Multiple Servers Configuration

[jarubio]

Hi all,

I've a call center with 70 seats working with Asterisk/VICIDIAL, softphones and SIP Trunks using g729 codec. All in a single server, obviously I've a lot of problems, not with audio quality but with system load, the asterisk hung up every 2 hours. If the agents logout of VICIDIAL and dial directly through the softphone, everething works fine, so , I think my problem is with meetme calls.

I've one big dual server, and 5 celeron boxes (not working now), What do you recommend as the better load balance scenario with this equipment.

My first Idea is Install APACHE,MYSQL,VICIDIAL on the bigger server, and 5 asterisk machines with 15 seats eachone. If this scenario is ok, do I need to install VICIDIAL on each server or just the asterisk connected as IAX2 trunk to the bigger server?

Thank you in advance.
Javier

[gschaller]

70 seats working on one server? Wow 8-O Please tell me your Auto dial level.
Did you read LOAD_BALANCING.txt?

[jarubio]

I'did, but I dont understand if I need to do these configuration between each box and the main server, and what happen with the SIP trunks that works only in 1 IP address.

I trying to understand that the main server have the SIP trunks and make all outbound calls, and just the calls to the agents will be balanced through the IAX trunks.

Thanks!
Javier

[mflorell]

Currently VICIDIAL doesn't allow for a dialing-only server and agent-only servers, It is someting I have considered adding and may tackle after 2.0 is released. What some people have done in the past is to have a gateway server which would handle your SIP calls and transcode them to ULAW over IAX to the VICIDIAL servers connected to them. As to how you would do this with G729 codec with 70 agents and have a dial level over 1.0 I don't know since most servers cannot handle more than 70 G729->ULAW transcoding while rapidly dialing like we do in VICIDIAL.

You should consider getting another carrier or another account from your current carrier and break this up along at least 3 Asterisk/VICIDIAL servers, one web server and one MySQL server.

As for Load balancing, you just need one Database and one web server. You will poin the dbconnect.php and AST_SERVER_conf.pl to the same database and have the AST_SERVER_conf.pl for each server set to it's own server_ip.

[jarubio]

Thanks for your answer, you say that each asterisk/vicidial server send their own outgoing calls directly to the SIP carrier?

IF there is true, May I create SIP Trunks on the main server and configure the small boxes that send the calls trough this trunks, and then to the Carrier?

About the load balance, do I need to install web server on each box, or the adminsitration of accounts are connecting only to the main server?

Thank you.

[enjay]

My configuration uses

2 Asterisk/VICIDial Servers

1 MySQL/Apache Server

Each Asterisk Server utilizes its own PRI(s) in your case each Asterisk server would utiize its own SIP trunk to your provider.

You would run the required VICIDIAL cron scripts on those server and the rest on the apache/mysql server.

Let us know specifically what you require help with, there are a lot of us here running multi-server configurations.

-enjay

[jarubio]

Thank you for your answer,

I have now installed and working the single server with Mysql,webserver,asteris and vicidial , using IAX2 softphones. This server is intended to be the DB and Web server, and I have other 5 boxes for 15 seats eachone.

My question is, what do I need to install and configure on the asterisk/vicidial servers.

And how this solution works? The softphones will be registered to his own asterisk box, and the agents logged in to the vicidial using the main server web page or their own web page? Im lost here...

Thank you in advance

[enjay]

Yes you will configure what server the softphones reside on from the main astguiclient web interface (Your Apache/MySQL Server) So that when your agent logs into the vicidial interface it knows which phone is on which server and how to call it.

Then on the seperate asterisk/vicidial servers you need to configure your AST_SERVER_conf.pl accordingly (/home/cron)

Configure all your CRON entries on each Asterisk/VICIDIAL Server:
DETAILED in the SCRATCH_INSTALL.

-enjay

[jarubio]

Hi guys,

This is what I did:

DB Server : I've installed mysql, apache, asterisk,vicidial. I configured AST_SERVER_conf to their own ip address and database. I've created 3 users , one local, one on the asterisk2 server and one on the asterisk3 server.

asterisk2 and asterisk3: I've installed apache (not running) with the astguiclient directories and dbconnect pointed to DB server. AST_SERVER_conf is pointed to their own ip addres on ip server field, and DB server ip address on the database. I've created users only in asterisk for softphones.

I've 3 servers connected with IAX2 as is explained on LOAD_BALANCING.txt.

My question is what page the agent registered on asterisk2 need to use to log in? The DB server, or asterisk2 (I need to run the webserver for this).

I tried to log in using the DB server vicidial page, but I've an "No Sessions available" error , or "This user is not active on this system".

thank you in advance.

[jarubio]

I forgot to add conferences entries con vicidial_conferences table to the other servers. I did that and now is working fine.

Thank you!

[mflorell]

You only need one machine to have Apache/PHP on it and one machine with MySQL. It would be best if the apache and db servers did not have asterisk on them if it will be serving 3 other Asterisk/VICIDIAL servers.