[asterisk-dev] Navigating Voice Mail

[Steve Edwards]

On Wed, 17 Dec 2008, Steve Wofford wrote:

> I know the files are located on a USB drive. How do I navigate to these 
> files? This is where my basic linux skill are going to cause me issues.

If you don't have "basic Linux skills" and don't have the time or 
inclination to learn them, maybe you should consider buying them -- an 
employee or a consultant.

Someone with "the skills" can develop a robust and reliable solution 
quicker and cheaper (if your time has value) than you can. An "oops" that 
results in the occasional or complete loss of people's VM will "taint" you 
and your product for a very long time.

IMO, FTP is the wrong tool. There are opportunities for race conditions 
and it sounds like you are creating a solution that will be dependent on 2 
boxes. Think about:

) Increased capital expense -- even if you have a "spare" Windows box you 
are tying up a license and missing the opportunity to do something 
appropriate with the box.

) Increased operational expense -- administration, maintenance and 
electricity.

) Decreased reliability -- what happens when MS issues a patch and forces 
a reboot of your box and you discover that your service did not start or 
will not start. What about MTBF and all that.

) Decreased robustness -- when it fails, where do you start looking? Since 
you don't have the skills, can you "look?"

I suggest you fix the problem at the source (the appliance) if at all 
possible.

Thanks in advance,
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Edwards      sedwards at sedwards.com      Voice: +1-760-468-3867 PST
Newline                                             Fax: +1-760-731-3000