How to migrate from GoAutoDial to VICIdial

GoAutoDial is a packaged distribution that wraps VICIdial in a custom installer, a slightly restyled admin UI, and additional management tooling. Under the hood the database schema, the Asterisk dialplan, and the agent interface are all standard VICIdial. That makes this the easiest class of migration covered in this cluster - you are not translating between fundamentally different data models, you are lifting the same data onto a fresh, well-maintained install.

For broader migration strategy, read the complete VICIdial migration guide before diving in here.

Why teams leave GoAutoDial

The reasons are usually server age and support model, not feature gaps. GoAutoDial installations age on whatever hardware they were first deployed on. Support is community-driven. When the underlying OS reaches end-of-life, upgrading in place is risky enough that a fresh migration to a supported VICIdial install on a current Ubuntu LTS is less work than patching the old box.

What transfers directly

Because the schema is essentially identical, you can mysqldump the core tables and restore them on a fresh VICIdial install with minimal transformation. Key tables to move: vicidial_list (your Lead records), vicidial_lead_list (Lead list metadata), vicidial_campaigns (Campaign settings), vicidial_dnc (DNC list), and vicidial_statuses (Status (lead status) codes).

Config that needs manual rebuild

GoAutoDial stores some settings in its own management layer on top of VICIdial's database. The SIP trunk configuration (carrier registration strings, codec preferences) lives in Asterisk config files, not the database, so those need to be re-entered on the new box. User accounts, agent logins, and Ingroup assignments can be dumped from vicidial_users and vicidial_inbound_groups and restored directly.

Call recordings live on the filesystem at /var/spool/asterisk/monitor. Archive those to object storage before decommissioning the old server. Your Recording retention policy determines how long you need to keep them accessible - factor that into your storage plan.

Migration flow

flowchart LR
    A[GoAutoDial server] --> B[mysqldump core tables]
    B --> C[Schema diff check]
    C --> D{Columns match?}
    D -->|Yes| E[Restore to new VICIdial]
    D -->|No| F[Transform CSV then import]
    F --> E
    A --> G[Copy recordings archive]
    G --> H[Object storage]
    E --> I[Rebuild SIP trunk config]
    I --> J[Test calls and verify]

Cutover and rollback

Because the data is essentially identical, a test import + parallel run for one day is usually enough. Keep the GoAutoDial box powered off but accessible for 30 days after cutover. See the migration rollback plan guide for a template to document your rollback steps before you start.

If you are moving off aging on-premise hardware and want a managed destination, VICIfast managed plans give you a fresh, secured VICIdial instance in under 40 seconds. You import your mysqldump, point your carrier at the new box, and you are running on maintained infrastructure without touching a server installer.