VMP 8.1 on XP has given up the ghost. Need a new server. (and probably an available tech) 2

[owelesstax]

IPO 500 v2 running 8.1. what version of VMPro would be best (Compatible and Stable.? Licensed for 16 channels, what version of Windows Server is easiest/best to install on?

Important point. We do call recording,and it appears that CantactStore is now required to do that in at least some newer VMPro? is that correct? If so I'd like to stay below that version of VMpro.

I've been using this sight for a number of years to fix problems I've had/created. Thank you.

Are there any independent techs here that would be willing to help me resolve a few other issues for pay?

 

[TouchToneTommy]

ONLY Voicemail Pro 8.1 should be run with your IP Office on 8.1

 

[intrigrant]

Indeed, the VM must be on the same level as the IP Office is at.
Any Windows OS from 7 and up will do. For call recording Contact Store is not mandatory on any release, it is a add-on for storing the recordings in a database with a web based search and play interface.
List up your problems here and see what can be done.
We only advise, you must fix the issues yourself using the advise given here.
If it is urgent then call a AVAYA partner nearby.

 

[IPGuru]

s stated you ned VM Pro V8.1 to match your system
contact store is not required for basic call recording.

However I would strongly recommend using Application server rather than a windows server if possible


Do things on the cheap & it will cost you dear

 

[owelesstax]

Thank you. I did install an app server. On the second install it ran (didn't select run on boot for the NIC the first time). So it is running, and I can log into it on the IP :7070.

But it does not answer/pick up any calls. It did auto populate directories for the huntgroups, so it is connected to the IP Office.

All of our lines were set up through phone manager to send to the old and dead winXP VM Server.

I'd really like to copy and paste the files from the previous server, with Voice recordings etc. But I am VERY unfamiliar with Linux, and Command Line Syntax. I grew up on DOS, but . . . that was many Windows ago.

_________


Richard
IP Office 500V2 ver 8.1.95
PRI with a couple hundred DID inbound numbers, and 50 two way
10 on premise extensions, 4 VOIP.

 

[joe2938]

Try resetting your security settings and retest.

 

[owelesstax]

okay. Things are better. VM Server is connected and handling calls, I can connect to the IP office from remote, etc. So thank you all for your input and for leading down the path to success. I'd be completely lost otherwise.

But. . .

Ver 8.1 app server runs on Centos5 that has been EOL'd for better than a year.

I was used to being able to tweak the VM system, replace voice files, etc. In windows. Now it is on Linux. I got no clue. I've tried to install a GUI, but of course the Avaya Centos Install is stripped of everything and repos that I might need have been "vaulted" so they won't wget.

I've spent the last 2 days trying to get Gnome, KDE or trinity GUI to install with no luck.

As Centos 5 is many years old and not updated for security, it is time to upgrade my licensing to something newer?

In actuality I was running VM Pro 5 with IP Office 8.1. Legacy system upgrade from 406 to 500 keeping the VM computer.

I understand best practice being keep App Server and IP Office in the same Rev, but how bad could it be to create a new install of App Server 10, or 10.1 for the VM server? at least I'd be at Centos 7.

I don't want to dump $$$$ just for a GUI on my app server.

 

[janni78]

Well, IPO 8.1 is just as EOL as Centos5.

There is a file manager in the Web GUI that you can use to upload files (at least in later versions), or it can be done with SCP.

"Trying is the first step to failure..." - Homer

 

[Pepp77]

Even on R10 or R11 there isnt really a GUI. You migrate files through WinSCP and you manage the system from command line using Putty.

You may need to CHMOD -R 777 some folders to copy files to them but that will be all.

| ACSS SME |

 

[janni78]

And there is that "chmod -r 777" again, why ... WHY !!!!

Stop doing using that command or at least do it properly.

"Trying is the first step to failure..." - Homer

 

[tlpeter]

Why do people update windows but do not update there phone system?
Everything runs on software these days and every software based system needs an update once in a while.
Yes it will cost some money but loosing the system will cost more.


BAZINGA!

I'm not insane, my mother had me tested!

 

[Pepp77]

Janni - Okay what is the correct way then.

| ACSS SME |

 

[janni78]

Well, have you actually checked what the command does?

chmod -r 777 gives execution rights to all files in all sub-folders for all users, the only user that needs to read/write the file is the vmpro user or group, and a wav file should never have the execution flag set on it.

The correct way would be to give the file 644 rights and change the owner to vmpro "chown vmpro:vmpro file".
This had actually annoyed me to the point where I'm thinking of building my own file manager to so it will work as intended if Avaya doesn't come up with something better than the one available in the web interface.

"Trying is the first step to failure..." - Homer

 

[owelesstax]

WARNING, this post has nothing to do with the OP and is not necessary reading.


@tlpeter, I get that "Constant Change" keeps the economy lubed and flowing. And that "Fear" is a great motivator for change. Technology as an institution has optimized this for its own growth. Fear of viruses, fear of obsolescence, fear of breakdown, all push for people to update constantly. But there are still a lot of XP machines, continuing to chug along on their predetermined path, working away in back rooms and on a few desktops. Hell, my brother in law is still running his produce packing shed on a DOS based sorting system. Oh the horror...

I'm not a curmudgeon, but I also see that believing every scare tactic ad campaign will only insure that I'm broke and out of business, and that the ad will continue to run. Thus my question, "is there real reason to upgrade at this point", not just a whizbang like an auxiliary input plug on the face of my car stereo? Just like cars, today, there is no performance, handling, or aesthetic comparison between my 1983 convertible Camaro with a carbureted SBC 305, and even a Hyundai Elantra today, even with the aftermarket Alpine head unit and Rockford Fosgate amplifiers (now that is tech innovation that was critical for humanity) the Hyundai is a far better ride. So yes, absolutely there are reasons to upgrade, and I am thankful for all the people who do chase the upgrade race, because it fuels the potential for incremental advancement. I am glad that others are trading in their cars every 2 or 3 years so that when I make a car purchase every 10 years or so, it has new features that are interesting and valuable to me. But I don't do if for fear. Fear that my 2000 F350 7.3l crew cab will all of a sudden turn to dust. Nor fear that I should be more green (it is not green to encourage the auto industry to expend the resources to smelt melts, produce plastics, expend energy (renewable or not), to produce a new car that could save me 1 tank full of gas over my expected 3 year ownership period).

People update their desktops because they are told, cajoled, and threatened if they don't.Fear is a good motivator and certainly Big Tech (and Big Pharma, and Big EDU, and Big Insurance, and Big Finance, and every other big Institution, don't forget Big Government) uses fear to drive that constant change, and the resulting constant flow of money. The economy of the situation is that if MS and Apple and Google and every other tech company didn't beat the upgrade drum constantly, they would all be sidelined, and the River of Innovation would stop flowing. Can you imagine where the world would be without 3d TV? or, curved Screens? or something to fix my Chronic Dry Eye?

Of course there is the other side, without a constant flow of huge money into the industry where would we be? Far fewer people, including most of us, employed. Consider the Tech companies of the 1920's, 30's and 40's. How many people are employed servicing and upgrading the hydro electric dams? The bridges and roads? etc. Very few. And yes, your point is correct, today, more than half a century later some are due for a re-fitment. And the scary part is we don't have the qualified workforce to do it effectively.

Why not upgrade constantly? if fear of breakdown is the argument, then having a used, but working spare of all your hardware would be far better protection in a mission critical environment. Having 2 old, used cheap cars that run, in your driveway, are far more mission critical appropriate than 1 expensive new one from the dealership this year. New cars are in the shop far more often than 4, 5, 6, or 7 year old cars. But if you have a catastrophic failure, then your second horse is in the stable and it might be inconvenient to shuffle all your tools over to the other ride on that bitter cold and wet morning, but at least you can get to work. It wouldn't be any warmer or drier when the factory new car's cam position sensor is part of the expected failure rate, or the hose connection for the radiator hose failed and overheated your engine, or the latest software update had a glitch, or. . ., Because then your hoping Uber will take you and your contractors saw from job to job that day, because that mission is critical.

Just tossing a different perspective, I hope no one read this that is now going to complain that they wasted their time. There was a warning at the top.

Richard Fritzler
Ever thankful for the un-copy-able Knowledge Base, and incalculable value, that is this forum.

 

[owelesstax]

Okay, so the consensus is that:

A newer version of App Server will not improve my ability to manage the VM system. That I need to expand my tool kit to manage it, no matter the version, e.g. PuTTY, SCP, and to avoid chmod -r 777 unless I really know what it does and that what it does is exactly what I need it to do..

That 8.1 is EOL, that Centos 5 is EOL, that the P5K Deluxe Motherboard along with the DDR2 memory and probably the hard drive that is running it are also EOL. I am taking a chance of a failure.

Okay, well, it is up and running thanks to everyone here on the board. It would have been a far worse experience without you.

I also learned that on this forum, typing consecutive dollar signs is converted to hard returns in the text of a post.

Thanks again

Richard

 

[tlpeter]

I remember a big container company running on outdated software got hijacked by randsomware costing alot of money.
8.1 was released in 2012! and thus it is 6 years old.
I agree that upgrading isn't always a thing to do but it has it's risks sometimes.


BAZINGA!

I'm not insane, my mother had me tested!

 

[owelesstax]

@tlpeter

Absolutely, risks evolve, and there are many that actively pursue victims for harm. And those risks exponentially increase as we become larger, more successful, especially for those things that are foundational to our business. Phones can be that. And is that for me. Equipment failure, whether it is old reliable eq, or shiny new, WILL damage me in some way.

Thus the backup hardware makes great sense. I have another computer, Same Motherboard, that I could shift the hard drive to in case of a failure. I should and do make back ups of the hard drive, in fact having an on board real time back up drive would make perfect sense. And in case of a software attack reinstalling the entire App Server on a blank hard disk takes 15, maybe 20 minutes. Having good backups of the rest of the data (And the knowledge to implement, which I am lacking right now as I ramp up on Linux).

Public facing systems are of course much more open to malicious attack. But updates seem to bring more problems (critical and inconvenient) than a stable untouched system. For instance, my desire to update the 8.1 App server from Centos 5.7 to 5.11 (the last updated version for 5) has rendered the OneX server app incapacitated. I should have left well enough alone and just ran it bone stock as delivered from Avaya. I know there is conspiracy that Microsoft has created updates toward the end of the software cycle that render the machines less useful, if that is true, then continuous updates is a bad path. There is a place for "if it ain't broke don't fix it". Truly, I liked windows XP, it worked, it networked well document and file locations were easy to track. I liked Microsoft Word 7, 8, or 9. Mail Merge was easy and straight forward.

So, back to my foundational question. tlpeter, you've been doing this stuff for a long time. Other than fear of failure, (unless there is a recent virus that has been developed that attacks ipoffice 500 V2 units running 8.1, specifically) because all the other problems like Router attacks, or individual misfits physically attacking my wiring closet (neither would be solved by a software and licensing update) what features/benefits would be a reason to upgrade from 8.1 to 10, or 8.1 to 11?

I am somewhat surprised how little public facing marketing about technology advancements Avaya does, IP office in particular. They seem focused to push all end user interest to their vendors for Ip office info. No announcements, No news releases, at all about features benefits, etc. What marketing they do create actually pushes cloud services, and yet Avaya doesn't believe they can do cloud well yet. According to their CEO: “I am not satisfied with where we are with cloud – If we’re not seeing at least 25 per cent of our revenue coming from the cloud in the next two years, we’ve failed.” Jim Chirico.

So me as a consumer can't make an informed decision about when is an appropriate upgrade point. All upgrades are driven by irrational fear and conversation about that fear. If all I get is the same finite feature set under a different number, with maybe a different set of problems that I am not familiar with, that doesn't sound appealing as a purchase.

I'd like to know, is there any benefit of 10 or 11?

 

[tlpeter]

I would always go for the latest release as you can do a step back with the 11 release license.
The otherway round will cost another upgrade license.
About the cloud part, i have done one recently and i like it.
Avaya mostly talks about Aura and IPOffice just a little.


BAZINGA!

I'm not insane, my mother had me tested!