymore… (maybe I am just blind)

    As well – I found your comment – that
    gareth-softkeys.xml – New soft-key definitions for Conference, Park etc.
    gareth-featurepolicy.xml – New features enabled.
    are needed and found above.

    Is it right, that I have to install this to go ahead with cisco? Whats about the asterisk download – is that nessary?
    B) XML-Configuartion of a working system
    at the installation wiki, are the code snippets of the config.
    Is there somewhere a complete set around? I just found http://community.freepbx.org/t/cisco-9971-phone-configuration-working-example-with-setup-tips/13481 – but there are 119!!! Pages of trial and error – could someone share a working –state to the art- basepoint , to get further?

    thx a lot for your help in front!
    with best regars from Vienna!
    J.

  10. Riccardo

    Hello,

    I have a BBB rev c with 4GB onboard.
    is it possible, once flashed the image, to expand the root partition to fit the maximum size?

    I tried raspbx-config as written into the documentation but it doesn’t work with internal emmc.

    Thanks in advance for advise

  13. JD

    Think you guys could update the base Asterisk and FreePBX installed to the latest versions? Also, if the Ubuntu base could include the more recent kernel that would be great.

    1. Gernot Post author

      I have started updating the RPi version already, but there were some issues with FreePBX I still need to fix. Also several installer scripts need to be modified for the new versions. It will take some more time unfortunately…
      Updating the kernel can be done anytime, have a look at this comment.

  14. Reb

    Is there any chance of updating the distribution any time soon? I did a raspbx-update and it looks like mysql broke somehow. While this is not in the critical path for me I figure it might be better to reinstall from a newer version of the distribution.

    1. Gernot Post author

      With the introduction of the Pi 2 and especially Pi 3, interest in the BeagleBone Black has fallen considerably. The current image is based on Ubuntu LTS and Asterisk 11 will see updates until end of 2017 / early 2018. But I will not make new images any more, as long as interest in the BBB stays as low as it is now.

  15. Michael

    It’s a pity. My BBB runs now several month 24/7 without problems.

    How is the experience with the Raspi and 24/7? (Your comparison, especially the power regulation of the Raspi? ” Badly regulated power supplys have been a frequent cause of crashes or data corruption on the RPi’s SD cards”

    Is the Raspi as stable as the BBB?

    Regards Michael

    1. Gernot Post author

      Don’t worry, of course you can keep the BBB as long as it runs well for you. As said, updates will be available until end of 2017. The Raspi is also very stable, my original Pi 1 is now running 4 years, 24/7 without problems.

  16. Jim

    I haven’t been able to keep my BBB running for more than about 6 months without a crash. The early crashes may have been due to SD card wearout and I see there was an update that corrected an overactive FreePBX. About 2 months ago I put together the latest image and updated it. Ran ok with some changes I made for quite a while. Now it is crashing daily.

    I have made a few additions so it’s possible that is the issue but I am struggling to figure this out on my own. I added an Arduino with some very short scripts to run a command line on another PC – that works. Want to add a audio USB port to be able to play a short sound to indicate an event but have been unable to get that to work. Apparently there is an issue with USB sound (beyond it being the second sound device. First is HDMI) as I see other places that the kernel used for this has issues and people have switched kernels or turned off DMA (which I think requires recompiling the kernel). I could probably figure out (hours with google) how to do those things but it’s not something I currently know how to do.

    I am unclear on the relationship between this site and related sites and where I can get help.
    Some of the sites are
    https://sourceforge.net/projects/raspbx/
    http://pbxinaflash.com/community/home/

    What’s the best way/place to get help with these issues?

    1. Jim

      I figured out the issue with USB audio. The BBB asterisk kernel is set up to use DMA for USB audio devices and locks up when attempting to use the sound card (USB device). I have found others reporting this also. I recompiled the kernel to disable DMA and now can use the sound card. For some reason my attempts to disable the HDMI audio weren’t effective so the USB sound is not the default (even though I don’t have any HDMI display attached. But I can direct the audio output to the USB audio which works ok.

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