System information

CHAPTER 8
Voicemail
Just leave a message, maybe I’ll call.
—Joe Walsh
Before email and instant messaging became ubiquitous, voicemail was a popular
method of electronic messaging. Even though most people prefer text-based messaging
systems, voicemail remains an essential component of any PBX.
Comedian Mail
One of the most popular (or, arguably, unpopular) features of any modern telephone
system is voicemail. Asterisk has a reasonably flexible voicemail system named Come-
dian Mail.
*
Some of the features of Asterisk’s voicemail system include:
• Unlimited password-protected voicemail boxes, each containing mailbox folders
for organizing voicemail
• Different greetings for busy and unavailable states
• Default and custom greetings
• The ability to associate phones with more than one mailbox and mailboxes with
more than one phone
• Email notification of voicemail, with the voicemail optionally attached as a sound
file
†
• Voicemail forwarding and broadcasts
• Message-waiting indicator (flashing light or stuttered dialtone) on many types of
phones
• Company directory of employees, based on voicemail boxes
* This name was a play on words, inspired in part by Nortel’s voicemail system Meridian Mail.
† No, you really don’t have to pay for this—and yes, it really does work.
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