Need some advice and direction

[kjburto]

We currently have our vicdial hosted with a 3rd party and we are going to be bringing it in-house to manage. They currently have it set up as a cluster install so the only thing we will be getting from them is the telephony server we purchased when we set it up. So basically we have to purchase a new server to handle the Database and Web Server and would like to set it up just like it is now. What I am wondering what do I need from them to be able to restore our newly purchased server with all the campaigns, lists, users, carriers, phones, etc.

Can we essentially have them give up the backup files then reinstall vicibox on the new server and restore from the backup. I'm just looking for any help, information, and direction you can provide me to prepare for this migration.

Thanks

According to our vici admin account the current version of our dialer is VERSION: 2.8-417a BUILD: 131019-0849

[mflorell]

That version is almost 3 years old, there are a lot of bugs and security issues that have been fixed since then that we would strongly recommend upgrading once you move.

As for the move, just use VICIbox to install your servers, then you can import your backups and perform upgrades and you will be up and running.

[williamconley]

You ONLY need the Database. Nothing else unless you have custom code. The DB will contain the SVN revision and DB schema version.

You can then perform a Fresh New Install with Vicibox 7.0.3 and upgrade the database to match the new server (instructions in /usr/src/astguiclient/trunk/UPGRADE). Then you'll have a new server with the latest code and a matching "up to date" database.

There are some requirements, such as modifying one of the "admin->servers" entries to match your new server (asterisk version will likely change) and deleting the unused "admin->servers" entries and running the admin ip update script. Also an adjustment to "admin->system settings" for the audio store and any other "IP/Server" based settings. Perhaps running a repair script to update the URL/IP of previous recording links. You may bump into other technical fixes, but many are not actually required.

But the only thing you need to get from your provider is the database.

[kjburto]

That version is almost 3 years old, there are a lot of bugs and security issues that have been fixed since then that we would strongly recommend upgrading once you move.

As for the move, just use VICIbox to install your servers, then you can import your backups and perform upgrades and you will be up and running.

That is one of the reason I am bringing it in house to manage myself. They have not updated anything since we started with them 5-6 years ago. Support is terrible. Not to mention I love to learn anything new I can so this will be great experience for me.

So I asked them if they were going to give me the full back up and I got the following response.

"Negative. We're just going to use phpMyAdmin to export the database tables to a .sql file. You'll be able to use your phpMyAdmin to import the file to your database."
&
"That's going to contain a lot of other people's data... pretty much the entire cluster."

So basically I am preparing to do a fresh install and I have a new server coming to use as the database/webserver in conjunction with the telephony server they are returning to us. What are the steps involved with getting the new server running with the database file they are providing us.

[williamconley]

"Negative. We're just going to use phpMyAdmin to export the database tables to a .sql file. You'll be able to use your phpMyAdmin to import the file to your database."

Sounds like they may not be sending you the entire database, just some records from some tables. This will require that you restore those tables to a server with a matching database schema and then upgrade from that starting point.

You can not reliably restore "some tables" from one version of Vicidial to another.

[kjburto]

"Negative. We're just going to use phpMyAdmin to export the database tables to a .sql file. You'll be able to use your phpMyAdmin to import the file to your database."

Sounds like they may not be sending you the entire database, just some records from some tables. This will require that you restore those tables to a server with a matching database schema and then upgrade from that starting point.

You can not reliably restore "some tables" from one version of Vicidial to another.

So does that mean I will have to install vicidail with the version they are currently using then upgrade after the importing of our database?

[williamconley]

That's one way to do it. Makes it handy to have a vSphere server inhouse. LOL

Alternately, you can just install a DB from that SVN revision level. Not quite as simple, but faster and less disruptive. SVN checkout the proper version, use the .sql files to create the necessary database. Push their .sql files into it. Then mysqldump the entire thing and bring it into a "latest greatest" freshly installed / tested / certified system. And then upgrade, admin ip update, reboot, and recertify it.

[kjburto]

Can I just hire you? lol seriously are you for hire and could you help me out with this?

[williamconley]

In case you did not read my signature (at the bottom of every post I make ...): http://catalog.PoundTeam.com

[kjburto]

In case you did not read my signature (at the bottom of every post I make ...): http://catalog.PoundTeam.com

Yeah I did read that and have been looking through your site. I will definitely use you guys if I have issues, but I think I am just going to build our dialer from scratch and import our leads into the new dialer instead of trying to restore it exactly the way it was before. I hear there can be some issues when doing that. I really appreciate your help. Thanks again

[williamconley]

DO NOT build it "from scratch". LOL

Use the Vicibox .iso installer appropriate for your Vicidial Version. This will likely be Vicibox 6.0.4 or 5.0.3.

If you are going to Upgrade the Vicidial scripts to the latest version, then you can use Vicibox 7.0.X (Whatever the latest version is), but if you are not using at least Vicidial 2.12, you can not use Vicibox 7 because it has Asterisk 11 in it and your code would not support it.

Happy Hunting!

[kjburto]

Couldn't I just download the leads into a .csv file and then install the new version of Vicidial, set up all my phones, usergroups, users, carrier, and campaigns from scratch then upload the lead files back into the dialer via the lead loader? What I meant by build from scratch is going through and re-creating all the user, phone, in-bound group, usergroups, & campaigns etc.

[williamconley]

Absolutely. If you want to lose all your lead history / logs and all the other settings.

As long as you don't do that in a "table" scenario, you're in the clear. More work, of course, but quite safe.

[kjburto]

Absolutely. If you want to lose all your lead history / logs and all the other settings.

As long as you don't do that in a "table" scenario, you're in the clear. More work, of course, but quite safe.

Well I actually agree and I don't want to loose that information so I am going to try and figure out what schema version they are running. They are not making things easy for me that is for sure. I am learning more towards paying for support to have someone like your company to help me with this migration. What product would I need to purchase on that website for this type of support.

We are going to have our telephony server back on September 30th and I should be getting my new server which we will be using for our DB/webserver this week or sometime next week. Please let me know exactly what you would need to make this migration happen as smoothly as possible.

[Kumba]

I wouldn't trust a backup done through phpMyAdmin. You should ask them to give you the backup created from mysqldump. phpMyAdmin likely won't export properly cause the databases are huge. That's more of a maintenance and viewer then backup utility.

And they don't know what they are doing if they can't give you a backup of just your data and not all databases on the server.

[kjburto]

I wouldn't trust a backup done through phpMyAdmin. You should ask them to give you the backup created from mysqldump. phpMyAdmin likely won't export properly cause the databases are huge. That's more of a maintenance and viewer then backup utility.

And they don't know what they are doing if they can't give you a backup of just your data and not all databases on the server.

Yeah I figured the same and I pressed them more by telling them the Vici Experts tell me I need the ADMIN_backup.pl script and it seems like they are going to get me what I need. So hopefully I will be able to get this worked out.

Can anyone tell me what version of the vicibox installer I should use for VERSION: 2.8-417a BUILD: 131019-0849 ?

Thanks again everyone for the help and insight