Prioritize Asterisk Process

You can experiment with different values and see what works best.  I wouldn't go too high as it could cause other problems.  From the command 'top' the PR column shows absolute priority and NI column is the relative number we add here.  Default is 0 which gives Asterisk about the same default priority as httpd and mysql.  5-10 should give top priority without crippling critical background tasks.  I believe this setting can go as high as 20.  This is only a prioritization recommendation setting.  The linux process scheduler still has ultimate authority so actual priority will vary from system to system depending on what else is installed.
nano +22 /usr/sbin/safe_asterisk
PRIORITY=10