[asterisk-users] conf files vs astdb

[Harel Cohen]

Hi all,
Could someone please tell me what is the relative "cost" in using conf files oppose to the astdb? Basically I need to match a name to a phone number in order to have all users registered by name and not by number (which I understood is not a good practice). I have 2000 users and a complex dial-plan and server resources become an issue.
I could implement this via a context in my extensions.conf:
exten => <number>,1,Dial(SIP/<name>) ; obviously I would need to hard-code this for every extension
- or I could do it via astdb:
exten => _XXX,1,Dial(SIP/${DB(Names/${EXTEN})})
Which method would consume fewer resources (put aside other pro's & con's)?
Is there any better way of implementing this?
Would 'hints' help me out here? If yes, I would appreciate a detailed explanation how to use it.

Thanks in advance,
Harel
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