Hardware server requirment

[sharu]

Hi,
I want to know hardware requirement for 150 agents both for inbound and outbound and number of calls will be 8000 combining both inbound and outbound

2.i already installed vicidial 2.2.1 on centos 5.4 64 bit in core i7 system and system specifications is
processor core i7
RAM 16GB
Hard disk 500GB

which is supporting 60 concurrent calls with 50 agents ..

so kindly help me on my requirment

[williamconley]

If you are setting up a 150 agent system, you would do very well to pay a Vicidial professional (perhaps even The Vicidial Group) to consult with you to be sure you skip the potholes.

I'll warn you now that your internal networking and your Internet connection must be Enterprise Level to support this endeavor. Most rooms experience Serious Problems as they pass from 100-150 users. Somewhere in that range ... Serious Networking Issues that "appear" to be Vicidial issues until networking problems are perfected and suddenly everything works properly. Thus proving the problem wasn't Vicidial after all.

That being said: When you say "combining both inbound and outbound", you skipped important information. Maximum load must be accounted for and there is a FREAKIN HUGE difference between 7000 inbound calls and 7000 outbound calls. (IE: if you have 8000 total calls, and of those 7000 are IN and 1000 OUT ... that is a completely different scenario than 7000 OUT and 1000 IN.)

If, However, you intend to grow into this gradually, here is your basic "build as you go" base:

Before you begin: UPGRADE! Then:

1 DB server with RAID 10 (15k SAS or SSD drives). Extra drives handy. Seriously. 8 processors, 16G RAM (32 if you can afford it)
1 Archive server with a multi-terabyte Mirror (for a "spare" dialer that can be used as a development box AND for archiving of audio files and data backups). Mirror RAID so you can lose a drive and NOT have to manually copy all the files back. Perhaps have this also rsynced to a second physical location (for catastrophic failure recovery). Generic server, 2G RAM, slow drives and 4 cores is fine.
2 WEB servers -> as many cores as you can afford. Faster processors is good (Note that you can make more of these later, if you need to, but the speed at which commands completes depends on the CPU speed of each and memory available). Hard drives can be very small. No storage here.
4 Dialers -> These can also have small HDs, but if you are recording calls they should be fast enough to allow fast copy from memory to HD (and then from this HD to the archive HD).
Be sure you have Gigabit switches between them. They should share a local network on the gigabit switch with any agents that are local having access to that local network as well. Watch for networking bottlenecks (ie: 10/100 network switch with too many agents on it trying to transmit to the dialer will cause problems for those agents). Also be sure each Dialer has a well-defined network path to the carrier that does not impede any other dialer. Preferably each having its own public IP with NO interference to traffic (firewalls such as pfSense should be avoided at all costs!).

Once you have that online: Check the load on them regularly and add more servers to accommodate your load in each category as you grow. And don't overlook my earlier advice to call The Vicidial Group and get personalized input on your system. (or another consultant who has actually dealt with this level of system ... accept no substitutes, anyone who has not managed a system in excess of 150 agents ... won't be useful when you have your problems).

[glenewhittenberg]

I have set up a few rooms from scratch and also been in a few that someone else setup. I agree with the network stuff. I advise certified cat5e or greater cable, top of rack HP managed switch for rack assets, more HP switches with teamed up-links into top of rack switch for agent nodes. Cant go wrong when you go enterprise class

May I ask why the no pfsense? I have had great luck using this in all my rooms. Of course I build those correctly with my latest being a super micro FTN4 with 8 core Adam. The new pfsense 2.1.2 seems to support the new i354 NIC just fine.

I ask this only as I want to be aware of problems others have had so I may avoid them someday.

So far pfsense has allowed me to stay functional while keeping china out of my a$$.

Thanks!

[williamconley]

pfSense vs Enterprise Router ... no contest: pfsense will be easier to manage. But then again, enterprise routers (which often require cisco certification) are not exactly simple to manage so it's not exactly a "feat" to be easier! LOL.

From that viewpoint you are a racecar mechanic by comparison to a "joe on the side of the road" mechanic. And in your case, you could probably work equally well on either type of vehicle (regular public hardware vs Top Fuel). But this is "joe on the side of the road" here and for him a generic mini-van will do nicely whereas something with a "bonnet" or "special capabilities" is always gonna put gum in the works.

This has been the case with pfSense and Vicidial. Ultimately it can be easily managed, but equally easily mis-managed and the cost to have someone dig in and find what's wrong .. is often more than the replacement hardware (public level, generic router) would have cost. And in most cases a generic router WILL do just as well as pfSense or a Class B Cisco Router, LOL. It does NOT require a Maserati to get from my house to the shopping center across the street, and there is NO way I would recommend that someone give such a cool piece of equipment to the rough equivalent of a teenager who will Without A Doubt "Grind those Gears" just trying to get it going. Especially since that same teenager would have NO problem jumping into the seat of a mini-van and "just driving". Since that is less expensive, easier to operate, and UNlikely to result in horrible grinding noises ...

We have always found that any client who has pfSense AND an "unusual networking problem" can resolve said problem without paying US any money by removing pfSense. And when they are no longer "teenagers" and actually care to delve again, they may go back and have a look at that Maserati. But honestly: This is not a battle worth fighting, as a rule they would prefer to go back to Making Money and skip all this cool IT stuff. (If they have a persistent IT person, they may work through it ... but most Owners and Managers consider this a waste of time ...).

And for the record: We do NOT recommend enterprise level hardware at any stage of the game Except for two circumstances:

1) If you intend (in the near future) to grow to an enterprise call center and are choosing your first server hardware ... get a COOOL server that can ultimately become your DB server so you will never have to move the DB. Blow the cash on the raid10, redundant power supplies, SSD, 8 cores (or more! LOL) and lots of memory. OK: Memory can be easily added later if you want to keep it down just a bit.

2) If you are NOW already above 50 agents, or intend (as in have a budget for it already!) to head over 100 agents in the near future ... enterprise is the way to go. Get a good VOIP network consultant to visit if possible. Most rooms top out under 50 and never actually need all this stuff and it's a waste of precious startup resources to go there. Enterprise CAN be stepped up to with cash from the operating enterprise. There can often be a bit of extra expense from that, but reality of startup costs can make that "later" money much more easily dealt with than the "first couple months" money. Seriously.

[glenewhittenberg]

agreed. the setup is very very important. pfsense gives you so much it is easy to step on your own feet and make it just not work. My clients like the ability of sharing a single internet connection and still maintaining call quality. Other things like forcing proxy login and tracking usage, URL filtering, blocking ip ranges on the LAN from using the WAN, Nice traffic reporting, etc., make it a good fit almost anywhere, for me anyway. Like i said, can be a major headache if not setup correctly And the cost, compared to the likes of Cisco

[williamconley]

And compare that "power" to the cost: A generic router can cost about $100 (or $25 if you're a real cheapskate and near a tigerdirect store). Generic routers can be configured by just about anyone. OR the user who has installed pfsense can pay someone such as you or I to fix their pfSense at Emergency service level ... possibly $200 or more. Cost-wise, that doesn't make sense. Just buy a generic router, configure it normally, and work pfsense back into your system "when you have time to care".

[glenewhittenberg]

I concur. sometimes its tough to balance this when you are tech. i always want to use the best and set myself up for success. The client sometimes has no idea what they need but just wants it to work for the least amount of money. My perceived success does not always line up with theirs