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VICIdial for complete beginners
Learn the screens.
Make your first practice call.
Follow one example from start to finish: an agent, a phone station, a campaign and three test contacts. Each lesson shows the steps, the fields to complete and the result to look for.
Start lesson 1Stage 1 of 3
Understand the basics
Learn the main terms, check your practice lab and find the Admin screens.What VICIdial does
Understand how an administrator prepares calling work and an agent uses VICIdial to call a contact and record the result.
5 minWhat user, phone, campaign, list and lead mean
Learn five VICIdial building blocks using one small practice campaign, and distinguish an agent's account from the station used for audio.
5 minCheck your practice system
Find your two HTTPS addresses, check the SIP/WebRTC prerequisites and prepare the exact internal route before creating the course records.
10 minOpen Admin and find your way
Sign in to the practice Admin interface and find the menus used to create your lab records.
10 min
Stage 2 of 3
Set up your practice campaign
Create one agent, phone, manual campaign and list. Use the same example throughout.Create a user group and agent
Make a small lab group and a level-one agent, then check the saved records before adding a phone.
15 minSet up the agent phone
Prepare the browser-phone template, create station 8001, then check its saved login and WebRTC settings before registration.
20 minCreate a manual campaign
Create inactive LAB01, configure manual preview and internal dialing, and give only LABTEAM access before loading leads.
20 minCreate your practice list and finish its mapping
Create list 90001 under LAB01, save the campaign’s Manual Dial List ID, and reopen both records to prove the relationship.
15 min
Stage 3 of 3
Make your first practice call
Load three test leads, check your audio, call an internal test destination and find the result.Load three practice leads
Put three fictional records into the dedicated lab list and verify each one before dialing.
15 minLog in as an agent and check your audio
Use the phone and agent logins in order, then prepare the lab webphone while paused.
10 minMake your first practice call
Check every prerequisite, preview one synthetic lead, test internal Echo audio and match the saved disposition to a report row.
10 minFind your practice call in User Stats
Open the agent’s report and match the call’s date, campaign, lead and saved status.
10 min
Build a practice lab
These guides cover terminal basics, networks and installation. The ViciBox 12 walkthroughs describe a disposable learning lab. Use the version and platform named in each guide.
Reference guides
Linux and network basics
Get a disposable lab machine, then learn to inspect a server safely before administering anything.F01Running your systemStart here · foundationsLinux terminal basics: safely move around a serverGet a disposable lab VM, then learn the shell prompt, paths, commands and safe inspection before you ever touch a VICIdial host.F02Running your systemStart here · foundationsLinux files and text: create, read and search safelyUnderstand files, directories and text streams, then practice on a file you create and a real file that already exists, before reading configuration or call logs.F03Running your systemStart here · foundationsLinux users and permissions: read access before changing itLearn ownership, rwx permissions and sudo boundaries by contrasting a file you create with two real system files, without weakening a server.F04Running your systemStart here · foundationsLinux packages: apt, zypper and safe updatesDetect which package manager a host actually has, then inspect Debian/Ubuntu and openSUSE packages safely before installing telephony software.F05Running your systemStart here · foundationsInspect Linux services and logs for VICIdialUse systemctl and journalctl to inspect the affected service and incident window without restarting it.F06Running your systemStart here · foundationsSSH basics: connect and verify a server identityMake an SSH connection safely, understand host keys and avoid accepting an unexpected server.F07Carriers & SIPStart here · foundationsCheck DNS, addresses and TCP listenersResolve an approved host, inspect its listening port and identify the next network check.
Reference guides
Voice, VoIP and SIP
Understand the call path, signaling and media before handling a carrier or phone endpoint.F08Carriers & SIPStart here · foundationsVoIP and telephony basics: how a call path fits togetherLearn the plain-language pieces of a phone call before configuring a carrier, DID or campaign.F09Carriers & SIPStart here · foundationsCheck SIP signaling and RTP audio in VICIdialSeparate SIP signaling from RTP audio, then inspect a phone or carrier using the correct Asterisk driver.F10VICIdial & agentsStart here · foundationsVICIdial and VoIP glossary for complete beginnersA practical glossary for the lead-to-carrier call path — hopper, trunk, DID and disposition — with a pointer to the VICIdial terminology lesson for admin-screen object names.
Reference guides
Choose your Linux path
See why this curriculum builds its lab on ViciBox, and why a ViciBox 12 lab is not a production platform.76Running your systemStage 3 · Debian-family pathUbuntu and Debian basics before a VICIdial installRecognize a Debian-family host by its package tooling, and understand why this curriculum's hands-on lab path is ViciBox — an openSUSE-based appliance — rather than a from-scratch Ubuntu or Debian install.77Running your systemStage 3 · Generic openSUSEGeneric openSUSE basics for VICIdial learners: zypper, firewalld and servicesLearn generic openSUSE administration — zypper and firewalld — without pretending that a plain openSUSE host is a stock ViciBox installation.78Running your systemStage 3 · Platform choiceViciBox vs generic openSUSE vs Ubuntu/Debian for VICIdial beginnersCompare three starting points and land on one answer for this curriculum: the stock ViciBox appliance is the lab path, while generic openSUSE and Ubuntu/Debian are explicitly not — because ViciBox couples the base system to a working telephony stack that this library actually walks you through.79Running your systemStage 3 · Version statusViciBox version status: why ViciBox 12 and ViciBox 13 are lab-only lessonsA dated safety boundary for ViciBox learners: ViciBox 12 is based on Leap 15.6, now confirmed end of life, and ViciBox 13 remains beta. Treat both as isolated labs, not production defaults, until the vendor's own status changes.
Reference guides
Build a ViciBox lab
Install stock ViciBox in a disposable VM, verify it, create a read-only database account, and learn your way around the running host.80Running your systemStage 4 · Stock ViciBox labWhat stock ViciBox is: the appliance, phases and safe lab boundaryUnderstand what the stock ViciBox appliance changes, what Phase 1 and Phase 2 do, why this curriculum's install path stops short of a production recommendation, and what your lab VM needs before you boot the ISO.81Running your systemStage 4 · Stock ViciBox labViciBox 12 Phase 1 lab checklist: ISO boot, target disk and first loginA safety-first checklist for observing ViciBox 12 Phase 1 in a disposable VM: the confirmation dialog before disk destruction, the first-root-login wizard, its own password shortcut you should not take, and how to tell Phase 1 actually finished.82Phone system (Asterisk)Stage 4 · Stock ViciBox labViciBox Express lab: Phase 2 and first safe verificationUnderstand the single-server ViciBox Express lab role, then verify it from the command line: the astguiclient screen sessions, whether PJSIP is actually alive, and the default Admin login you must change before you do anything else.58Running your systemAppliance installation pathInstall ViciBox 12 in a lab and reach a secure first loginBoot the correct ViciBox 12 ISO, complete the Phase 1 base operating system install and root wizard, run Phase 2 with vicibox-express (or vicibox-install for a cluster), confirm Asterisk and the web stack actually came up, then change the default 6666 password before the box is reachable from the internet.83Running your systemStage 4 · Stock ViciBox labCreate a read-only database account for safe VICIdial queriesSet up a local SELECT-only login, store it in a root-only MariaDB option file, and prove which account and database your next query will use. Includes the complete lab recipe and recovery for each failed check.74Running your systemStage 4 · Stock ViciBox labInside a running ViciBox lab: processes, screens and AsteriskTour a running ViciBox Express lab from the command line: find the screen sessions astguiclient depends on, ask Asterisk directly about its own health, and confirm the supporting services are active — all before you trust a browser login alone.75Running your systemStage 4 · Stock ViciBox labInside a running ViciBox lab: the VICIdial filesystem mapTour the VICIdial filesystem map on a running ViciBox lab: where the Perl scripts live, where their logs land, which configuration keys are safe to read, and why the completed-recordings folder is looked at but never listed in full.
After your first call
Choose a guide when you need more detail about administration, a real provider or running a live system.
Reference guides
Administration in more detail
Learn the vocabulary, then log in, build a campaign, load leads and place a first call to an internal test destination, one safe layer at a time.84VICIdial & agentsStage 5 · VICIdial foundationsVICIdial terminology for complete beginners: users, phones, campaigns and leadsLearn the VICIdial admin-UI object names — user, phone, agent, campaign, list, lead, carrier and recording — and confirm the Admin endpoint exists on your lab, before you rely on the separate call-path glossary for hopper, disposition and trunk vocabulary.85VICIdial & agentsStage 5 · VICIdial foundationsThe beginner VICIdial admin pathway: from first login to first reportSee the safe order of VICIdial administration — secure login, user and station, campaign, synthetic list, agent readiness, then reporting — and read the campaign schema taking shape in the database with the read-only account from the previous stage.34Running your systemFirst loginSign in to VICIdial Admin and AgentOpen the Admin and Agent screens and identify which credentials each form asks for.36VICIdial & agentsCampaign setupCreate a campaign and attach a listCreate LAB01 and list 90001, then permit an existing test agent’s group to use the campaign.37VICIdial & agentsBeginner pathLoad and verify leads from a CSVPrepare a synthetic CSV, map its fields into list 90001 and verify the loaded record.38VICIdial & agentsFirst-call walkthroughPlace and disposition a VICIdial test callSign in with a provisioned station and agent, make one approved test call, and save its disposition.39VICIdial & agentsPacing and dial levelSet a campaign dialing modeInspect MANUAL, RATIO and adaptive settings and plan a supervised pacing test.
Reference guides
Connect a real carrier
Only with an authorized SIP provider account: confirm your SIP transport, then connect and prove one carrier.86Carriers & SIPStage 6 · VoIP foundationsVoIP and SIP recap before your first VICIdial carrierConfirm the local SIP transport, listener and network path before a carrier setup, while keeping internal-call evidence separate from external reachability.35Carriers & SIPCarrier setupAdd and test a VICIdial SIP carrierPrepare a provider-specific carrier record, check the loaded PJSIP objects and route, and run one authorized test call.
Reference guides
Lab-to-production readiness
Before a live rollout, make reporting boundaries, recovery drills, access controls and monitoring ownership explicit. These guides do not certify a system for production.FO3Reports & resultsReports · agent activityCheck a VICIdial agent report before comparing KPIsRun User Stats for one agent, match a known call and document the scope of each measure.15Running your systemRecovery designVICIdial backup and disaster recovery: design for a tested RTO/RPOA recovery architecture analysis that labels assumptions and drills rather than pretending an unobserved restore is a step-by-step guide.52Running your systemServer lockdown checklistAudit VICIdial SSH, firewall and service accessBuild a verified access map for SSH, SIP, web and management services. Inspect effective policy, test permitted and denied paths, and record exact changes and recovery instead of inferring security from a port listing.23Reports & resultsMonitoring setupHow to monitor VICIdial SFTP pushes with append-only JSONLValidate an explicit run/event log contract, reproduce six offline failure cases, then check an approved stable log after its completion deadline; recipient receipt remains separate.