Turnkey GVoice in PIAF-Purple

[wardmundy]

Just a heads up that we've tweaked PIAF-Purple installs to now provide turnkey Google Voice support. A new Google Voice FreePBX module by Marcus Brown now is included, and it takes less than 2 minutes to get everything set up. It works like this:

1. Create a Google Voice account with Google in the usual way (see below).
2. Install PIAF-Purple and open the FreePBX GUI with your browser.
3. Choose Admin, Google Voice and add one (or more) GV accounts. username is just that, no @gmail.com! (see example below)
4. Finally, log into your server as root and issue command: amportal restart

To make Outbound Calls, just add an Extension, set up a phone, and dial any 10-digit number in U.S./Canada (free!)

To receive Incoming Calls, create an Inbound Route using the DID of each Google Voice account you set up. Map the calls to the extension you set up. If you want to use CallerID Superfecta, first choose that option in FreePBX, click Default, and set the maint password to your FreePBX maint password. Then you can enable CID Superfecta in your extension setup.

SECURITY REMINDER: Use VERY SECURE extensions password AND lock down extension (using permit) to the IP address of your phone, e.g. 192.168.0.44/255.255.255.255

 

[RTOMikey]

with 13 accounts, and all kinds of junk, kinda hate to start over, I could always pull the production down for a bit late tonight, since all the businesses are closed for the holiday and dont use voicemail, then fire up a test unit and see how the overlay goes if you would like. by this point, I am quite adept at adding new accounts, but anything that can make life lazier for me is always welcome lol

 

[wardmundy]

This is a well integrated FreePBX module so all of the stuff goes into extensions_additional and a MySQL table. It also rewrites jabber.conf, etc so you couldn't really use both the old way and the new way. Should be fairly easy to clean out your old stuff and then reinstall each GV account using this new module, however. Let us know how it goes. Did we mention: make a backup.

 

[wardmundy]

Before You Try to Install on Existing Systems...

If you're considering installing this on an existing system, read this Help Thread first and, if you decide to go ahead and have issues, please post the problems there, not here. Be aware that this is early alpha software and may brick your system. It does not work at all with FreePBX 2.9. It appears to work just fine as already installed in new PIAF-Purple builds with FreePBX 2.8. But loading this on an existing production system is probably not a smart move at this juncture. You've been warned.

 

[wardmundy]

One final FYI: This module only works with @gmail.com addresses at the moment.

 

[MichiganTelephone]

Just a data point… I have no way to verify this but those interested in this module might find this interesting. A reader of my blog posted a comment on one of my Google Voice-related articles, talking about this module, and he mentioned that it won't work on 2.9.

In a reply comment, I said that "the fact that it doesn’t support FreePBX 2.9 will be a blocker for some potential users." To which he responded:

No telling when support for 2.9 will come out. I sent the developer a message asking when it will come out. I will post when he reponds.​

And then, just a bit over 20 minutes later, he posted this:

He got back with me. He would like to make a compatable 2.9 version, but he is not in a big hurry to make it. Seems he has issues with the developers. He states FreePBX is just one big bug.Here is his final comment on the subject, “bottom line is that I’m not going to write stuff for the benefit of others when I get treated like shit”​

THAT set me off on one of my tirades about FreePBX and its development team (I really pulled no punches). I'll spare you that but you can read it here (in the comments section under the main article) if you really want to (warning, it contains profanity). After that, he replied once more:

Yes it is a shame it has come to this. He informs me he has gone over to freeswitch. Though he did make a really nice Asterisk/FreePBX installation script for Debian. within 10 minutes you get both installed auctomatically after running the script. Sad it seems both Digium and FreePBX people running people off on on to other things than further development for these systems.

I have enjoyed your posts. Would hope you could continue to write on other subjects on VoIP and other telecom things than Asterisk and FreePBX.​

One of the reasons I have decided to give up blogging for the most part (except for occasionally using the blog as a storage place for information or thoughts I don't want to lose, and perhaps make available to others) is because I can see that my writing has become a lot more negative, and a lot of that is due to the direction FreePBX has taken and the FreePBX developers attitudes toward users and would-be developers. I just don't care to dwell in the negative that much, but everything about FreePBX seems to infuriate me these days.

So anyway, if you are thinking about using this module, be aware that the chances it will work with post 2.8 versions of FreePBX seem kind of slim at the moment. I know that 2.9 also broke Caller ID Superfecta and probably a few other third party modules, and the problem is they keep making changes in FreePBX that no one asked for that break existing modules that people have come to depend upon.

 

[mickecarlsson]

Google Voice DO work in FreePBX.
All you guys had to do was to ask if someone in the FreePBX Development team could look at it and see what they could do.
I did it, it was a five minute job. And here it is, from a FreePBX Developer that is Highly Confident in FreePBX!!
Open functions.inc.php in googlevoice module. Edit the beginning of the file from:

require_once("functions.inc.php");
require_once("extensions.class.php");

to this:

global $amp_conf;
// Do we run FreePBX 2.8?
if(file_exists($amp_conf['AMPWEBROOT']."/admin/extensions.class.php")) {
  // Yes, then include these files
  require_once("functions.inc.php");
  require_once("extensions.class.php");
  } else {
        //We are on a FreePBX 2.9 system
        require_once("libraries/extensions.class.php");
}

Oh, btw, if you have wasted the time to read the personal vendetta from MichiganTelephone, yes, I am the developer that he refers to .

Mikael Carlsson
FreePBX Development Team
My Ohloh profile
My FreePBX blog

 

[mickecarlsson]

I know that 2.9 also broke Caller ID Superfecta

Same with this module, a quick fix from me that was adopted by the Caller ID Superfecta developer.

It was first posted here: http://pbxinaflash.com/community/threads/cid-superfecta-freepbx-2-9.9560/?t=9560
The third post was by me how to fix it.

Same thing again, all you guys had to was to ask one of the FreePBX Developers if they could have a look at it. It was an easy five minute fix.

Mikael Carlsson
FreePBX Development Team

 

[wardmundy]

Thanks, Mikael.

A prepatched version 0.0.9.1 that works in both FreePBX 2.8 and 2.9 can be downloaded from our source repo.

This patch also has been applied in new PIAF-Purple base installs as well.

 

[mainenotarynet]

Just to clarify - for my own and others sanity.

Should the steps be:

delete old way of google voice (I have 4 now) from existing system
Download the patch provided by Mr Mundy (Which should already have the fix for FreePBX 2.9 provided by Mr Carlsson.

By deleting I mean open Jabber and delete the contents (since I thought I read the module will recreate the file anyways)
and also open extensions_custom.conf and delete all related Google entries in there as well.

I have a running 2.9 and wish to incorporate this module but it would help to get the steps I need in order before I satrt.

Thank You gentlemen.

 

[wardmundy]

I think (although I haven't yet tested it) that you'll also need to clean out the Google Voice contexts in extensions_custom.conf as well as the Google Voice trunks, inbound and outbound routes, and custom destinations in FreePBX.

 

[MichiganTelephone]

mickecarlsson: All we have to do is ask? THAT would certainly be a refreshing change from, say, taking the time to write up a bug report and having it closed by you within an hour, sometimes with a condescending comment. But on the theory that maybe you guys really are trying to turn over a new leaf, as it were, I'll ASK: If you don't intend to give us the option to return to the pre-2.8 method of entering outbound route and trunk patterns (which would be my first choice), would you at least PLEASE include an EASY way to export those patterns to a CSV file, so they can be edited and reused in another route or trunk?

How about if I ask, could you please remove the syntax checking for numbers only from the blacklist module, so people can blacklist things like "asterisk" (often sent by script kiddies in the Caller ID number field)? You can enter it in the blacklist database from the CLI, but not from the Blacklist module. For that matter, how about a way for expert users to disable syntax checking entirely?

The reason I am so critical sometimes is because, in my opinion, you guys make changes that no one asked for that break existing functionality and make things harder for users, you include syntax checking that gets in the way of things that expert users may want to do (with no way to disable it in case you really do know what you're doing), you close tickets (or reclassify bug reports to feature requests) without really giving them due consideration, and worst of all, you guys seem to have a pattern of making those who'd like to develop third-party modules feel about as welcome as a leper in an ancient Jewish temple. I'm not a developer so I have no idea why the latter happens, but I see it when I receive comments like the ones I posted above (which I did NOT in any way solicit).

But still, your comments offer some hope that just maybe you're wanting to be more responsive to your users, and if that is actually the case then I applaud that effort. And, thank you for fixing those two modules.

 

[mickecarlsson]

taking the time to write up a bug report and having it closed by you within an hour

It was a Feature Request, you didn't know how to make a custom trunk, someone pointed that out to you. End of story.

If you don't intend to give us the option to return to the pre-2.8 method of entering outbound route and trunk patterns

No, that won't happen.

would you at least PLEASE include an EASY way to export those patterns to a CSV file, so they can be edited and reused in another route or trunk

File a Feature Request

could you please remove the syntax checking for numbers only from the blacklist module, so people can blacklist things like "asterisk"

File a Feature Request

The reason that I fixed those two modules was to stop the endless whining, blogging, pointing fingers, name calling, hating verbs and what not over FreePBX 2.9.
The fact still stands: Not a single person/user cared to file a ticket over at freepbx org for the issues. Not even the developer themselves.
Wardmundy was quick to post that it was not working. Did he file a ticket? No, he did not. Why? I don't know.
It just follows the pattern of he stating "It does not work with FreePBX 2.9". The same issue with faxing where I proved him wrong. Did he thank me? No. Did he whine about it. Yes. Why? I don't know. Maybe I should ask him.

And, thank you for fixing those two modules.

You're welcome.

 

[wardmundy]

Wardmundy was quick to post that it was not working. Did he file a ticket? No, he did not. Why? I don't know.

Mikael,
I'm "quick to post" whenever I spot a problem that is blowing folks out of the water so that others can avoid suffering the same fate until we can figure out what the problem is. Neither the CallerID Superfecta issue nor the Google Voice issue were technically FreePBX bugs. Hence bug reports weren't filed. Historically, bug filings like these would have been closed noting that it wasn't actually a FreePBX bug. That's technically correct. These were really internal application problems that arose because of a pretty big change in FreePBX 2.9's internal "plumbing." Without name calling, I think what we all need to work through is a way of getting these issues addressed (and hopefully prevented) in future releases. We've urged the same approach with Asterisk. The most painless solution for those of us that build FreePBX apps and those that depend upon them would be to include code in future FreePBX releases that works through these issues internally or as part of the upgrade procedure without requiring rewrites of the apps themselves. Unfortunately, there really is nowhere a developer could have turned to learn what you were able to address in 5 minutes... because you knew what had been changed in FreePBX 2.9's internal plumbing. As a project manager, I probably would have vetoed relocating extensions.class.php and discontinuing direct access to functions.inc.php because alarm bells would have been going off about breakage, but different folks see things differently. I'm not being condescending, and I'm not trying to be the sofa quarterback. Just alerting you that, outside of a very small FreePBX Dev Team, it would have taken most folks months to work through why these apps stopped working when FreePBX plumbing modifications aren't carefully considered and even more carefully documented. Trace and debug tools are all but non-existent in the Asterisk and FreePBX worlds in which we all play.

 

[MichiganTelephone]

It was a Feature Request, you didn't know how to make a custom trunk, someone pointed that out to you. End of story.

Actually, I see that whole incident quite differently, but I don't want to beat that particular dead horse in this forum. However, I've seen other cases where you've closed tickets filed by others prematurely.

No, that won't happen.

Of course not. But is is a perfect example of how a developer make a change that no one asked for and that adversely affected many users.

File a Feature Request

So it can be ignored?

I did a search, and as I thought, someone has already requested an export feature (though they didn't specify CSV):

freepbx.org/trac/ticket/4881

Someone also asked for a trunk copy feature (why they didn't also ask for outbound routes I don't know):

freepbx.org/trac/ticket/3784

Anyway, I had sworn that after the whole debacle with Ticket #4798 that I would never file another ticket on your bug tracker again.

The reason that I fixed those two modules was to stop the endless whining, blogging, pointing fingers, name calling, hating verbs and what not over FreePBX 2.9.
The fact still stands: Not a single person/user cared to file a ticket over at freepbx org for the issues. Not even the developer themselves.
Wardmundy was quick to post that it was not working. Did he file a ticket? No, he did not. Why? I don't know.
It just follows the pattern of he stating "It does not work with FreePBX 2.9". The same issue with faxing where I proved him wrong. Did he thank me? No. Did he whine about it. Yes. Why? I don't know. Maybe I should ask him.

Ward, I hate to get into personal issues but I think the above deserves some kind of response, and I will try to keep it even and measured.

mickecarlsson: Can you not understand that the above response is the sort of thing that makes people REALLY dislike you? To describe people expressing their concerns as "whining" comes across as rude and arrogant.

I really don't know if you talk to people this way because you're basically a mean person at heart, or because there are some cultural differences between Swedish people and North Americans. I've never been to Sweden, so I don't know if it is common for people to talk in such a condescending manner to others there, but it certainly doesn't sit well with people here. You often come across as rude and abrupt. This is one reason I have said that of all people, you should not have anything to do with the ticket system, because your responses tend to infuriate people who have taken the trouble to first figure out how to submit a ticket, and then write it up. And when a person is treated that way ONCE, they tend not to want to endure it a second time.

So when you complain that people won't submit tickets, you might want to consider that your responses and the way you have summarily dismissed their previous tickets might be a big part of the cause of that.

One thing I have learned in my years on the planet is that there are many people, and computer programmers especially tend to fall into this category, that are much better in working with ideas and concepts than with people. All I'm saying is, maybe you should make an extra effort to be nice to people and try and put yourself in their shoes when you respond. Every person who files a ticket (unless they are "drunk posting" or something) has a genuine concern — something isn't working the way it used to, or in a way that would make it easier for them to use FreePBX. Maybe in some cases it is just a matter of them not knowing how to do something, but still, you could explain that without coming across the wrong way — and if you can't, then seriously, please let someone else respond to tickets.

I'll let Ward speak to your comments about him if he cares to (I see he already did while I was composing this message), but I would hope you would take what I have said as constructive criticism rather than a personal attack. As much bad blood as there has been between us, I really don't like to hate anyone (it does very bad things to one's karma). You just have a way of pushing people's buttons and you've pushed mine more than once. Please THINK before you post.

 

[MichiganTelephone]

Mikael,
I'm "quick to post" whenever I spot a problem that is blowing folks out of the water so that others can avoid suffering the same fate until we can figure out what the problem is. Neither the CallerID Superfecta issue nor the Google Voice issue were technically FreePBX bugs. Hence bug reports weren't filed. Historically, bug filings like these would have been closed noting that it wasn't actually a FreePBX bug. That's technically correct. These were really internal application problems that arose because of a pretty big change in FreePBX 2.9's internal "plumbing." Without name calling, I think what we all need to work through is a way of getting these issues addressed (and hopefully prevented) in future releases. We've urged the same approach with Asterisk. The most painless solution for those of us that build FreePBX apps and those that depend upon them would be to include code in future FreePBX releases that works through these issues internally or as part of the upgrade procedure without requiring rewrites of the apps themselves. Unfortunately, there really is nowhere a developer could have turned to learn what you were able to address in 5 minutes... because you knew what had been changed in FreePBX 2.9's internal plumbing. As a project manager, I probably would have vetoed relocating extensions.class.php and discontinuing direct access to functions.inc.php because alarm bells would have been going off about breakage, but different folks see things differently. I'm not being condescending, and I'm not trying to be the sofa quarterback. Just alerting you that, outside of a very small FreePBX Dev Team, it would have taken most folks months to work through why these apps stopped working when FreePBX plumbing modifications aren't carefully considered and even more carefully documented. Trace and debug tools are all but non-existent in the Asterisk and FreePBX worlds in which we all play.

Ward, I just want to applaud your response here. You have addressed the technical aspects of the problem in a way that I never could. I've been saying that the developers change things in FreePBX (often for no apparent good reason, and certainly not because users asked for such a change) that break third-party modules, but really could never articulate the way in which they are doing that as you have here. I think your explanation has gone a long way toward clarifying the issues.

I also think you are absolutely correct in saying that if we go by previous experience, any request for help fixing these modules would have been dismissed out of hand. I thought it a bit disingenuous when he said, "All you guys had to do was to ask if someone in the FreePBX Development team could look at it and see what they could do." As far as I've observed, that's never been the case before with the current development team (especially when the problem is with a third party module). If that statement reflects a change in policy then I think we all welcome that, but it's not a statement I would have ever expected to hear from a current FreePBX developer.

 

[mickecarlsson]

Ward, a Feature Request, or a question asked in our forum would have been sufficient. I do read this forum from time to time, clicking on Quick Links/Today's Posts. But my main focus is over at freepbx.org where I read everything posted.

I got frustrated when I read your fifth posting in this thread: "It does not work at all with FreePBX 2.9." and then you put a (in your mind) funny picture of an old paddle store (yours?) in it.

If something is broken when using FreePBX we do want to know about it. Even if it is a Third Party Module. A quick question: "I get a blank screen when I use Google Voice Module in 2.9, how can that be fixed?" on our forum would have gotten our attention. Or if the question have been asked in our IRC channel #freepbx-dev.

Another example is the thread "CID Superfecta + FreePBX 2.9". Here I stepped in after Tom posted "CallerID Superfecta is NOT presently compatible with FreePBX 2.9."
I looked at it and found the issue within a minute. Posted a fix as the third reply. As of today we/I have not got ANY feedback from Tom or the developers/piaf-staff about the patch supplied.

Just alerting you that, outside of a very small FreePBX Dev Team, it would have taken most folks months to work through why these apps stopped working when FreePBX plumbing modifications aren't carefully considered and even more carefully documented

Believe me, all modifications are carefully considered not to breaking any supported FreePBX module. We even test the active Third Party modules as well.
And Ward, months? A quick look in apaches error_log showed exactly what the problem was.

On the documentation side I can agree. We could be better
Here are some documentation for BootStrap: freepbx.org/trac/wiki/bootstrap.php

Take care Ward,
Mikael Carlsson
FreePBX Development Team

 

[wardmundy]

PBX in a Flash is a distribution that actively encourages the use of more than 50 add-on modules from dozens of developers. As I said before, when we know that one or more of those apps is broken with a new release of CentOS, Asterisk, or FreePBX, we feel some obligation to let all of our users know promptly. It's the only responsible thing to do!

Having said that, we don't necessarily have the time nor the skill set to solve every problem. But we at least notify our users so they can take the necessary precautions until the issue is resolved. If we happen to know that something is a bug in FreePBX or Asterisk, we almost always suggest that the bug be reported to the appropriate development team.

As for my occasional references to offensive artwork, you'll just have to endure or ignore it appreciating that it often gets me in trouble both with you and my wife.

 

[darmock]

Another example is the thread "CID Superfecta + FreePBX 2.9". Here I stepped in after Tom posted "CallerID Superfecta is NOT presently compatible with FreePBX 2.9."
I looked at it and found the issue within a minute. Posted a fix as the third reply. As of today we/I have not got ANY feedback from Tom or the developers/piaf-staff about the patch supplied.

Which Tom are you referring to? I certainly never posted in this thread

http://pbxinaflash.com/community/threads/cid-superfecta-freepbx-2-9.9560/?t=9560

.... Ahh I understand another Tom.... that explains it tshif is not part of the core team of PIAF developers and that explains why you never heard from us.

I must commend you for a patch to fix something as quick as you did. about 9 hours from his post *WOW*. I assume you wanted some glad handing and pounding on the back to show our appreciation. No Really I mean it.......THANKS. I hope this helps.

Best regards

Tom

 

[mickecarlsson]

My bad, tshif I should have written. Sorry if that was unclear.

I wish you the best with your distribution.
I will continue to work with our new great FreePBX Distro, so if I don't post here with bug fixes for your distro you know why.