vicidial agent session generates too much traffic

[wfernandez]

Hi people.

My problems is this:

why the agent sessions generate so much traffic? i'm checking the traffic log and goes like this:


10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:50:52 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/vicidial.php HTTP/1.1" 200 380337 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:50:53 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/vdc_db_query.php HTTP/1.1" 200 251 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:50:53 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/conf_exten_check.php HTTP/1.1" 200 416 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:50:54 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/conf_exten_check.php HTTP/1.1" 200 416 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:50:54 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/vdc_db_query.php HTTP/1.1" 200 309 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:50:55 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/vdc_db_query.php HTTP/1.1" 200 252 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:50:55 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/conf_exten_check.php HTTP/1.1" 200 415 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:50:56 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/conf_exten_check.php HTTP/1.1" 200 467 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:50:56 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/vdc_db_query.php HTTP/1.1" 200 252 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:50:57 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/vdc_db_query.php HTTP/1.1" 200 252 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:50:57 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/conf_exten_check.php HTTP/1.1" 200 415 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:50:58 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/vdc_db_query.php HTTP/1.1" 200 252 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:50:58 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/conf_exten_check.php HTTP/1.1" 200 415 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:50:59 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/vdc_db_query.php HTTP/1.1" 200 252 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:50:59 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/conf_exten_check.php HTTP/1.1" 200 415 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:51:00 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/vdc_db_query.php HTTP/1.1" 200 252 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:51:00 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/conf_exten_check.php HTTP/1.1" 200 467 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:51:01 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/vdc_db_query.php HTTP/1.1" 200 252 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:51:01 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/conf_exten_check.php HTTP/1.1" 200 415 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:51:02 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/vdc_db_query.php HTTP/1.1" 200 252 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:51:02 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/conf_exten_check.php HTTP/1.1" 200 415 "HTTP" ""
10.0.0.67 - User-001 [16/Aug/2010:07:51:03 -0400] "POST http://10.0.0.8/agc/vdc_db_query.php HTTP/1.1" 200 252 "HTTP" ""


This is crazy, i mean why is Vicidial so noneffective dealing with the LAN traffic, why so much request? is there a fix for this? has somebody suffer from this?

I need to control how the vicidial sessions affect the LAN traffic

Thanks in advance.


Vicidial
VERSION: 2.0.5-173
BUILD: 90320-0424

Asterisk

1.2.30.2

[williamconley]

Mfernandez,

Welcome to the party.

First:

when you post, please post your entire configuration including (but not limited to) your installation method, vicidial version and build, asterisk version, telephony hardware (model number is helpful here), cluster information if you have one, and whether any other software is installed in the box.

Similar to This:
Vicibox X.X from .iso | Vicidial X.X.X Build XXXX | Asterisk X.X.X | Single Server | No Digium/Sangoma Hardware | No Extra Software After Installation

this IS a requirement for posting along with reading the stickies (at the top of each forum) and the manager's manual (available on EFLO.net, both free and paid versions)

______

Second:

What you describe is commonly referred to as AJAX. it checks with the server every second for status. very little traffic (small packets), one per second in each direction.

in fact, this traffic is much smaller than the SIP traffic which carries the Voice data.

if you want to avoid this, the only way would be to stop this information from travelling. this can be accomplished with "remote agents", but you obviously lose this information (which is not very good).

summary: if you want the agent screens to have data on them, the information on the agent screens must travel through your local network. no way around it.

We do have several setups that involve SIP phones and agent computers on completely separate local networks (sometimes with a different subnet, sometimes wired to completely different switches and routers). this avoids excess internet traffic confusing some of the cheaper SIP phones.

[mflorell]

This is why we usually send the access_log to /dev/null in the apache configs

[williamconley]

I wonder if the $121K dialers have found a way to transmit screen data to the Agent computer without using the Network yet? (I mean, for that kinda money, they should, right?)

[wfernandez]

I wonder if the $121K dialers have found a way to transmit screen data to the Agent computer without using the Network yet? (I mean, for that kinda money, they should, right?)

i didn't say "without" using the network. I did say without using it in this not so efficient way. This is like a poll protocol, very primitive. You don,t need to send packets every second, it's basic telecommunications engineering.

[wfernandez]

thank you, but no thank you for your sarcasm

[mflorell]

This is basic AJAX, the sacrifice made for wide compatibility and the ability to only require a browser.

You probably would have liked the original client-server Perl/Tk which was much more efficient from a network prospective, but required a client application to be installed and configured on each agent station. We did away with that 5 years ago in favor of compatibility and nothing to install on the client machine.

As for the level of inefficiency, not much is actually transmitted in terms of bytes. It is much less than the VOIP for the actual agent voice connection so it doesn't seem to add too much in the larger picture from the agent bandwidth requirements.

[williamconley]

wfernandez, i'm interested to hear (without tossing negativity at the creator of the software any more, by the way, that's a bad idea entirely) how you would suggest we get the information to the agent screen without using this method?

seriously!

in reality, this method is a little slow, since we can not have "instant" information available on the screen (as in: when the Prospect hangs up, we will not know until the next 1 second mark that this has occurred, as in: the VICIdial system only knows in 1 second increments who is still online and whose connection has been cut). if any information regarding the Prospect (or who is on the line with the agent) changes on the server, we will not have this information available on the Agent's screen "immediately", but rather up to .99 second later ... One second is a lifetime for a salesperson trying to make a "good" impression in under ten seconds.

so, how would you suggest we improve this method?

if you've got a better method (or a link to a programming method that is better), i'd be very happy to hear it. (however; until you've written a program package as robust, popular, and fully functional as this one, i'd step off of the negativity ... after all, VICIdial WORKS. )

I will personally build a prototype using the method if you have one ...

Or was that all just noise?