IaxModem Pickup Problem

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We run Asterisk 13 using the FreePBX 13.0.190.19 distro based on CentOS-6.4. We also run HylFAX+ 5.5.3 with iaxModem 1.2.0 on the same system with AdvantFAX as the web front-end. Our two fax lines are configured as iax2 DEVICES.

These components have been working together through various versions since 2013. On Tuesday last our site was subjected to a prolonged power outage that drained our twin UPS set up flat resulting in a power down state for the Asterisk host.

Upon power recovery the asterisk host system came up, the phone system works, but we are now unable to receive faxes through Asterisk. We can send faxes but not receive them. The fax line never picks up and a redirect to a voice recording informing voice callers of their mistake is triggered instead.

I have a trace of the asterisk ‘full’ log that captures one of these failed calls and I would like some help in determining if a clue to what has happened is contained therein. I do not wish to simply post it to the list with getting permission since it is quiet long. But I
do need to get this resolved and I cannot fathom why the lines are not picking up incoming faxes.

Any help would be gratefully accepted.

5 thoughts on - IaxModem Pickup Problem

  • I am advised that it may be possible thast the astdb.sqlite3 database may be corrupted. Are there procedures to rebuild or repair this?
    Where are they documented? If not then how does one repair such?

  • It depends a bit on your version of FreePBX, but here’s a link to show you how:

    http://telium.ca/pages/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t

    Hopefully option 1 works for you (quick and easy). If not, you’ll have to try option 2. Ignore option 3 since that’s only for users of High Availability for Asterisk (HAAst).

    (I assume that if you had a full backup you would have already tried to restore it)

    -Raj-

    —–Original Message—

  • No, I did not try to restore from backups; and yes I have daily backups to recover from if that is necessary. However, I have since corrected the damaged rows in astdb.sqlite and the fax service is now working again.

    If someone could explain what likely happens to damage astdb.sqlite when the system is suddenly powered off I would appreciate it.

  • The file astdb.sqlite is a SQLite 3 file (all tables and indices rolled into one file). While Asterisk is running the astdb file is always open for r/w. FreePBX regularly updates rows (“keys”) in this database, so writes are often in progress.

    In the event of a power failure the file will not be properly closed, or worse be left in an invalid state. No, I did not try to restore from backups; and yes I have daily backups to recover from if that is necessary. However, I have since corrected the damaged rows in astdb.sqlite and the fax service is now working again.

    If someone could explain what likely happens to damage astdb.sqlite when the system is suddenly powered off I would appreciate it.

  • . . .

    I have added a cron job to make a copy that file every day at midnight with a date timestamp in the file name. I also have daily scheduled backups of the entire FreePBX installation and databases through FreePBX itself but this approach seems a little more convenient.

    We have had similar incidents in the past which we could never determine the cause of before it was somehow rectified. I infer that on each occasion something we tried simply caused the astdb file to be rebuilt and thereby corrected the issue without us ever being aware that is what happened.