From the All Nodes Net last night, it’s really only old Hamvoip nodes that won’t work with 7XXXXX node numbers when they roll them out later this year, so perhaps a bit misleading to promote an upgrade to ASL3. Though, the ancient version of Arch that Hamvoip is running with an ancient kernel and ancient version of Asterisk is concerning (I run ALS3 myself), but Hamvoip is still king for nodes with a lot 100 or more connections due to optimizations, and Hamvoip is more stable, as if I leave my ASL3 node up for more than a week or two it will crash with the SD card access solid (I reboot weekly, but Hamvoip would run indefinitely). Though ASL3 is quite the project using a newer Debian OS with current version of Asterisk still under development while still receiving security updates, which is important as we have ports open to the internet for the node to take incoming connections from Allstarlink and Echolink. And the last update on the Hamvoip website is from 2022, with the forum still down, so is David doing anything more than basic reported bug maintenance? He does give updates on the Win System Tech Net he participates in, but I haven’t tuned in for a while.
AllStarLink Node Number Policy Changes
February 1, 2026
As you may know, AllStarLink operates on the concept of node numbers, and, similar to telephone numbers, these node numbers are a finite resource. As AllStarLink continues to experience rapid growth, administrative changes are needed. AllStarLink is making two changes to its policies around node numbers that will impact some users of the AllStarLink system. Please read this carefully.
Reclamation of Unused Five-Digit Node Numbers
Beginning on April 3, 2026, AllStarLink is implementing a policy of reclaiming five-digit node numbers that have not been used in at least 24 months. This includes five-digit node numbers that have been extended to “NNX” six-digit numbers where all NNX numbers are also dormant. If you no longer use AllStarLink or no longer plan to use these node numbers, simply do nothing and they will be reclaimed automatically with no further action on your part. If you want to keep a node number, please put the five-digit node number or one of the NNX numbers back online by April 2, 2026. Doing so will mark your node as active and no longer eligible for reclamation.
Issuance of Random, Non-Sequential Node Numbers
Soon, in conjunction with ongoing data cleanup and node reclamation, node numbers will no longer be assigned in sequence. Node numbers will be assigned randomly from any available number between 20000 to 29999 and 40000 and 69999. Number beginning with “3” will still signify EchoLink connections.
Issuance of Five-Digit Node Numbers Starting with “7”
At the current rate of sequential issuance, leaving aside the reclamation work above, the projection is for AllStarLink to have issued all node numbers starting with “2”, “4”, “5”, and “6” sometime in mid-2026. Reclaiming the unused node numbers will help, but at some point AllStarLink will start allocating nodes starting with “7”. This is important because some versions of HamVOIP include special handling of node numbers that begin with a “7”, specifically associating those with IRLP nodes. IRLP has never welcomed cross-network linking, has in the past specifically requested that ASL not interlink, and actively looks for and blocks cross-network linking. AllStarLink itself has never supported this special handling. To minimize connectivity issues between ASL 7xxxx nodes and HamVOIP nodes/servers, AllStarLink suggests upgrading legacy HamVOIP installations to ASL3 as soon as practical.
Technical Questions & Account Help
As always, technical help is available at https://community.allstarlink.org. Assistance with account logins can be send to helpdesk@allstarlink.net.
sincerely,
The AllStarLink Infrastructure Team