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Beginner learning path
Start with the basics.
Build toward VICIdial.
Learn Linux, networks, voice systems and VICIdial in a safe order. Start with a lab, prove one controlled call, then use the final readiness stage to plan—not certify—a production rollout.
See the learning pathStart safelyUse a sandbox or lab. Never copy a command into a production dialer without understanding it.
Choose a platformUbuntu/Debian, openSUSE and stock ViciBox are separate paths—do not mix their install instructions.
Verify as you goEach lesson includes a small check before you continue to the next layer.
Stage 01 of 7
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 · foundationsLinux services and logs: observe systemd before restartingUse systemctl and journalctl to collect evidence without masking a telephony fault.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 · foundationsNetworking basics for VoIP: IP, DNS, ports and NATTrace a connection from a hostname to an address and port before diagnosing SIP or browser audio.
Stage 02 of 7
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 · foundationsSIP basics for beginners: registration, calls and responsesRead the basic SIP conversation, then check your host's registered SIP ports, before configuring PJSIP, a carrier trunk or WebRTC.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.
Stage 03 of 7
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.
Stage 04 of 7
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 pathViciBox 12 installation: from bare metal to first dialBoot 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 queriesCreate a SELECT-only MariaDB account and a locked-down credentials file on your ViciBox lab, so every later SQL example in this library — and every query you write yourself — can read VICIdial's database without ever risking a write.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.
Stage 05 of 7
Learn VICIdial administration
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 loginYour first VICIdial login: find the Admin URL, Agent URL and default passwordA guided first login for a fresh VICIdial install: where the generated admin password lives, the separate Admin and Agent addresses and logins, a tour of the Users, User Groups, Campaigns, Lists, Scripts, Phones, Carriers, and Reports menus, the phone-versus-user distinction that confuses every newcomer, and how to change the default password safely.36VICIdial & agentsCampaign setupCreate your first VICIdial campaign, list, user group and agentBuild the five records a working VICIdial campaign needs, in the order that actually works: a user group, an agent login, a phone (station) record, a list, and the campaign that switches everything on, safely inactive until your first manual test call.37VICIdial & agentsBeginner pathLoad leads into VICIdial from a CSV fileA safe, source-verified walkthrough of getting contacts into VICIdial: what a lead record and its key fields really are, how to build and load a CSV file through the Admin screen, what duplicate checking does, how to verify a load and clean up a bad one, and how to load leads with the add_lead API. Every test lead in this guide points at an internal extension, never a real phone number.38VICIdial & agentsFirst-call walkthroughPlace your first call as a VICIdial agentLog in to the Agent screen, get real audio flowing in both directions, place one manual call to a safe internal test destination, save a disposition, then pause and log out the same way you will every day after.39VICIdial & agentsPacing and dial levelVICIdial dialing modes and pacing: manual, ratio and adaptiveHow VICIdial's MANUAL, RATIO, and adaptive dial methods work, what the auto dial level number actually controls, and how to raise pacing in small measured steps without turning your campaign into a wave of dropped calls.
Stage 06 of 7 · Optional lab
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 carrierA recap, not a re-teaching: confirm — on your own build — which SIP transport and port Asterisk is actually using before you touch a real carrier or a firewall rule, since this curriculum's earlier VoIP and SIP lessons already define the vocabulary.35Carriers & SIPCarrier setupConnect your first SIP carrier so calls can leave the serverGather the right facts from your provider, create one database-managed carrier in Admin, verify PJSIP registration, and place one test call, all without hand-editing a single Asterisk file.
Stage 07 of 7
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 activityVICIdial agent KPI reporting: read activity fairly before judging performanceChoose the right VICIdial report, understand time differences, and build a fair test KPI view.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 checklistSecure your VICIdial server: SSH, firewall and access controlWork through SSH key-only login, the firewalld and VB-firewall rules this build actually needs instead of ufw, fail2ban for SIP and web-login brute force, and the accounts that reach the web root and database, verifying each control against what the server is actually running.23Reports & resultsMonitoring setupHow to monitor VICIdial SFTP pushes with append-only JSONLConfirm the push script's JSONL log, learn its one-line-per-phase schema, prove the file is read-only to any other account, add a narrow logrotate policy, and prove that viewing the log changes nothing.