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[asterisk-users] replace astdb with a cluster-capable sql da

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rentorbuy at yahoo.com
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Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 1:01 pm Post subject: [asterisk-users] replace astdb with a cluster-capable sql da

I've been searching the Internet for information regarding the replacement of astdb with a modern sql engine. There are several reasons one would like to do this. First of all, external applications have a hard time reading/writing to the now-old astdb format. Also (and this is what interests me most), the sql astdb could easily be clustered throughout several servers (I'm looking for a master-master MySQL 2-server cluster solution). Asterisk has brought up Realtime which is very powerful but, correct me if I'm wrong, it still requires astdb internally. In other words, if I call Set(DB) in the dialplan then it will always be using astdb regardless of realtime. Some projects like Callweaver have forked from Asterisk 1.2 and replaced astdb with sqlite. I'm wondering if Asterisk has plans to allow the user to choose the astdb backend: standard db1, sqlite, MySQL (which I would use with nbcluster for my clustering purposes), Postgresql with Slony-II, PGcluster, etc. Or is it already possible? There has been some talk on this before: http://lists.digium.com/pipermail/asterisk-dev/2004-December/007846.html Also, the func_odbc feature seems to be very powerful: http://www.asteriskpbx.org/func_odbc but: 1) would there be potential issues with db handles on a very busy asterisk system after a relatively long run time? 2) would there be a way to "map" the odbc function(s) to the DB functions (Set(DB), read and write, DBdel, etc) so that rewriting the whole dialplan would not be necessary? (that's the whole point of defining a different astdb "backend") If there are known problems/issues/projects/alternatives then please let me know. Thanks ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

breeveslist at eusnetw...
Guest

Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 5:15 pm Post subject: [asterisk-users] replace astdb with a cluster-capable sql da

Vieri,

What values are you looking to move from astdb?

I have used realtime to store values for call features and other
functions in the dial plan. I'm curious what you are looking to do.

On Sat, Mar 8, 2008 at 12:01 PM, Vieri <rentorbuy at yahoo.com> wrote:

Quote:

I've been searching the Internet for information
regarding the replacement of astdb with a modern sql
engine.

There are several reasons one would like to do this.
First of all, external applications have a hard time
reading/writing to the now-old astdb format.
Also (and this is what interests me most), the sql
astdb could easily be clustered throughout several
servers (I'm looking for a master-master MySQL
2-server cluster solution).

Asterisk has brought up Realtime which is very
powerful but, correct me if I'm wrong, it still
requires astdb internally. In other words, if I call
Set(DB) in the dialplan then it will always be using
astdb regardless of realtime.

Some projects like Callweaver have forked from
Asterisk 1.2 and replaced astdb with sqlite.

I'm wondering if Asterisk has plans to allow the user
to choose the astdb backend: standard db1, sqlite,
MySQL (which I would use with nbcluster for my
clustering purposes), Postgresql with Slony-II,
PGcluster, etc.

Or is it already possible?

There has been some talk on this before:
http://lists.digium.com/pipermail/asterisk-dev/2004-December/007846.html

Also, the func_odbc feature seems to be very powerful:
http://www.asteriskpbx.org/func_odbc
but:
1) would there be potential issues with db handles on
a very busy asterisk system after a relatively long
run time?
2) would there be a way to "map" the odbc function(s)
to the DB functions (Set(DB), read and write, DBdel,
etc) so that rewriting the whole dialplan would not be
necessary? (that's the whole point of defining a
different astdb "backend")

If there are known
problems/issues/projects/alternatives then please let
me know.

Thanks

____________________________________________________________________________________
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rentorbuy at yahoo.com
Guest

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 4:16 am Post subject: [asterisk-users] replace astdb with a cluster-capable sql da

--- Bruce Reeves <breeveslist at eusnetworks.com> wrote:

Quote:

Vieri,

What values are you looking to move from astdb?

I have used realtime to store values for call
features and other
functions in the dial plan. I'm curious what you are
looking to do.

Thanks for the feedback Bruce.

What I'm trying to do is fairly simple.

I have two asterisk boxes on one site which are
practically identical. They have the same dialplan and
"serve" the same pool of SIP extensions. They are
configured as to load balance SIP registrations, ie.
aprox. 50% register on pbx1 and 50% on pbx2. For now
I'm hardcoding each client where they should register
but will soon adopt another mechanism such as DNS SRV
or Linux-HA or something.
Whenever a SIP user wants to contact another
extension, asterisk uses DUNDi with regcontext to
check where to place the call. For now it's just a
two-server setup so I could very well make use of IAX2
friend trunks but if I start using more than 2 servers
then DUNDi lookups will be more efficient.

The only telephony hardware I have on both systems is:
1 E1 PRI card and 1 4-port BRI card.

I have 8 ISDN lines so 4 go to each pbx server.

I have 2 PRI lines that connect to an Alcatel PBX so
each asterisk pbx has 1 PRI connection (routed the
same way of course).

I wanted to implement some kind of master-master
cluster of two servers but not necessarily in the
strict sense of a "cluster".

The setup fits my needs (work in progress):
* load balanced sip registrations (about 300 on each
server)
* sip extensions on one server will call out first on
the local BRI and PRI ports and if they are all
congested then they will go out to the other server
via a IAX friend trunk and try to dial out the other
set of BRI/PRI ports.
* sip extensions will use (are using) DUNDi with
regcontext to establish connections with each other.
* incoming calls from PRI/BRI ports will use DUNDi to
connect to their SIP destination.

So everything seems to be ok except for astdb.

Let me give just one simple example. Suppose extension
101 dials *78 which sets DND on (in asterisk) and sets
a DB key value on pbx server 1. Then suppose server 1
goes down for some reason and extension 101
auto-registers on server 2. If someone calls 101 then
the phone will start to ring but should report BUSY.

This is only an example but there are a lot more
because I'm using FreePBX which makes extensive use of
DB calls (a hacked up version but it's mainly
FreePBX). I am not using Realtime but if someone can
tell me that the astdb problem will go away with
Realtime then I can give it a try. Even the main
FreePBX developer would be interested to know if the
future holds the chance of having a different astdb
backend so that rewriting of the complex dialplan is
not necessary.

So, if the astdb backend were a modern SQL database
engine like MySQL or Postgresql then I could easily
setup a master-master cluster which would solve the
DND example I described earlier.

I noticed that it's not the first time people bring
this issue up but I've never seen a clear resolution.
It seems as if people don't actually care to have the
choice of another backend for astdb so I suppose they
are getting away with it somehow (maybe by using
Realtime which I never have).

Thanks for the feedback!

Vieri

____________________________________________________________________________________
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atis at iq-labs.net
Guest

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 8:01 am Post subject: [asterisk-users] replace astdb with a cluster-capable sql da

On 3/8/08, Vieri <rentorbuy at yahoo.com> wrote:

Quote:

There are really not much dependencies in asterisk to AstDB. As i
recall - some SIP registration data is stored in AstDB, and persistent
queue members (but you can replace that with Realtime queue members).

For your own custom data you can use Realtime engine - it has INSERT
and DELETE support in 1.6, and it's easily backportable to 1.4 (if
you're interested i can give you working patches). All you have to do
is declare realtime class in extconfig.conf, and then use
Set(REALTIME(....)=...). For more info on this see
http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/index.php?page=Asterisk+func+realtime

Also there's a mysql command in asterisk-addons, but you have keep
track of connections - connect and disconnect in dialplan.

Or there's odbc module that creates permanent connection, and allows
you to declare SQL functions with replacable variables, but personally
i don't like having additional layer. For this you can search
mailinglist, it's been described numerous times.

Regards,
Atis

--
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VoIP Project Manager / Developer,
atis at iq-labs.net
Skype: atis.lezdins
Cell Phone: +371 28806004
Cell Phone: +1 800 7300689
Work phone: +1 800 7502835

tzafrir.cohen at xorco...
Guest

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 8:09 am Post subject: [asterisk-users] replace astdb with a cluster-capable sql da

On Sun, Mar 09, 2008 at 01:16:39AM -0800, Vieri wrote:

Quote:

Let me give just one simple example. Suppose extension
101 dials *78 which sets DND on (in asterisk) and sets
a DB key value on pbx server 1. Then suppose server 1
goes down for some reason and extension 101
auto-registers on server 2. If someone calls 101 then
the phone will start to ring but should report BUSY.

I'm not sure that there's a good reason to use the built-in chan_zap
feature and not implement your own through the dialplan.

If you have the extension '*78' it will override the built-in Zaptel
one.

--
Tzafrir Cohen
icq#16849755 jabber:tzafrir.cohen at xorcom.com
+972-50-7952406 mailto:tzafrir.cohen at xorcom.com
http://www.xorcom.com iax:guest at local.xorcom.com/tzafrir

rentorbuy at yahoo.com
Guest

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 12:26 pm Post subject: [asterisk-users] replace astdb with a cluster-capable sql da

--- Atis Lezdins <atis at iq-labs.net> wrote:

Quote:

For your own custom data you can use Realtime engine
- it has INSERT
and DELETE support in 1.6, and it's easily
backportable to 1.4 (if
you're interested i can give you working patches).
All you have to do
is declare realtime class in extconfig.conf, and
then use
Set(REALTIME(....)=...).

Interesting but I'm not ready for 1.6 and I don't know
if I want to patch 1.4 yet.
Apart from INSERT and DELETE I guess it can also
UPDATE/REPLACE.
Will keep that in mind when I finally upgrade from
1.2.

Quote:

Also there's a mysql command in asterisk-addons, but
you have keep
track of connections - connect and disconnect in
dialplan.

Right.

Quote:

Or there's odbc module that creates permanent
connection, and allows
you to declare SQL functions with replacable
variables, but personally
i don't like having additional layer. For this you
can search
mailinglist, it's been described numerous times.

So if I use func_odbc (there's an official backport
for 1.2) I won't run into the "db handle leaks" as
there's a permanent connection?

Thanks

____________________________________________________________________________________
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tilghman at mail.jeffa...
Guest

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 12:42 pm Post subject: [asterisk-users] replace astdb with a cluster-capable sql da

On Sunday 09 March 2008 12:26:55 Vieri wrote:

Quote:

--- Atis Lezdins <atis at iq-labs.net> wrote:

Quote:

So if I use func_odbc (there's an official backport
for 1.2) I won't run into the "db handle leaks" as
there's a permanent connection?

I wouldn't say it's official; it's simply a version previously maintained
by me, the author of the module. It's quickly moving towards unmaintained
status (I haven't touched it in 6 months, and I may never again). Also note
that there are some features in the 1.2 backport which are not in the 1.4
tree; it's a backport from trunk. However, there is likewise a backport of
the trunk features for 1.4.

You should never run into database handle leaks with func_odbc, no. The
connections are handled transparently and released when necessary.

--
Tilghman

rentorbuy at yahoo.com
Guest

Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 3:11 pm Post subject: [asterisk-users] replace astdb with a cluster-capable sql da

Would it be possible to modify the API calls that are currently going to the AstDB code within Asterisk, and put a translation layer to have them use the func_odbc instead (or either one)? I came across some old code of an odbc version of app_db which I suppose is obsolete. http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/Asterisk+app_dbodbc http://downloads.netmonks.ca/app_dbodbc.c At a lower level, for everything Asterisk does to its AstDB, maybe there could be a system setting which allows the user to say, ok, use DB, or, no, use func_odbc (not at the dialplan level). ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

rentorbuy at yahoo.com
Guest

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 3:25 am Post subject: [asterisk-users] replace astdb with a cluster-capable sql da

--- Vieri <rentorbuy at yahoo.com> wrote:

Quote:

Would it be possible to modify the API calls that
are
currently going to the AstDB code within Asterisk,
and
put a translation layer to have them use the
func_odbc
instead (or either one)?
At a lower level, for everything Asterisk does to
its
AstDB, maybe there could be a system setting which
allows the user to say, ok, use DB, or, no, use
func_odbc (not at the dialplan level).

What I mean is that ast_db_put and similar calls are
about everywhere within the 1.2 base code (eg.
chan_zap, chan_sip, chan_iax2, pbx_dundi, etc).
There are a lot of applications out there (not just
easily modifiable dialplans) that make use of the DB
calls (custom add on code, XML phone applications,
etc).
So putting a translation layer so that ast_db_* API
calls either go the normal route or translate to
func_odbc (or another path) would improve
functionality because both old and new apps would be
able to seamlessly take advantage of the new database
backend or keep using DB1 (the * admin would decide).

I haven't looked at the 1.4/1.6 source code yet but I
was wondering how many people would benefit from this.

____________________________________________________________________________________
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klitzing at pool.infor...
Guest

Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 8:35 pm Post subject: [asterisk-users] replace astdb with a cluster-capable sql da

Hi!

Quote:

So putting a translation layer so that ast_db_* API calls either go the
normal route or translate to func_odbc (or another path) would improve
functionality because both old and new apps would be able to seamlessly
take advantage of the new database backend or keep using DB1 (the *
admin would decide).

This is not exactly what you are aiming at, and probably outdated, but
still close enough to be of interest, I assume:

http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/Asterisk+app_dbodbc

Cheers, Philipp

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