What VICIdial Cold-Storage Logs Are

A busy dialer generates an enormous amount of log data, and over a few years it piles up. The FTC Safe Harbor 5-year retention rule says you cannot just throw old records away, but keeping everything in your main log tables slows reporting down. Cold storage is the 2024 VICIdial feature that solves both problems at once: it lets you move older, already-archived call logs off your primary database server onto a separate one, where they keep counting toward your retention obligation without weighing down daily work.

Archived Versus Cold-Stored

There are two stages here, and it helps to keep them straight. First, the standard archiving process pulls older call logs out of the easily searchable log tables so your reports stay quick. Those records still sit on the same system. Cold storage is the second stage: it takes already-archived records and relocates them to a separate database server entirely. That frees space and load on your main server while the data remains available. This matters for compliance because a regulator can still ask for a call from three years ago, including proof of when you last scrubbed against the National DNC Registry, and you need to produce it.

Cold-stored records are searchable, but only from two places: the Admin Lead Search page and the Admin Modify Lead page. You will not see them in your normal real-time reports or live campaign screens, which is by design, since they are historical. Pulling up an old Lead there shows the Disposition and call history attached to that record. Cold storage is one piece of the 5-year picture; the Safe Harbor record-keeping rule covers what else you must retain, and the VICIdial compliance overview ties it back to the FTC requirements.

The Path Into Cold Storage

flowchart TD
  A[New call log] --> B[Main log tables]
  B --> C[Archive process runs]
  C --> D[Archived on same server]
  D --> E[Cold storage moves record]
  E --> F[Separate DB server]
  F --> G[Admin Lead Search]
  F --> H[Admin Modify Lead]

The flow shows the two hops. A record is archived on the same server first, then cold storage moves the oldest of those records to a separate database server, where it stays reachable through Admin Lead Search and Admin Modify Lead. Nothing is deleted; it just moves to cheaper, quieter shelving.

For most operators this is a set-and-forget capacity feature that quietly supports your retention duties. VICIfast runs cold storage on managed servers so your long-term logs stay searchable without you provisioning a second database. See pricing to get set up.