If you’ve browsed through the samples in the ~/src/asterisk-complete/1.8/configs/ directory,
you may have noticed the agents.conf
file. It may seem tempting, and it has its places, but overall the best
way to implement queues is through the use of SIP channels. There are two
reasons for this. The first is that SIP channels are the only type that
provide true device state information. The other reason is that agents are
always logged in when using the agent channel, and if you’re using remote
agents, the bandwidth requirements may be greater than you wish. However,
in busy call centers it may be desirable to force agents to answer calls
immediately rather than having them press the answer button on the
phone.
The agents.conf file is use to define agents for
queues using the agents channel. This channel is similar in nature to the
other channel types in Asterisk (local, SIP, IAX2, etc.), but it is more
of a pseudo-channel in that it is used to connect callers to agents who
have logged into the system using other types of transport channel. For
example, suppose we use our SIP-enabled phone to log in to Asterisk using
the AgentLogin() dialplan application.
Once we’re logged in, the channel remains online the entire time it is
available (logged on), and calls are then passed to it through the agent
channel.
Let’s take a look at the various options available
to us in the agents.conf file to get
a better idea of what it provides us. Table 13.3, “Options available under the [general] header in
agents.conf” shows the single option available in
the [general] section of agents.conf. Table 13.4, “Options available under the [agents] header in agents.conf” shows the available options under the
[agents] header.
Table 13.4. Options available under the [agents] header in agents.conf
| Options | Available values | Description |
|---|---|---|
maxloginretries | Integer value | Specifies the maximum number of tries an agent has to log in before the system considers it a failed attempt and ends the call. Defaults to 3. |
autologoff | Value in seconds | Specifies the number of seconds for which an agent’s device should ring before the agent is automatically logged off. |
autologoffunavail | yes, no | If set to yes, the agent
is automatically logged off when the device being called returns a
status of CHANUNAVAIL. |
ackcall | yes, no | If set to yes, the agent
must enter a single DTMF digit to accept the call. To be used in
conjunction with acceptdtmf.
Defaults to no. |
acceptdtmf | Single DTMF character | Used in conjunction with ackcall, this option defines the DTMF
character to be used to accept a call. Defaults to #. |
endcall | yes, no | If set to yes, allows an
agent to end a call with a single DTMF digit. To be used in
conjunction with enddtmf.
Defaults to yes. |
enddtmf | Single DTMF character | Used in conjunction with endcall, this option defines the DTMF
character to be used to end a call. Defaults to *. |
wrapuptime | Value in milliseconds | Specifies the amount of time after disconnection of a caller from an agent for which the agent will not be available to accept another call. Used in situations where agents must perform a function after each call (such as entering call details into a log). |
musiconhold | Music class as defined in musiconhold.conf | Defines the default music class agents listen to when logged in. |
goodbye | Name of file (relative to /var/lib/asterisk/sounds/<lang>/) | Defines the default goodbye sound played to agents.
Defaults to vm-goodbye. |
updatecdr | yes, no | Used in call detail records to change the source channel
field to the agent/agent_id. |
group | Integer value | Allows you to define groups for sets of agents.
The use of agent groups is essentially deprecated
functionality that we do not recommend you use. If you
define group1, you can use
Agent/@1 in queues.conf to call that group of
agents. The call will be connected arbitrarily to one of those
agents. If no agents are available, it will return back to the
queue like any other unanswered call. If you use Agent/:1, it will wait for a member of
the group to become available. The use of strategies has
no effect on agent groups. Do not use these. |
recordagentcalls | yes, no | Enables/disables the recording of agent calls. Disabled by default. |
recordformat | File format (gsm,
wav, etc.) | Defines the format to be used when recording agent calls.
Default is wav. |
urlprefix | String (URL) | Accepts a string as its argument. The string can be formed as a URL and is appended to the start of the text to be added to the name of the recording. |
savecallsin | Filesystem path (e.g., /var/calls/) | Accepts a filesystem path as its argument. Allows you to
override the default path of /var/spool/asterisk/monitor/ with one
of your choosing.[a] |
custom_beep | Name of file (relative to /var/lib/asterisk/sounds/<lang>/) | Accepts a filename as its argument. Can be used to define a custom notification tone to signal to an always-connected agent that there is an incoming call. |
agent | Agent definition (see description) | Defines an agent for use by Queue() and AgentLogin(). These are agents that will
log in and stay connected to the system, waiting for calls to be
delivered by the Queue()
dialplan application. Agents are defined like so:agent => An example of a defined agent would be: agent => 1000,1234,Danielle Roberts |
[a] Since the storage of calls will require a large amount of hard drive space, you will want to define a strategy to handle storing and managing these recordings. This location should probably reside on a separate volume, one with very high performance characteristics. | ||