Setup guide
VICIdial setup and installation, step by step
Installing VICIdial is the easy part — there is a scripted installer and it mostly works. Turning a fresh install into a dialer that connects calls cleanly, rotates caller ID, and stays inside drop-rate limits is where the work is. This is the full checklist, whether you do it yourself or hand it to us.
1. Size and prepare the server
VICIdial is a real-time audio application, so it is far more sensitive to CPU steal and disk latency than a typical web app. Under-provision here and you spend weeks chasing “choppy audio” bugs that are not in the dialer at all.
- Around 2 cores / 8 GB for a small team of a few agents
- Roughly 4 cores / 16 GB at 20 agents, 8 cores / 32 GB at 40
- 16 cores / 64 GB and fast storage approaching 60 agents
- Dedicated resources, not an oversold VPS — jitter ruins calls
- Plan storage for recordings and the MySQL call tables from the start
2. Install Asterisk and the VICIdial suite
The scripted installer handles Asterisk, MySQL, Apache and the VICIdial web application. What it does not do is make opinionated choices for your use case: time zones, recording format and retention, web server TLS, database tuning and log rotation all still need deciding before the first campaign goes live.
3. Connect a carrier SIP trunk
This is where most self-installs stall. The dialer needs a carrier account, a trunk defined in Asterisk, correct codec negotiation, registration or IP authentication, and caller-ID numbers the carrier will actually accept from you. Get the codec or NAT settings wrong and calls connect but nobody can hear anybody — a symptom that sends people hunting in the wrong place for days.
4. Attach DID numbers and set up rotation
Dialing an entire campaign from one caller ID is the fastest way to get that number flagged. You want a pool of DIDs, mapped to the campaign, rotating automatically, and ideally matched to the area you are calling. That means buying the numbers, routing them inbound so callbacks reach an agent rather than dead air, and configuring the rotation mode.
On CreatixReach this is handled for you — 20 US DIDs per agent seat are included and rotation is configured out of the box. The mechanics are documented under phone numbers.
5. Tune the dial plan and drop rate
Default dial ratios are not tuned for your campaign, your agent count or your answer rate. Too conservative and agents sit idle; too aggressive and you abandon calls, which is both a compliance problem and a reputation problem. The right approach is to pick the dial method deliberately, start conservative, and tighten while watching the drop rate rather than the connect rate.
The trade-offs for each method are written up in the dial methods documentation, and the concepts behind predictive pacing are explained on the predictive dialer page.
6. Load leads, create agents, and test properly
Import your list, define dispositions that match how your team actually classifies outcomes, create agent accounts, and place real test calls to real phones before you point a full campaign at it. Check audio in both directions, confirm recordings are being written, and confirm an inbound callback to a rotated DID lands on an agent.
What CreatixReach does instead
Every step above is done for you before you get your login. The server is sized to your agent count, the suite is installed and hardened, the carrier trunk is connected, DIDs are attached and rotating, the dial plan ships pre-tuned, and a hostname with a valid certificate is created on your own subdomain. Verification is completed first, then the platform is built — usually within a few hours of payment.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does a VICIdial installation take?
- A clean scripted install on a fresh server can complete in under an hour. Getting from 'installed' to 'a campaign that dials correctly and stays inside drop-rate limits' is the part that takes real time — typically several days of carrier configuration, dial-plan tuning and test calling for a team doing it themselves for the first time.
- What server do I need to run VICIdial?
- It depends on agent count and recording retention. A small deployment of a handful of agents runs comfortably on 2 cores and 8 GB of RAM; 60 agents wants something closer to 16 cores and 64 GB with fast storage, because recordings and the MySQL call tables grow quickly. Sizing the box wrong is one of the most common causes of audio quality problems.
- Do I need a SIP carrier before I install VICIdial?
- You need one before you can place a call, and it is worth arranging first. VICIdial is the dialer, not the phone company — it hands calls to a SIP trunk provided by a carrier. Setting up the carrier account, configuring the trunk in Asterisk, and registering caller-ID numbers is normally where first-time installs stall.
- Can I install VICIdial on a shared or low-cost VPS?
- Technically yes, and it is a common false economy. Real-time audio is unforgiving of noisy-neighbour CPU steal and jitter; an oversold VPS produces choppy calls that are very hard to diagnose from inside the dialer, because the dialer is not what is broken.
- What is usually configured wrong after a fresh install?
- In our experience: dial ratios set far too aggressively for the agent count, drop-rate limits left at defaults that are not compliant for the campaign, caller-ID set to a single number instead of rotating across a pool, recording retention left unbounded until the disk fills, and no separation between the answering-machine detection settings and the campaign that actually needs them.
- Does CreatixReach install VICIdial on a server I already own?
- Our packages are sold as a managed platform on infrastructure we operate, because we are responsible for the carrier-facing behavior of the box. If you have an unusual requirement — an existing server, a specific data-residency need — contact us and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.
Keep reading
The managed alternative to doing all of the above yourself.
Self-hosted vs shared vs dedicated, with real cost figures.
Account, verification, package selection and first login.
Audio problems, login problems, and what to check first.
Skip the build
We size the server, install the suite, connect the carrier, attach rotating DIDs and hand you a tuned dialer. Verification first, platform usually the same day.