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System Management
Getting Started
Once you have completed installing the VoiceXML browser, you must configure the VoiceXML browser before attempting to place calls. The management and configuration procedures completely depend on the integration, as the reference VoiceXML browser components never directly access a configuration subsystem. Instead, all configuration parameters are passed to the initialization or resource creation functions for each VoiceXML browser component. OpenVXI is an old portable open source VoiceXML interpreter and is a part of Vxi. The Vxi VoiceXML browser is configured through a text configuration file specified on the command line. Each line of this file defines a value for a property (parameter) applying to a given OpenVXI component; the possible property names are defined in the interface header files for the various components. The configuration file format is described in detail in a comment block at the top of the sample configuration file, /etc/vxmld.conf (old version:/etc/openvxi/client.cfg).
NOTE:
Before any configuration update, make a backup copy of your client.cfg file.
Once you have made a backup copy, review the properties in the configuration file and modify their settings as appropriate. For an explanation of each property, refer to support. In most cases you can modify the following properties to get started (listed in priority order):
Configure the internet access to use http Configure the cache management Activate/ deactivate traces Configure the supported MIME types
Cache Management
In the Client configuration section, set client.inet.cacheDir to the directory where you want to store cached Internet files from URL fetches. Set the client.inet.cacheTotalSizeMB property to the desired size limit in megabytes for the Internet fetch cache. Processing VXI* produces standard traces under the /tmp/log.txt file. The trace file names are referenced in the /etc/vxmld.conf (old versions:/etc/openvxi/client.cfg) file. Their format can be found in the Log Files section of this document.
NOTE:
To disable the cache entry, set the maxage and maxstale properties to 0. This properties can be change in the default.xml file to globally disable the cache.
Webserver Configuration (optional)
The VXI* VoiceXML browser supports running against static content stored as local files as well as static or dynamic content served by a web server. The VoiceXML browser is generally used with a web server. Content can be VoiceXML documents, audio / images / video files (if supported by your version or license), and grammar files. When a web server delivers the content, it also provides the MIME content type for the content and information about the desired caching behavior for the content. For the MIME content type for VoiceXML documents, a value of application/vxml+xml is recommended, but not mandatory, as the VoiceXML browser can use information within the XML document to verify it is a VoiceXML document. For prompt, recognize and record interfaces the MIME content type is more important. Support for the following audio formats is recommended for play and record operations, but not mandatory.
MIME Content | Type Description |
---|---|
audio/basic | RAW (headerless) 8kHz 8-bits mono mu-law [PCM] single channel. (G.711) |
audio/x-alaw-basic | RAW (headerless) 8kHz 8-bits mono A-law [PCM] single channel. (G.711) |
audio/x-wav | WAV (RIFF header) 8kHz 16-bits mono [PCM] single channel. |
audio/X-WAV | WAV (RIFF header) codec GSM (6.10) 7-bits mono single channel. |
audio/x-gsm | GSM (6.10) 7-bits mono single channel. |
video/mp4 | MP4 (Iso file) H.263 7 fps, mulaw/alaw/AMR-NB |
video/3gp | 3GP (Iso file) H.263 7fps, AMR-NB |
The length of time the VoiceXML browser caches an item fetched from a web server is controlled by the caching values returned in the HTTP/1.1 header. The VoiceXML browser currently only supports the “Expires” header, which defines the date and time when the VoiceXML browser must discard the cached copy and re-fetch from the web server. Some web servers allow defining caching property defaults based on the MIME content type, useful for allowing caching of audio files but not dynamically generated VoiceXML documents, for example.
Start/Stop Vxi
The VoiceXML browser software is installed in /usr/sbin and /usr/lib/openvxi. The VoiceXML browser setup script on Linux is /etc/init.d/openvxi. The openvxi script calls the /usr/sbin/safe_openvxi executable that functions as a monitor and auto-loader for your VoiceXML browser system. This safe_openvxi starts the VoiceXML browser and monitors it to make sure it is still running. If the VoiceXML browser process dies, the script will attempt to restart it. To load or unload the VoiceXML browser, use the “openvxi start” and “openvxi stop” commands:
#/etc/init.d/openvxi start #/etc/init.d/openvxi stop
Starting processes at boot time are different among the different operating systems so it is best to consult your OS documentation on how to do this. In Debian-based systems you can add this to your /etc/init.d file, however this will not shutdown the VoiceXML browser very cleanly during a reboot or shutdown. In a Debian environment you may be able to get a working /etc/init.d script by running the following commands. It will then run the following command:
#/sbin/chkconfig --add openvxi
Using Vxi
The Vxi VoiceXML browser installs the app_vxml Asterisk application that uses the browser to execute VoiceXML pages.
Check the VXML application module For more information on applications, just type “show application” at the Asterisk CLI prompt. To show details of how you use that particular application in this file (the Asterisk Dial plan).
Type:
*CLI> show application <command>
For example, the vxml application:
*CLI> show application vxml
Usage Syntax
Description:
Launch a VoiceXML session in the channel and when complete, return control.
The URL can by set with different ways :
Pass the URL as the appplication parameter. Exemple : vxml(file://tmp/test.vxml) Pass the account name or the account number. Exemple: vxml(test) Pass the “@” to match the caller number to the account number.
Set the VXML_URL variable before executing the vxml application. Don't pass any parameter, and use the configuration accounts section. If account number match with the called number, its URL(s) and parameters will be use.
The following describes how to execute a VoiceXML session.
Syntax:
Vxml([URL|Name|Number])
Variables:
VXML_URL
If the variable VXML_URL has been set when vxml runs, the value of that variable will be used for the URL unless the parameter is not set to the application.
VXML_ID
If the variable VXML_ID has been set when vxml runs, the VoiceXML session ID variable called “telephone.id” is set with this value (in the VoiceXML execution session context).
VXML_PARAM
If the variable VXML_PARAM (VXML_AAI is an alias) has been set when vxml runs, the value of that variable will be used as “telephone.param” (in the VoiceXML execution session context) and session.connection.aai.
VXML_RESULT
After execution, the VoiceXML result of <exit> tag and the property ‘expr’ are accessible by the variable VXML_RESULT.
Example:
[incoming] exten => s,1,Answer exten => s,n,Wait(3) exten => s,n,Vxml(http://vxml.i6net.com/index.vxml) exten => s,n,Hangup
Asterisk Online Help
Online help can be accessed by typing the following command at the CLI prompt: *CLI> help vxml
Management Commands
Now your VXI* VoiceXML browser and Asterisk PBX are running, you can manage the VXML service using the Asterisk prompt *CLI>:
*CLI> vxml debug
Enable VoiceXML debugging for the Asterisk application.
*CLI> vxml debug interpreter all
Enable VoiceXML debugging for the interpreter application ().
*CLI> vxml no debug
This command disables VoiceXML debugging for the Asterisk application.
*CLI> vxml no interpreter debug
This command disables VoiceXML debugging for the interpreter application.
*CLI> vxml show cache / vxml cache show
Print the files in cache (if debug mode is enabled) and/or the number of file in the cache.
*CLI> vxml cache clear
Delete all the files in the cache.
*CLI> vxml cache purge
Delete all the files in the cache older than the maxage parameter set in the configuration.
*CLI> vxml show license
Use this command to show the license information.
*CLI> vxml reload
Reload the configuration.
*CLI> vxml show configuration
Use this command to show the configuration summary of VoiceXML interpreter.
*CLI> vxml show accounts
Show the accounts configured.
*CLI> vxml show account <number>
Show the accounts details of the account ID specified.
*CLI> vxml show statitiscs
Provides a dump statistics on VoiceXML interpreter
*CLI> vxml show dates
Provides a dump dates on VoiceXML interpreter
*CLI> vxml show sessions </code> Provides a dump sessions on VoiceXML interpreter.
*CLI> vxml show session
Provides a full dump session on VoiceXML interpreter.
*CLI> vxml originate chantype/number=application(parameters)
Originate an outgoing call, you can request to use a VoiceXML session.
The following entries are the Asterisk CLI commands for the VoiceXML browser.
Example: Add extensions to the Asterisk dial plan /etc/asterisk/extensions.conf:
exten => 888,1,Answer exten => 888,n,Wait(3) exten => 888,n,Vxml(file:///root/example.vxml) exten => 888,n,Hangup
You can create and edit the file /root/example.vxml with the GNU text editor, VI, for example.
NOTE:
This example will work if you have text-to-speech configured. If not, use a pre-recorded wav or gsm file to replace the “Hello world!” text by an <audio> tag. For more information, see the format extensions supported by Asterisk.
<block><audio src=”hello.wav”/></block>
Save the file in the same directory as the VoiceXML script (relative reference in this example). Reload the extensions configuration with: *CLI> extensions reload
Call the service by calling:
SIP:888@<your server address>
Troubleshooting (for Support)
This chapter covers troubleshooting procedures for the VoiceXML Browser, describing some basic techniques that can be used when working with Vxi.
Collecting Information for Technical Support As part of the process of reporting problems, download log files and core files from the VoiceXML Browser and send them to I6NET, together with the current configuration files.
/tmp/log.txt (default configuration)
Core files
Collected files should be sent by email to Technical Support (support@i6net.com).
Log Files
The log files contain information about the operation of the VoiceXML Browser. The file is /tmp/log.txt, which details the VoiceXML processing on the VoiceXML Browser. If a failure occurs and you need to contact I6NET support (at support@i6net.com), they may ask you to activate traces to allow analysis of the system functions and make a complete appraisal of the problem. To do so you must follow these
procedures:
Edit the configuration file client.cfg in /etc/openvxi/. The levels are defined by these lines which are the# API/general log traces for each component:
client.log.diagTag.2000 VXIInteger 0 client.log.diagTag.2001 VXIInteger 0 client.log.diagTag.3000 VXIInteger 0 client.log.diagTag.3001 VXIInteger 0 client.log.diagTag.3002 VXIInteger 0
The ranges are associated to different interfaces:
200x: Cache interface 300x: Internet HTTP interface 400x: ECMAscript interface 500x: Prompt interface 600x: Recognize interface 700x: Telephony/Session interface 800x: XML Interpreter 900x: Object interface 1000x: Main/Client application
To enable a level, set the 1 value and 0 to disable. To validate the modifications, the VoiceXML interpreter must be restarted. A simple way to do this is to stop and restart this application with the Asterisk and OpenVXI script:
# /etc/init.d/asterisk stop # /etc/init.d/openvxi stop # /etc/init.d/openvxi start # /etc/init.d/asterisk start
The log file is generated in the temporary directory, and is named log.txt. The location and filename are configurable. To purge the file type:
# > /tmp/log.txt
NOTE:
- Never delete the /tmp/log.txt directly, otherwise you should restart the VoiceXML browser to generate a new one.
- An Apache/PHP script exists generate the traces from a standard Internet browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla/firefox…). Get it from our web site
- At the end of the trace record, don’t forget to stop it to recover optimal real time function. With the V4.x release, you can dynamically enable/disable the interpreter traces with an Asterisk *CLI> command.
Simple traces for the VoiceXML development:
*CLI> vxml debug interpreter dev
Full traces:
*CLI> vxml debug interpreter all
Disable the interpreter traces:
*CLI> vxml no debug interpreter
Restore the log traces:
*CLI> vxml debug interpreter log
Current Sessions To determine how many VoiceXML sessions are currently active on the system, use the statistics dump on the CLI. This command displays the current number of sessions on the VoiceXML Browser:
*CLI> vxml show statistics
File descriptors To find out how many file descriptors are being used follow this:
Find out program PID:
# ps -ef | grep asterisk
Find out program PID (other command):
# pidof asterisk
List of files opened by PID (details):
# ls -l /proc/[PID]/fd
List of files opened by PID (counter):
# ls -l /proc/[PID]/fd | wc -l
More information about file descriptors:
# lsof | grep "[PID]"