I run a personal SIP server powered by OpenSER. Actually, calling something a SIP server is a bit of oversimplification as the protocol and actions associated with it are fairly complex (as far as I know, I run a SIP proxy and location server). All this to say that OpenSER uses a relational database to store its data, as do all classy enterprise software out there.

So far, so good, but when it comes to relational databases I like using PostgreSQL instead of the OpenSER default MySQL. Why? Because I know how to use it! Problem is, the last stable release of OpenSER (1.2.2) has a serious bug in the PostgreSQL driver, making it impossible to use. It's a pity no one bothered to do a brown bag release because of this issue. Not being the default database really turns you into a second class citizen. Anyway, the fix is already in the OpenSER SVN, but I will post the patch here, to those that want to stick to the released version.

diff -ru openser-1.2.2-tls.orig/modules/postgres/db_res.c openser-1.2.2-tls/modules/postgres/db_res.c
--- openser-1.2.2-tls.orig/modules/postgres/db_res.c    2007-08-16 11:23:05.000000000 -0300
+++ openser-1.2.2-tls/modules/postgres/db_res.c 2007-11-25 08:23:53.000000000 -0200
@@ -572,6 +572,7 @@
         * If this is not done, a memory leak will happen.
         */
        for (col = 0; col < ROW_N(_row); col++) {
+         _val = &(ROW_VALUES(_row)[col]);
           switch (VAL_TYPE(_val)) {
             case DB_STRING:
               LOG(L_DBG, "PG[free_row]: %p=pkg_free() VAL_STRING[%d]\n", (char *)VAL_STRING(_val), col);

The silver lining in this was that it was quite easy to find a solution to this problem. Before OpenSER I used for some time the original SER, and I can tell you, it is almost impossible to find some help on the web. Both because SER is a lousy name to base a Google search :) and because the project isn't quite transparent as a proper open source project should be. So, congratulations to the OpenSER developers! And remember, release early, release often!

Posted at: 18:03 | Category: /software | permalink