DBI help please

[RyanSazon]

Hello,

Is DBI important for ViciDial? how important it is?

I've tried to install the DBI as per the manual but the DBI stuck on a certain part and never responds.

t/zvg_35thrclone.t ....................1/20

It's been like an hour but still no progress.

is there any workarounds to fix this? Please let me know your expert opinion and suggestions.

Thanks

[williamconley]

DBI is an absolute requirement.

You have not posted a link to the installation instructions you are attempting to use ... which means no one can really help you because we have NO idea where you are (OS, nothing! LOL).

Why are you installing manually instead of via Vicibox.com's .iso image!

[RyanSazon]

Hello William,

Thanks for the quick reply. I'm sorry for this, I'm such a newbie to vicidial and ubuntu server 8.4 LTS

I've used the ViciDial for dummies as a guide. Page 54.

the link was not posted sue to spam error from this site.

I'm using the ubuntu server 8.04 LTS as OS.

if you need anything, please let me know.

[williamconley]

Why are you installing manually instead of via Vicibox.com's .iso image!

Seriously! Why?


you may want to use a later version of Ubuntu (like 12.04LTS?) ... or use the installation instructions available in the vicidial source code (which I believe was written for 8.04LTS). There is also an .iso installer for 8.04LTS with a very old release of Vicidial (2.0.5) using an .iso image called "Vicibox 1.0.0RC2".

[RyanSazon]

Honestly, I really don't know what I'm doing. That's the only guide I had so I followed the instructions though I'm aware that there are newly released versions. We can't afford to pay for the technicians installing the vicidial because they charge us $500 per seats. So here I am, stuck on this manual.

If it's ok, can you recommend any work arounds on how to install the DBI on my version of OS and vicidial, or any sites for instructions on how to install the new version of vicidial in an easiest way. (though links for the instructions and downloads will do)

Thanks a lot William.

[ZoVoS]

http://download.vicidial.com/iso/vicibox/server/

ViciBox.x86_64-4.0.3.iso <--- if you have a 64bit server use this
ViciBox_v4-Install.pdf <--- comprehensive guide how to install

If you have a reason for setting it up on a pre-existing box drop me a pm and ill talk you through whatever issues you are having but tbh just burn the ISO to disk insert and enjoy.

[williamconley]

Honestly, I really don't know what I'm doing. That's the only guide I had so I followed the instructions though I'm aware that there are newly released versions. We can't afford to pay for the technicians installing the vicidial because they charge us $500 per seats. So here I am, stuck on this manual.

If it's ok, can you recommend any work arounds on how to install the DBI on my version of OS and vicidial, or any sites for instructions on how to install the new version of vicidial in an easiest way. (though links for the instructions and downloads will do)

Thanks a lot William.

Seriously, take the advise and just download the .iso from Vicibox.com and install it. No linux school needed. And DBI will be "handled" by the installer. LOL

[RyanSazon]

Thanks to both of you.

I will try to install and have this up and running.

I'll get back to you for the updates.

BTW, what is the difference of preloaded ISO and ISO only?

[williamconley]

If you use the PDF manual from vicibox.com to "install" and then the Vicidial Manager's Manual (from eflo.net) to "configure" ... you should have very few hiccups.

Hint: Do not skip anything in the Manager's Manual. Start on page one and skip NOTHING until you have everything working. Hit a bump? Tell us the manual version, page, line .. and a detailed description of the bump (screen shot, url, code from CLI ... whatever). Do hide your URL or user/pass/ip address, but post everything else pertinent.

[RyanSazon]

What should I choose for easy installation? is that the Vicibox 32- bit standard or the Vicibox 32- bit Preload?

Thanks

[williamconley]

We always recommend 64 bit standard unless you have a 32bit processor. Has the most users and is pretty much bug-free. If you can't manage the Wizard install in that, you had NO CHANCE of installing the way you were before. LOL. You'll do fine.

[RyanSazon]

We use 64 Bit PC's and server in production but for now, I'm using a 32 bit server just for testing. Once this works pretty well, then I will install the 64 bit. I also read the installation process on the vicibox site and it's quite easy and straight forward, even a 10 year old kid can do it. LOL

Thanks for the support William. I'll keep you posted on the progress.

[williamconley]

We recommend Virtual Machines for test installs. Only supports one agent, but it is just a test after all. We use VMware, Virtualbox, and my favorite vSphere (free versions of all work fine). I have not yet had the pleasure of trying proxmox, but I hear it's quite good, too.

In a virtual machine, a screwup can often be reverted to "oops, I didn't really do that" in a few seconds. Without a full reinstall. Handy.

[RyanSazon]

Yes. I heard about those VM's but it dosen't wok on our PC's, Our IT won't allow us due to some security issues... (I dob't think that's true, because they can't event install vicidial on our PC's...LOL)

[RyanSazon]

Can I do dual boot for viciBox installation?

I want to run windows at the same time with the opensuse with the vicibox .iso

How to do it?

Thanks

[williamconley]

i would not recommend it. but you could just pop out the HD and use a fresh one, then put the old one back in when you're done. it would be interesting to try, of course ... but not something i'd want to do on a first attempt.

put it on an old P4 you have lying around. doesn't need a monitor or mouse (or even a kbd after the install is done!). it can just be a tower sitting in a corner humming with a power cord and network cable and nothing else.

[RyanSazon]

Hello Guys,

The vicidial works perfectly on our center without any sweat.

I would like to thank William Conley and ZoVoS for the help and understanding me.

Thanks for all the tips and links. Without you guys, I'm stuck in a deep hole.

Thank again Guys, I owe you a beer...

[williamconley]

Hello Guys,

The vicidial works perfectly on our center without any sweat.

I would like to thank William Conley and ZoVoS for the help and understanding me.

Thanks for all the tips and links. Without you guys, I'm stuck in a deep hole.

Thank again Guys, I owe you a beer...

i'm not particularly fond of beer. pepsi, though ...

now go make some $$ with your dialer. and when you start generating cash ... remember where to come for automation and integration (automate the sending of deals upline, importing leads more easily, custom reporting and/or notification ...)

[RyanSazon]

ok... I will...

btw, Ireally dont understand and I don't know what is the carrier trunk on managers manual, page 13. I don't really understand what it is for.

Is it really required to have a VOIP provider to be able to do outbound/inbound call? Because recently, I was advised that VOIP IS NOT REQUIRED FOR VICIDIAL.

can anyone please elaborate this..

Thanks.

[williamconley]

ok... I will...

btw, Ireally dont understand and I don't know what is the carrier trunk on managers manual, page 13. I don't really understand what it is for.

Is it really required to have a VOIP provider to be able to do outbound/inbound call? Because recently, I was advised that VOIP IS NOT REQUIRED FOR VICIDIAL.

can anyone please elaborate this..

Thanks.

to be clear: You intend to use Vicidial as a Dialer. For "dialer" you must obviously make phone calls. You can use any method of trunking you like ... but you must have a provider for those phone calls. Some company must connect them. If you purchase special hardware, you can connect your Vicidial server to wall outlets for local telephone service and Vicidial will dial through those (very limited) PSTN trunks. Or you can have a T1 brought in and put a different piece of hardware in the Vicidial server which allows dialing through one or more T1s (23 lines per T1, as a rule). Or you can attempt to connect through "unusual" channel types (skype, google voice, ... etc), which are really just proprietary SIP channels (same concept, different name, and not "universal" for linking). Then there are the VOIP protocols that are widely accepted: SIP and IAX2.

If you do not use one of these channel types (PSTN, T1, SIP, IAX2 ...), how, precisely, do you propose that voice signal reach its destination? Certainly it will travel through the internet ... but my cell phone company does not accept calls from "the net", they require calls to arrive through a telephone company just like everyone else. So at some point, it must enter the telephone company's universally linked system ... this requires some form of Provider linked to the telephone companies. Traditionally, the simplest method of accomplishing this task is use of a VOIP provider.

Oh, it doesn't work with magic jack as far as I know and if it did it still isn't really "magic", it's just another "Proprietary SIP trunk". You connect to them through their proprietary protocol over the internet, and they connect you to the public telephone network. One poor quality call per magic jack USB stick.

Perhaps a more valid description .. instead of "VOIP IS NOT REQUIRED FOR VICIDIAL" it should be "when you choose a provider for voice connections, the provider may be any one of several types, voip is not the only choice".

[RyanSazon]

I see... the way it was explained to me before, I really don't need anything. (skype, magic jack, voip etc....)

as you have mention earlier, skype and google voice. What are the feedback about this and how can we set this up?

sorry, Im such a noob on this thing.

thanks a lot for the info and help.

[williamconley]

if you are looking for "free phone calls", join the club. be certain that any solution you find that provides free calls will be temporary. don't fool yourself into thinking that it will end up any other way. google voice, skype, magic jack, anyone who has free or low priced unlimited calling makes their living with this sort of setup and can/will detect anyone trying to use their system in an unfair manner.

in other words, I am warning you that if you expend energy in this area, it will likely not result in a profit and will be a waste of time.

that being said (i hope you git it! LOL); if you upgrade your vicidial to 1.8 and find an asterisk driver suitable for any of these free services, vicidial will happily use that channel type just like any other. last time i checked, none of them were available in asterisk 1.4.

and remember that "multiple channels" will be your next challenge if you do get a single channel working.

i will say that if you are "ok" with a single channel dialer, it may work for quite a while. but ... single channel dialing is not the most profitable method for a call center.

[RyanSazon]

I downloaded the vicibox iso version 4.0.3. does it work if i'm gonna use skype or google voice?

I'm just gonna use this skype or google voice for just a week or two, we need to look for a voip provider first and it's qute hard here in our state.

let's assume that it's posssible to configure skye/google voice on this version, how can we set it up?

what is the easiest way to expalin this. the managers manual is very hard to understand and confusing.

[williamconley]

you'll have to check for an asterisk module for the channel type you want. not related to Vicidial.

Vicidial will use any "Trunk" (or channel type) that will work in asterisk. makes this an Asterisk issue. Last time I checked there were some drivers/modules available with limited success in asterisk 1.8, but that means you would need to try to upgrade asterisk from 1.4 to 1.8 for Vicidial. Vicidial has that in Beta right now, if you search the forums you will find reference for how to upgrade your asterisk version to 1.8.

But what "state" is it that you have trouble finding a VOIP provider in? And what makes you think the VOIP provider is somehow linked to your physical location? This is the internet. There are no borders.

also worthy of note: if English is not your first language, you should be looking for Asterisk support in your native language. Asterisk is a world-wide multi-lingual package without borders. I'm not sure it's "everywhere" yet, but it is likely pretty darn close and I am willing to be there is a support forum in your language.

Of course, if English is your first language and you don't understand the Vicidial Manager's Manual, you may do well to hire a recent graduate who is ... more geeky.

[RyanSazon]

english is my first langguage. it's juet so happened that it's more technical terms rather than laymans term... lol...

I asked our IT in regards to this but they wanted to pay extra.

the location we're in right now it's like 318 miles from the main city. I'm looking for a voip provider within our area so we don't ned to travel that far... lol...

we prefer the voip instead of other options. having a voip is less complicated... lol...

if we we're just informed ahead of time that we we're needing this voip, then I already subscribe when I was still in the city... damn...

[williamconley]

in case you did not catch that earlier, voip is not location based. there is no reason to get a voip carrier anywhere near your location.

get one in the country you are dialing, that's the limitation. if you are dialing in the US ... look for a voip carrier who will charge less than 2 cents per minute with no monthly fee. there are thousands of them. google is your friend. do not even attempt a "local voip carrier". they invariably try to charge you monthly and then freak out when you hit them with a dialer ... and they have serious issues with the call volume vicidial can generate in the first place.

but you must have decent internet to run a voip-based dialer. what bandwidth do you have? (up and down, voip is two way so having great download and crappy upload won't do the trick, LOL)

[RyanSazon]

I got you on that... the upload spped is 10 MBps and Download speed is 10 MBps as well. This is the fastest internet connection we had in this country... it sucks right... LOL

The one were looking at right now is NetVioice voip.

Here's the link: www [dot] netvoice [dot] com [dot] ph

- netvoice offers unlimited inbound and outbound services for an affordable price, $50/month.

Their office is 318 miles from our location. We're located in Baguio, Philippines.

[williamconley]

ok, i'm going to say this clearly. You would be paying $50/month for a single channel. one line. Which is enough for about 1/3 of an agent. Perhaps.

Look for a service that will allow multiple channels and allow you to pay for minutes you use (if you have 10 agents, you will likely be able to get by with 25 channels). 25 channels = 25 lines = 25 trunks = 25 telephone lines (whatever you want to call it).

if you get an "unlimited" service, expect them to cut you off after a short period of time for violating their fair use policy (whether or not they both to have one written into their contract, and whether or not their sales rep knows about it).

vicidial does not play fair. it is an autodial system. its job is to keep your agent on the phone with a prospect for the entire shift. this may mean sifting through 3 calls to get you agent one call. but to do this all at the same time will mean that vicidial may need 30 channels for 10 agents and will continually regenerate calls at a rate impossible for a human. so the voip provider Will Notice that no human could be doing this ...

which is why paying per minute is "fair" and often cheaper anyway. $50/month/channel X 30 channels is $1500/month. LOL. But if you pay per minute you will likely never get that high.

one way or another: NO contract. Don't agree to future business with anyone. No monthly fees (especially for "unlimited" service that is actually limited to a single channel).

[RyanSazon]

you're right about than William, I called and talked to a sales rep and the unlimited service they offer is only for individual accounts and not for call centers. though it is unlimited, it's still capped at 2500 minutes . they offer me a per minute rate at around .02c/min. they wanted to visit my call center so they can check how many sats and channels will be needed.

such a relief.... lol

[williamconley]

though it is unlimited, it's still capped at 2500 minutes

that's almost funny. did you write that without snickering?