8ix Zenith CE For Linux

8ix Zenith CE (Community Edition) is a community-derived distribution of Linux based off of KahelOS, which in turn is derived from the powerful and lightweight Arch Linux operating system. It is built around the Asterisk PBX (Private Branch Exchange) software and can be used to built VoIP servers in a shortest time as possible.

The Community edition of 8ix Zenith can be downloaded through Softpedia or via the project’s website (see link above) as a Live CD ISO image that fits perfectly on a CD disc and includes software packages optimized only for the 32-bit (i686) instruction set architecture.

When booting the ISO image from the BIOS of a computer, using either a CD disc or a USB flash drive, you will be able to boot the operating system in live mode, without installing anything on your computer. It includes supports for IDE drives (the default option supports SATA drives), as well as the ability to shutdown or restart the machine.

Being designed from the ground up as a server-oriented operating system for deploying a capable and reliable VoIP telephony solution based on Asterisk, 8ix Zenith CE features no graphical desktop environment. You will be dropped to a shell prompt, where you must use the “root” or “zenith” usernames without password to login. To install it, just follow the instructions on the screen.

Being based on Arch Linux, the distribution follows a rolling-release model, which means that you won’t have to download an ISO image every time a new release is out. However, the project is no longer under active development since June 2009 and it has been archived for historical references purposes only.