How to Install Asterisk 22 PBX on Ubuntu 24.04

Install Asterisk

To install Asterisk, you’ll need to install some essential packages first. Run the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install wget build-essential subversion

We’ll be downloading Asterisk packages manually, so let’s put them in the [/usr/src] directory where most source files are stored.

To accomplish that, navigate to the /usr/src directory and download Asterisk.

To obtain the latest version of Asterisk, access the package repository here. Then, update the version number in the commands below with the newest release.

As of this writing, the current version is [22].

cd /usr/src/
sudo wget http://downloads.asterisk.org/pub/telephony/asterisk/asterisk-22-current.tar.gz

Once the Asterisk file is downloaded, extract it, navigate to its directory, and run the installation script. This will download and install all required dependencies, including MP3 modules.

sudo tar zxf asterisk-22-current.tar.gz
cd asterisk-22.*/
sudo contrib/scripts/get_mp3_source.sh
sudo contrib/scripts/install_prereq install

After running the commands above, the script will download and install all necessary packages. It will then display a success message similar to the one shown below:

Current status: 51 (-9) upgradable.
#############################################
## install completed successfully
#############################################

Next, run the commands below to configure Asterisk, perform checks, and validate that everything is working correctly.

sudo ./configure

Upon successful completion, the output should display lines similar to the following:

configure: Menuselect build configuration successfully completed

               .$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$=..      
            .$7$7..          .7$$7:.    
          .$$:.                 ,$7.7   
        .$7.     7$$$$           .$$77  
     ..$$.       $$$$$            .$$$7 
    ..7$   .?.   $$$$$   .?.       7$$$.
   $.$.   .$$$7. $$$$7 .7$$$.      .$$$.
 .777.   .$$$$$$77$$$77$$$$$7.      $$$,
 $$$~      .7$$$$$$$$$$$$$7.       .$$$.
.$$7          .7$$$$$$$7:          ?$$$.
$$$          ?7$$$$$$$$$$I        .$$$7 
$$$       .7$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$      :$$$. 
$$$       $$$$$$7$$$$$$$$$$$$    .$$$.  
$$$        $$$   7$$$7  .$$$    .$$$.   
$$$$             $$$$7         .$$$.    
7$$$7            7$$$$        7$$$      
 $$$$$                        $$$       
  $$$$7.                       $$  (TM)     
   $$$$$$$.           .7$$$$$$  $$      
     $$$$$$$$$$$$7$$$$$$$$$.$$$$$$      
       $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.                

configure: Package configured for: 
configure: OS type  : linux-gnu
configure: Host CPU : x86_64
configure: build-cpu:vendor:os: x86_64 : pc : linux-gnu :
configure: host-cpu:vendor:os: x86_64 : pc : linux-gnu :

Next, you will need to choose some modules to compile and install. You can access the menu system using the commands below:

sudo make menuselect

To use MP3 as our audio format, please select [format_mp3] as shown in the image below.

To save and exit, press F12 or select the Save and Exit button and press Enter.

After finishing everything, run the commands below to begin the compilation process.

sudo make -j2

The compilation process may take some time, depending on your system. The -j flag followed by a number represents the number of CPUs on your server. If your server has more than 2 CPU cores, update it accordingly.

After compiling the packages and modules, you should see a success message like the one below:

+--------- Asterisk Build Complete ---------+
 + Asterisk has successfully been built, and +
 + can be installed by running:              +
 +                                           +
 +                make install               +
 +-------------------------------------------+

Once you have completed the previous steps, you can proceed to install Asterisk by executing the following commands:

sudo make install

After the installation, you should see a similar message as below:

 +---- Asterisk Installation Complete -------+
 +                                           +
 +    YOU MUST READ THE SECURITY DOCUMENT    +
 +                                           +
 + Asterisk has successfully been installed. +
 + If you would like to install the sample   +
 + configuration files (overwriting any      +
 + existing config files), run:              +
 +                                           +
 + For generic reference documentation:      +
 +    make samples                           +
 +                                           +
 + For a sample basic PBX:                   +
 +    make basic-pbx                         +
 +                                           +
 +                                           +
 +-----------------  or ---------------------+
 +                                           +
 + You can go ahead and install the asterisk +
 + program documentation now or later run:   +
 +                                           +
 +               make progdocs               +
 +                                           +
 + **Note** This requires that you have      +
 + doxygen installed on your local system    +
 +-------------------------------------------+

The installation is complete.

You can start configuring your system now. First, consider adding some sample data to assist in configuring your platform. To do this, run the commands below:

sudo make samples
sudo make basic-pbx

Finish the configuration by running the commands below:

sudo make config
sudo ldconfig

Create Asterisk User

We don’t want to run Asterisk as the root user. Therefore, let’s create a dedicated user to manage Asterisk.

To accomplish this, run the commands below to create a user account and a group named Asterisk.

sudo addgroup --quiet --system asterisk
sudo adduser --quiet --system --ingroup asterisk --no-create-home --disabled-password asterisk

After creating the account above, open the /etc/default/asterisk file and make the highlighted changes below:

sudo nano /etc/default/asterisk

Then, make the highlighted changes below and save the file.

# Uncomment the following and set them to the user/groups that you
# want to run Asterisk as. NOTE: this requires substantial work to
# be sure that Asterisk's environment has permission to write the
# files required  for  its  operation, including logs, its comm
# socket, the asterisk database, etc.
AST_USER="asterisk"
AST_GROUP="asterisk"

After that, add an asterisk user to the dialout and audio groups:

sudo usermod -a -G dialout,audio asterisk

Permissions for all Asterisk files and directories should be modified to grant ownership to the respective users.

sudo chown -R asterisk: /var/{lib,log,run,spool}/asterisk /usr/lib/asterisk /etc/asterisk
sudo chmod -R 750 /var/{lib,log,run,spool}/asterisk /usr/lib/asterisk /etc/asterisk

Start Asterisk

At this stage, everything is complete. Execute the commands below to enable and start the Asterisk service.

sudo systemctl enable asterisk
sudo systemctl start asterisk

To verify that Asterisk is running, run the commands below:

sudo asterisk -vvvr

You’ll see the default Asterisk CLI prompt:

Asterisk 22.2.0, Copyright (C) 1999 - 2025, Sangoma Technologies Corporation and others.
Created by Mark Spencer <markster@digium.com>
Asterisk comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; type 'core show warranty' for details.
This is free software, with components licensed under the GNU General Public
License version 2 and other licenses; you are welcome to redistribute it under
certain conditions. Type 'core show license' for details.
=========================================================================
Connected to Asterisk 22.2.0 currently running on Ubuntu (pid = 54532)
Ubuntu*CLI> 

Many Ubuntu installations do not have a firewall enabled. You should be allowed access through the ports listed below if you have one.

By default, SIP operates on UDP port 5060. Please ensure that this port is open.

sudo ufw allow 5060/udp

For Real-Time Protocol (RTP), open the following port range:

sudo ufw allow 10000:20000/udp

That should do it!

Conclusion:

• Asterisk 22 PBX on Ubuntu 24.04 provides a flexible and cost-effective solution for telecommunication needs.
• The installation process, while detailed, allows users to customize their PBX system according to specific requirements.
• Leveraging Asterisk’s features such as voicemail, call conferencing, and IVR can enhance communication capabilities significantly.
• Proper configuration and management through a dedicated user ensure security and efficient operation.
• Regular updates and maintenance will help keep your Asterisk system running smoothly and securely.
• Utilize community resources and documentation for troubleshooting and expanding functionalities as needed.