VitalPBX – A Highly Useful Open Source VoIP PBX to Take Your Business to the Next Level

If you’re looking for the smoothest user interface in the VoIP universe that can act as the upper layer interface for the Linux base and Asterisk, the good news is that such a tool is now available. While many of you might have guessed about what I’m talking about, many others may be wondering what it might be. And those who are using and love Ombutel and Asterisk are going to love this tool.

Well, I am talking about VitalPBX! VitalPBX is an open source VoIP PBX and has been designed to provide a free telephone and communication system for businesses. This comprehensive platform can be easily installed on the physical hardware on your website or as a hosted application. VitalPBX acts just as what you’re looking for i.e. as the upper layer interface for the Linux base and even Asterisk which is one of world’s most popular communication toolkits. Thus, VitalPBX is a highly responsive graphic user interface that improves the management of Asterisk servers between you and the complex world of modern communications in a speedy, intuitive and safe way. It offers a 3-level intuitive menu that simplifies locating the item that you want to configure.

Prominent Features

Here are some major features of VitalPBX:

• There are no limitations regarding which device or browser to use while using VitalPBX. It can be used from any device and browser because it transparently adapts to all devices, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, PC, Linux or Mac.
• There is a magnifier sign in the top right corner of each dialog touching which you can activate the system-wide global search option, letting you search extensions, conferences, modules, trunks, call queues, DISA, etc. easily.
• You’ll also find an icon list in the top right corner of most modules. Pressing the icon opens a list of all the objects that have been generated by that module. Here too you’ll find a magnifier sign which can be used as a filter. You can do that by typing in any part of the name of the object you’re looking for and you’ll see all the matching results.
• A great feature of the VitalPBX is that it has been designed in such a way that you can see all the information on a single page and you won’t have to scroll down and lose the sight of the rest of the information. You’ll see, therefore, that most dialogs are split into multiple tabs that allow you to see all the details of the current object.
• Another great feature of VitalPBX is that it’s multi-tab. This means that you can work on any tab in any dialog without having to close the previous tab, enabling you to work on various tabs of the dialog, or even various dialogs. You don’t have to go through the hassle of saving data in one tab before opening a new tab. You can work on multiple dialogs or tabs at the same time.
• At the bottom of the page, there will always be the Save and Delete buttons. They are there regardless of the size of the page.
• You can hide the left-hand navigation menu and thus obtain more screen space. This can be done by touching the button in the upper left of each dialog.
• The tooltips in all fields come in handy to access the help.

Freeware Product

VitalPBX features several open source and GPL components such as Asterisk based phone systems like Asterisk 13.19.0; but, it’s a freeware product and combines proprietary components and commercial modules into its distribution. It may not become your favorite business model, but you can certainly understand the justification, given the unsatisfactory GPL history in the VoIP space.

It’s worth noting that the commercial offerings of VitalPBX have a free tier so that you can play with things.

• Custom Contexts: 1 free context
• Sonata Switchboard: 1 free layout for 15 extensions
• Sonata Recordings: free for 8 extensions
• Sonata Billing: free for 8 extensions
• IVR Status: 1 free IVR
• Phone Books: totally free
• Bulk Extensions: totally free
• Domotic: totally free

Installation

You can install VitalPBX from an ISO which offers you a choice of platforms, VMware ESXi, dedicated hardware, VirtualBox or a limited number of cloud platforms that support custom ISO installations. If you’re already accustomed to setting up FreePBX-based Asterisk servers, installation and configuration of VitalPBX would be a breeze.

Security

While setting up a VitalPBX server, you should keep in mind that VitalPBX includes an IPtables firewall configuration for firewalld as well as a Fall2Ban intrusion detection setup. This is impressive. But you should also remember that the IPtables firewall allows unlimited SIP and web access with no regulations to thwart SipVicious-type attacks. Unless you’re a firewall design expert, it’s strongly recommended to deploy VitalPBX on a private LAN behind a hardware-based firewall or home router without any port forwarding. This will block intrusion attempts without facing NAT problems which VitalPBX and Asterisk 13 handle easily now.

Easy Navigation

VitalPBX is extremely intuitive. However, there would always be a learning curve and you’ll come across something new every time once you complete the Asterisk PBX download. Some things to remember are:

• All the UI features are accommodated under menus in the column on the left. Upon choosing an option, a submenu opens and when you click + next to an item on the submenu, it offers additional choices.
• In the upper right corner of the GUI, there will be two other important icons. After you make any changes to settings in the GUI, you should reload the Asterisk diaplan by clicking (1) the flashing icon. If you don’t, you cannot obtain your settings.
• Whenever you add a new trunk, extension or route, you’ll see (2) the four-bar icon clicking which you can access existing settings. Or else, you’ll get a blank screen without your new entries. You can imagine how upsetting it might be when you see your newly added extensions disappeared the next time you navigate to PBX:Extensions.
• Lastly, at the top of the center panel of the GUI, you can see tabs on items you’ve lately worked on. This is extremely convenient because you can easily get back to the item without needing to go through the menus again.

VitalPBX is a highly useful GUI for businesses as it simplifies communications and takes your business to the next level. So, have you started planning to get VitalPBX for your company?