Many eons ago, I played with something called Asterisk@Home. The idea was fairly simple: a pre-rolled Linux OS with the Asterisk open-source PBX pre-installed. Just download the ISO, burn it to CD, put the CD in a box and within a half an hour or so, you have a functioning Asterisk server complete with a web interface to make configuring and using it much easier.

Asterisk@Home continued to develop and eventually changed it's name to Trixbox. Trixbox ended up being "acquired" by IP PBX maker Fonality. While Fonality did commit to keeping an open version of Trixbox, they are also now selling products based on Trixbox and incorporating some non open-source components into their product.

Ward Mundie, the mastermind behind the Asterisk tips-and-tricks site Nerd Viddles decided to do something about this sad state of affairs: he created PBX in a Flash!

Like the original Asterisk@Home, PBX in a Flash is an ISO image you download, burn onto a CD, and stick in an old PC. Within a half an hour or so, you've got a functional Asterisk installation. In addition, you have access to all the Asterisk goodies Ward Mundie and others have created over the years.

Even if you don't have a spare PC to run this on, there are also VMware images available. If you have a relatively beefy computer, this will allow you to experiment without dedicating a computer to the cause.

Ward is quick: it's only been a few weeks and the 1.1 release is already out there! Get downloading, try it out, and let us know what you think!