FreeSWITCH Communication Consolidation

The FreeSWITCH team is pleased to announce the immediately availability of FreeSWITCH version 1.0.4. (Source tarball available here.) This new version contains many improvements in stability and security as well as some notable additions.

Skype – VoIP For The Masses

FreeSWITCH 1.0.4 now supports Skype integration. If you have a Skype account you can send and receive Skype calls from FreeSWITCH. The Skype module (mod_skypiax) uses the native Skype client for the target operating system. Currently, Windows and Linux are supported. Skype calls can be made or received, and all of FreeSWITCH’s transcoding and resampling capabilities are available with Skype calls. The Skype audio codec, SILK, yields higher quality calls than the traditional PSTN, and FreeSWITCH’s ability to transcode and resample other high quality codecs allows for Skype calls to connect to SIP endpoints with excellent quality when those endpoints are using HD codecs such as CELT or Polycom Siren.

OPAL – Adding H.323, IAX2

The OPAL project is an open-source library of VoIP functionality. Robert Jongbloed, co-founder of the OPAL project, has been working with the FreeSWITCH developers to create mod_opal, which adds H.323 functionality to FreeSWITCH as well as IAX2 support. The developers are also working on adding more functionality in future releases, such as IAX registrar support.

ZRTP – Secure media streams

ZRTP is a means by which telephone sets and phone systems can easily encrypt media streams with SRTP. ZRTP is co-authored by Philip Zimmermann of PGP fame. ZRTP works with virtually any software that supports SRTP. ZRTP allows for automatic, opportunistic encryption of the media streams. If two endpoints have ZRTP then calls betwen them are encrypted automatically.

MRCP – Controlling Media With External Servers

MRCP, or Media Resource Control Protocol, is now available with a new module: mod_unimrcp. This new module builds takes advantage of the well-written UniMRCP library, authored by Arsen Chaloyen. The module is compliant with MRCP version 2 (SIP). MRCP allows for media servers to be separated from FreeSWITCH. For example, it is possible to have an MRCP server on a seperate machine running software such as Voxeo Prophecy which can perform text-to-speech (TTS) functionality. The MRCP server generates the media stream and feeds it to the MRCP client. MRCP allows for distribution of resource-intensive operations such as ASR and TTS.

NAT Traversal Made Easier With UPnP, NAT-PMP

The FreeSWITCH developers have included additional NAT-handling functionality in version 1.0.4. NAT-traversal is important for SIP calls and is made easier with the automatic NAT handling feature. NAT devices (like routers and firewalls) that support either UPnP or NAT-PMP can be polled by devices inside the network, which allows them to determine the external IP address without resorting to more clumsy methods such as STUN.

Real-Time Billing

FreeSWITCH now supports real-time pre-paid billing applications with mod_nibblebill. The name of the module is telling: it monitors calls in progress and “nibbles” away at the available credit of a pre-paid user’s account. It also allows for dynamically sending audio to the pre-paid caller, alerting him that his account is about to run out and that that call will be disconnected. When the user’s credit runs out, the call disconnects and there is no need to handle awkward situations like negative balances.

In addition to the aforementioned additions, FreeSWITCH 1.0.4 contains numerous  updates, improvements, and bug fixes. The latest version is the most stable version available and all users are strongly encouraged to upgrade as soon as possible.

The FreeSWITCH development team would like to thank the many community members who have dontated their time and efforts to making FreeSWITCH such a successful open source project.

News on the official web site freeswitch.org:

• http://freeswitch.org/node/184

Related posts:

1. FreeSWITCH 1.0.4pre8 Now Available
2. Bootable ISO’s, Created Nightly!

This latest pre-release is now the most stable version of FreeSWITCH available. There have been numerous improvements and bug fixes. The community has been providing a lot of feedback and the developers are doing a good job of addressing any issues that are found. There are new features as well. One in particular that you may appreciate is a new FS API command: show distinct_channels.

Please keep those bug reports and feedback flowing. The developers are working very hard to make sure that every bug is squashed and every user concern is addressed. Keep up the good work.

Related posts:

1. FreeSWITCH 1.0.4pre6 Now Available
2. FreeSWITCH 1.0.4pre8 Now Available
3. FreeSWITCH 1.0.4pre7 Now Available

http://mirror.astlinux.org/freeswitch/daily/

Many thanks to all of the folks out there who are working so hard to make the FreeSWITCH community the best in the OSS world!

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1. FreeSWITCH 1.0.4 Officially Released – Skype, ZRTP, H.323, MRCP Now Supported

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The newest release of FreeSWITCH adds new features and improvements in stability, security, and performance. For example, support for ZRTP (www.zfone.com) was recently added. ZRTP is an opportunistic encryption protocol that allows for automatic encryption of RTP streams when both endpoints are ZRTP-enabled. Combining ZRTP with TLS, which encrypts signaling information, allows for complete end-to-end security in FreeSWITCH.

Also included with FreeSWITCH 1.0.4pre8 are the latest updates to the OPAL (www.opalvoip.org) integration and Skype. OPAL, the Open Phone Abstraction Library, adds H.323 support to FreeSWITCH. Skype functionality is added with the combination of the Skype’s proprietary client and FreeSWITCH’s mod_skypiax module. The Skype interface has new speed improvements as well as the ability to run as a service in Windows.

FreeSWITCH (www.freeswitch.org) is an open-source telephony platform that allows for the creation of voice, video, and chat-driven applications. Released under the business-friendly MPL, FreeSWITCH is a cross-platform communications library that runs natively on Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, and a number of Unix variants. FreeSWITCH can efficiently serve as a soft-switch, PBX, IVR, voicemail/auto attendant, and conference server. FreeSWITCH supports a number of protocols both for VoIP (such as SIP and H.323) and traditional TDM telephony with analog or digital interface cards.

Related posts:

1. FreeSWITCH 1.0.4 Officially Released – Skype, ZRTP, H.323, MRCP Now Supported
2. FreeSWITCH 1.0.4pre9 Now Available
3. FreeSWITCH 1.0.4pre6 Now Available

As always, if you are already on SVN trunk then please just do a “make current” to get your system updated.

Thanks for helping to make FreeSWITCH so awesome!

Related posts:

1. FreeSWITCH 1.0.4pre9 Now Available
2. FreeSWITCH 1.0.4pre8 Now Available
3. FreeSWITCH 1.0.4pre6 Now Available

FreeSWITCH development is moving forward rapidly, so please check back often. The official 1.0.4 release is very close. Having many people download the pre-release versions has helped tremendously. Please keep the feedback coming.

Related posts:

1. FreeSWITCH 1.0.4pre9 Now Available
2. FreeSWITCH 1.0.4pre7 Now Available
3. FreeSWITCH 1.0.4pre8 Now Available