[asterisk-users] Realtime and hints

Douglas Garstang dgarstang at oneeighty.com
Fri Aug 25 09:54:52 MST 2006 

We have bounced around various methods of efficient provisioning for months, and unfortunately none of them seem to be a very good solution. 

In regards to building static files, downloaded from the db:

1. Every time a customer makes a change, we have to download files again, and do a 'reload' again. If several customers are doing it at the same time, this could cause many downloads and reloads together. This doesn't seem like a good solution. We could batch them together, and do them at specified intervals, but then we have to tell customers via our web management interface that they have to wait X number of minutes for their findme/followme call routing changes to become effective. Not very nice.
2. How do you represent the files in the database? Do you store every line as a record? We tried building a tiered hierarchial structure of roles, clusters, hosts, files, contexts and elements for flexibility, but even with MySQL consultant help, it became very complicated.
3. I'm sure I've forgotten some stuff.

In regards to using realtime:

1. You can't store BLF in realtime.
2. Realtime doesn't support ex-girlfriend logic.
3. You still need to use the 'include =>' statement in the dialplan. This means your still going to have to make edits to the config files anyway from time to time, even with realtime.
4. The data as stored in the db is hard to manipulate for a Web Developer who doesn't know the inner workings of Asterisk.

In my mind, provisioning and management are two of Asterisk's BIGGEST challenges. We've been stewing over it for a long time.

Doug.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dovid Bender [mailto:asteriskusers at dovid.net]
> Sent: Friday, August 25, 2006 10:29 AM
> To: Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion
> Subject: Re: [asterisk-users] Realtime and hints
> 
> 
> Ok. Now I understand. What you can do is put it in a db and 
> whenever you 
> make changes you have asterisk grab the info from the db  and 
> put it into a 
> file and reload asterisk. Of course asterisk supporting it 
> would be a lot 
> easier. Maybe you can get some one on the devel. list to do 
> it. I also 
> wondering if they will ever have support for complete real 
> time of contexts. 
> So I dont have to put them in the static files. I have a 
> friend that when he 
> has time will patch asterisk to look up a new table in the db 
> with a list of 
> contexts so that each time u create a new one you  can just 
> add it to the 
> DB.
> 
> Dovid
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Douglas Garstang" <dgarstang at oneeighty.com>
> To: "Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion" 
> <asterisk-users at lists.digium.com>
> Sent: Friday, August 25, 2006 11:09 AM
> Subject: RE: [asterisk-users] Realtime and hints
> 
> 
> If you have to put one of the lines in extensions.conf, then 
> you completely 
> lose all the advantages that realtime gives you. You might as 
> well just put 
> both in extensions.conf now, as any change to the hint, or an 
> addition, 
> deletion etc is going to require a database change which is 
> ok, but also an 
> edit of the file and a subsequent asterisk reload.
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Dovid Bender [mailto:asteriskusers at dovid.net]
> > Sent: Friday, August 25, 2006 7:17 AM
> > To: Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion
> > Subject: Re: [asterisk-users] Realtime and hints
> >
> >
> > I dont know why it is working but it is. My first  line I have in
> > extensions.conf and the second I have in MySql.
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: "Douglas Garstang" <dgarstang at oneeighty.com>
> > To: "Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion"
> > <asterisk-users at lists.digium.com>
> > Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2006 1:00 PM
> > Subject: RE: [asterisk-users] Realtime and hints
> >
> >
> > I don't see how that helps. If you have a portion of the hint
> > still in
> > extensions.conf, then what use is the database?
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: Aaron Daniel [mailto:amdtech at shsu.edu]
> > > Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2006 10:24 AM
> > > To: Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion
> > > Subject: RE: [asterisk-users] Realtime and hints
> > >
> > >
> > > That's what he was gettin at.  Take the second line out, 
> and put the
> > > first priority in the database.
> > >
> > > On Thu, 2006-08-24 at 10:17 -0600, Douglas Garstang wrote:
> > > > But... you need _both_ in your dialplan.
> > > >
> > > > My extensions.conf has:
> > > >
> > > > exten => 2944054,hint,              SIP/2944054
> > > > exten => 2944054,1,                 Dial(SIP/2944054)
> > > >
> > > > ie two lines for the hint.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > > From: Dovid Bender [mailto:asteriskusers at dovid.net]
> > > > > Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2006 9:32 AM
> > > > > To: Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion
> > > > > Subject: Re: [asterisk-users] Realtime and hints
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Doug I have
> > > > > Exten => 10,hint,SIP/11010
> > > > > and in mysql I have
> > > > > exten => 10,1,Dial(SIP/11010)
> > > > >
> > > > > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > > > > From: "Douglas Garstang" <dgarstang at oneeighty.com>
> > > > > To: "Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion"
> > > > > <asterisk-users at lists.digium.com>
> > > > > Sent: Monday, August 21, 2006 3:37 PM
> > > > > Subject: [asterisk-users] Realtime and hints
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Can realtime be used with hints? How would you get the
> > > > > following into the
> > > > > database given that the priority column is numeric, and that
> > > > > there is no
> > > > > application for the first entry?
> > > > >
> > > > > exten => 2944006,hint,SIP/2944006
> > > > > exten => 2944006,1,Dial(SIP/2944006)
> > > > >
> > > > > Every time I touch realtime I hit obstacles. How are others
> > > > > getting around
> > > > > this limitation?
> > > > >
> > > > > Doug.
> > > > >
> > > > > _______________________________________________
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> > > -- 
> > > Aaron Daniel
> > > Computer Systems Technician
> > > Sam Houston State University
> > > amdtech at shsu.edu
> > > (936) 294-4198
> > >
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