Some recordings are empty

[ConnectedDialer]

We require recording every single call and retaining all recordings made. Recently I discovered that in some cases, the mp3 file in monitorDONE folder will be empty (few bytes) when I know for certain that call was 10 minutes or longer and agent made text notes of the conversation. Is there something that I can do to troubleshoot this problem? Any ideas?

I also noticed that all recordings go into single monitorDONE folder, they are not further split into folders. Is this not an issue since the number of files will grow a lot over few months?

Thanks guys

[williamconley]

1) Check the logs for a single call with no recording. Consider that the agent may have pushed the stop recording button.

2) Configure VSFTP on the server. Verify you can write files with your FTP user. Create /home/archive/RECORDINGS and /home/archive/REPORTS. Put those credentials in /etc/astguiclient in both "# FTP recording archive connection" and "# REPORT server connection information" sections.

Then in crontab -e: Uncomment this line:

Code: Select all

/usr/share/astguiclient/AST_CRON_audio_3_ftp.pl --MP3

This will move the files into daily subfolders in /home/archive/RECORDINGS

Also add this to crontab -e:
45 23 * * * /usr/share/astguiclient/ADMIN_backup.pl --ftp-transfer >/dev/null 2>&1
This will make a nightly backup in /var/log/astguiclient/archive AND store an extra copy in /home/archive/REPORTS

Seriously consider mounting a 1T HD in /home so these files are no longer on your DB HD. If your DB HD dies, you can bring this HD along for the ride on the next installation without having to restore: Plus if your primary HD dies, your backups won't disappear with it. They'll survive because they are in two locations on two HDs. Handy.

I'll go out on a limb and suggest that much of this is in the Vicidial Manager's Manual. But I have no idea. We've done all this on all servers for 10 years.

PS: Good job posting your specs.

[ConnectedDialer]

Thank you for the instructions and tips!

Will the links to the FTP moved files be updated and available in the admin interface in case a manager wants to go back and listen to recordings made a year ago?

I understand the FTP method is the only way for archival? I wish there was a more streight forward script. We do have a 2 TB hdd mounted right into /var/spool/asterisk but the issue is that the files are not moved to folders on their own and the number will grow too large for a single dir.

[williamconley]

Will the links to the FTP moved files be updated and available in the admin interface in case a manager wants to go back and listen to recordings made a year ago?

Yes. That's what the URL field in the /etc/astguiclient.conf file is for. There is also an update script available in case you move them all to a new url at some point (if you use a domain name instead of an IP this can be accomplished without running a script ... but the script is still quite handy).

I understand the FTP method is the only way for archival? I wish there was a more streight forward script. We do have a 2 TB hdd mounted right into /var/spool/asterisk but the issue is that the files are not moved to folders on their own and the number will grow too large for a single dir.

Mount the 2T drive in /home instead. The spool folder should only have one or two days worth of recordings before they are moved to the /home folder (or arguably a few minutes if properly configured).

Then mirror (rsync) the /home folder on some other machine overnight in case of drive failure, and your recordings are permanently safe and NOT related to the Vicidial installation itself. If you also push your backups to FTP with the ftp option in the vicidial backup script, those backups will also get pushed to /home and mirrored nightly off-site. Complete system restoration in case of catastrophic failure, very little effort. All servers in the cluster can push to that same ftp, pushing to /home.