Allstar Installation and Setup

The following assumes you have registered with Allstarlink.org and received a node number.

The Allstar software is the heart of this system and what does most of the magic to make it work. Allstar is based on, and an extension of the Asterisk telephone system. If you happen to be familiar with Asterisk then Allstar will be easier for you to understand. This system runs on a Linux operating system of which there are many distributions. The two most common used are Debian and ArchLinux. Both of these Linux distributions can run on standard computers or on ARM based computers such as the Raspberry Pi's. 

There are two main flavors or Allstar that we will be concerned with. My preferred choice is the HamVoIP version located HERE. The other version is from AllstarLink's website located HERE. The first one we are going to talk about happens to be the most newbie friendly in my opinion and that is the HamVoIP installation on a Raspberry Pi. For this installation you will need the following:

Hardware
- Raspberry Pi 2,3 or 4 (Including the power supply)
- A Case with a Fan for your Raspberry Pi
- Raspberry Pi Heat Sink Kit
- Micro SD Card at least 8GB in size
- Micro SD card reader
- HDMI Cable to connect the Pi to some type of monitor
- A Computer Monitor (or LCD/LED TV)
- USB Keyboard
- Ethernet Cable to connect to your network and the internet
Software
- WinSCP File manager Client
- Putty SSH/Telnet Client
- Win32Disk Imager Software
- The correct image for your Raspberry Pi 2,3 or 4


Writing the Image to the SD Card (Assuming you are using Windows as your computer)
Upon downloading the image, it will be zipped up. Using your favorite software (WinRAR, WinZIP, 7Zip) unzip it and you will be left with a .img file. 
Now open Win32 Disk Imager and click on the file folder icon and search for where you save and unzipped the image. 



Once you have found and selected the image, under "Device" select the drive letter that corresponds with the Micro SD card. Once this is done the "Write" button should illuminate, double check that the drive letter is correct and click "Write". 
When all is said and done, it should say "Write Successful" which means the SD Card is ready to be inserted in the Raspberry Pi. 

First Run
Make sure you have the Pi at the very least Connected to your Monitor and Keyboard with your SD card inserted BEFORE you power the Pi on. When you power the Pi on you should get your Power On Self Test (POST) screen and the Pi should begin to boot up. Soon you will be presented with a menu asking you questions about your system and Allstar node. 
Some of these questions will pertain to setting up your network. Depending on the model Pi you have, you may have Wireless Networking. Since this Pi will be acting as your host it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you use a wired Ethernet connection and not a wireless one for your final installation. The reason being is that more often then not, a Wireless Connection will have packet drops which in turn causes gaps in your RX and/or TX audio. It is also HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that the IP address of the Pi be static and not use DHCP. The reason for this is you are most likely going to be forwarding ports through your router for outside Allstar nodes to connect to you and also for the ability of the RTCM's and/or Voter Boards to contact the Host behind your router. 
Once you have established network connectivity you now can use Putty on your computer to SSH into the Pi to issue commands and make changes and also use WinSCP to edit files if you wish. After this, you should not longer need the external monitor and keyboard. 

Along with what I have written, HamVoIP.org has good directions to get you up an running as well. It is geared more towards their version of software but it is widely applicable.