Moving VICIdial to new server hardware

Old hardware fails, leases expire, and CPUs get too slow for the call volume you grew into. Moving VICIdial to a new box is not one task. It is five: dump the database, sync the recordings, cut over the IP and DNS, rebuild the configuration, and re-register your carrier trunks. Do them in that order and the move is boring. Skip one and you find out at the worst time.

The five jobs, in order

flowchart TD
  A[Dump MySQL database] --> B[Sync recordings to new box]
  B --> C[Restore DB on new hardware]
  C --> D[Update server IP in vicidial_servers]
  D --> E[Rebuild Asterisk conf files]
  E --> F[Re-register carrier trunks]
  F --> G[Cut over DNS to new IP]
  G --> H[Verify agent login and a test dial]

Dump the database first

VICIdial keeps everything that matters in MySQL: your leads, campaigns, dispositions, users, and call logs. Take a full mysqldump of the asterisk schema while the dialer is paused or in a maintenance window, because the tables are MyISAM and a dump taken mid-write can capture a half-row. Copy the dump to the new box and restore it before you touch anything else. The leads are the part you cannot rebuild by hand.

Sync the recordings separately

Call recordings do not live in the database. They sit on disk, usually under the recordings directory, and the database only stores the filename and path. So a database restore alone leaves you with rows that point at files that are not there. Use rsync to pull the audio across before the cutover, then run it again right before you flip DNS to catch the last few hours. Keep the Recording format (WAV/MP3) the same on both boxes so playback in the admin screen does not break. If you handle regulated calls, your Recording retention window does not reset just because the hardware changed, so plan the sync to preserve every file. Call recording gaps are the kind of thing an auditor finds, not you.

The IP and DNS cutover

VICIdial stores the server's own IP in vicidial_servers and threads it through dozens of generated files. New hardware means a new IP, so update that row and let the config regenerate around it. Lower your DNS TTL a day ahead so the cutover propagates fast instead of stranding agents on the old box. Agents reach the admin and agent screens by hostname, so the actual switch is one DNS record pointed at the new address once you have verified the box works.

Rebuild the conf files

Asterisk reads its dialplan, channel, and peer settings from text files on disk, and VICIdial regenerates most of them from the database on a schedule. After the IP change you want a clean rebuild so every Conf file reflects the new address. The Keepalive cron is what triggers that regeneration and keeps the dialer processes alive, so confirm it is running on the new box before you trust anything. A stale conf file pointing at the old IP is a silent failure: Asterisk starts, agents log in, and calls die at connect.

Re-register your trunks

Your Carrier almost certainly authenticates you by source IP. The new box has a new IP, so the SIP trunk that worked yesterday will reject your calls with a 403 until the carrier whitelists the new address. Open that ticket early. If you authenticate by SIP registrar credentials instead of IP, the Trunk re-registers itself once the conf is right, but IP-based carriers need a human on their side. Either way, place one test call out before you let real agents on, and watch the RTP flow both ways so you are not shipping one-way audio to live leads.

Or skip the migration entirely

Every step above is recoverable, but the move costs you a maintenance window and a careful afternoon. Our full install guide walks the from-scratch path, and if you are weighing whether to rebuild or migrate, the post-install checklist tells you what a healthy box should look like on the other side. On a managed box the hardware question goes away. We run one Single tenant VPS per customer, take a fresh Server snapshot on a schedule, and handle the resize so you never hand-sync recordings at 2am. You bring your SIP and keep dialing. See the plans.