# Asterisk Project : Asterisk 12 Documentation

Added by mjordan , edited by mjordan on Dec 20, 2013

This space provides documentation for Asterisk 12. As a Standard Release of Asterisk, this version has the following milestones:

Milestone | Date
--- | ---
Initial Beta Release | 10/09/2013
Initial Release | 12/20/2013
End of Maintenance Window | 12/20/2014
End of Security Fix Window | 12/20/2015

As a Standard Release, the focus of development for this release of Asterisk included architectural improvements as well as major new features. This includes:

- A new extensible and performant SIP channel driver built on the pjsip SIP stack.
- Application of the Asterisk bridging framework throughout the project, providing consistency to management of channels while they are in a bridge.
- Stasis, a new internal message bus that conveys state about channels, bridges, endpoints, devices, and other objects throughout Asterisk.
- A heavily revamped version of AMI, focusing on improved channel semantics and consistency of event information.
- A new interface, the Asterisk REST Interface (ARI), which allows an external application to manipulate channels, bridges, and other telephony primitives directly.

It is highly recommended that users of Asterisk upgrading to Asterisk 12 read the UPDATE notes. In particular, users of AMI, CDRs, and CEL should read the respective specifications to assist with the behavioral changes.