trixbox CE 2.6 - Packt Publishing

trixbox CE 2.6

Kerry Garrison

Chapter No. 9 "PBX functions and features"

In this package, you will find: A Biography of the author of the book A preview chapter from the book, Chapter NO.9 "PBX functions and features" A synopsis of the book’s content Information on where to buy this book

About the Author Kerry Garrison has spent over 20 years in the IT industry and was introduced to Asterisk by a long-time friend. After getting Asterisk running at home and finding the Asterisk@Home project to make doing installations even easier, Kerry began writing technical articles about using the system to run a business-grade phone system. After seeing the response to his talk about Asterisk@Home at Astricon in 2005, Kerry decided to write the first book about the system. Before the book went to print, the project was renamed to trixbox. After many rewrites to try to stay current, the first Trixbox Made Easy book was finally published with some additional help from Barry Dempster. Shortly after the first book was published, Fonality, the sponsor of the trixbox project, hired Kerry as the trixbox project manager to work alongside Andrew Gillis to keep the project moving forward, and he worked as the Community Director at Fonality until January of 2009. Today, Kerry is doing consulting work again, and working on his new project (http://pbxtutorials.com).

For More Information: www.packtpub.com/trixbox-ce-2.6/book

The following people have contributed code, their writing, and/or their inspiration to help make this new book possible: My Family Without the support of my wife and family putting up with my rants about "I swore I would never write another book", this new book would never have happened. Credits to the family would not be complete without mentioning my dog Lola, who sat by my side during the entire writing of the book and provided a nice break whenever she needed to go for a walk. Andrew Gillis While not his intention to help create a revolution in the telephony market, Andrew's little basement project made it simple for millions of users to learn how to use these powerful tools. Tim Yardley Known to the world as "Engineer Tim", Tim worked on the trixbox CE project during 2008 as the build engineer. His contribution of information on how to secure a trixbox system was a huge contribution to this book.


trixbox CE 2.6 trixbox CE is an open-source IP PBX system based on the Asterisk Open Source PBX (Private Branch eXchange) software. Using trixbox CE, you can set up a PBX system to run your business that will have features previously only available to companies with huge budgets. With the flexibility of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), a trixbox CE system can be extremely versatile and provide features such as remote users and branch office support. This book will show you all of the features of trixbox CE with information about how to best utilize those features to create a system that will serve your needs as well as keep your incoming callers from being annoyed. This book starts with the basics and works up through all the features, building on what you are learning, to enable you to build a feature-rich and well-laid-out phone system.

What This Book Covers Chapter 1 introduces you to the basics of open source PBX systems, describes how they handle calls, how they connect to the existing telephone networks, and what the software is like under the hood. Chapter 2 delves specifically into what trixbox CE is and how it is different from Asterisk or other open source PBX platforms. Chapter 3 shows you how to install trixbox CE and goes through all of the main sections of the user interface that we will be using to configure the system. Chapter 4 gets into the configuration of all of the primary features of trixbox CE including setting up of phones, extensions, and IVR menus. Chapter 5 takes you through the planning of a successful deployment and how to properly structure a system for best results. Chapter 6 takes you through hardware configurations such as TDM cards and hard phones. Chapter 7 covers the different aspects of network issues that you need to take into account and how different network designs can affect the performance of your system.


Chapter 8 talks about advanced trunking methods for connecting multiple systems together for connecting business units, branch offices, and so on. Chapter 9 is a complete overview of the PBX functions that are built into the system and shows how to add your own functions if you need to. Chapter 10 covers the PBX features in detail with best practices on using the features for best results. Chapter 11 covers general maintenance tasks and reporting functions. Chapter12 takes you through the steps of troubleshooting your system when things are not working the way they should. Chapter 13 goes through some of the utilities that are included with trixbox CE to make using your system easier. Chapter 14 will help you design a good call flow that accomplishes the needs of the company and keeps callers from hanging up. Chapter 15 explains how to secure your trixbox CE system and keep unwanted people out of the system. Chapter 16 shows you some of the features of the upcoming HUD (Version 3) that is coming to trixbox CE soon. Chapter 17 introduces you to trixbox Pro, the big brother to trixbox CE that is a commercial PBX package.


PBX functions and features Every commercial PBX system has its own set of advanced features that are activated by key commands, also known as vertical service activation codes. trixbox CE has its share of standard and advanced features, and we will even look at how to add our own custom features to the system.

Standard features The following sections will break down the list of available features by category. While the codes listed are the default settings, they can be modified in the PBX Configuration tool using the Feature Codes module. These features are invoked by dialing the code from a registered SIP or IAX endpoint, or via an analog extension plugged into an FXS port. Some of the following features require the appropriate PBX Configuration tool module to be installed.

Call forwarding The call forwarding mechanism is both powerful and flexible. With the different options, you can perform a number of different functions or even create a basic find-me/follow-me setup when using a feature like call forward on no answer, or send callers to your assistant if you are on a call using call forward on busy. Function Call Forward All Activate Call Forward All Deactivate Call Forward All Prompting Call Forward Busy Activate Call Forward Busy Deactivate Call Forward Busy Prompting Deactivate Call Forward No Answer/Unavailable Activate Call Forward No Answer/Unavailable Deactivate

Code *72 *73 *74 *90 *91 *92 *52 *53


PBX functions and features

Call waiting The call waiting setting determines whether a call will be put through to your phone if you are already on a call. This can be useful in some call center environments where you don't want agents to be disturbed by other calls when they are working with clients. Function

Code

Call Waiting Activate

*70

Call Waiting Deactivate

*71

Core features The core features control basic functions such as transfers and testing inbound calls. Simulating an inbound call is useful for testing a system without having to call into it. If you don't have any trunks hooked up, it is the easiest way to check your call flow. Once you have telephone circuits connected, you can still use the function to test your call flow without having to take up any of your circuits. Function

Code

Call Pickup

**

Dial System FAX

666

Simulate Incoming Call

7777

Active call codes These codes are active during a call for features like transferring and recording calls. While some phones have some of these features built into the device itself, others are only available via feature codes. For example, you can easily do call transfers using most modern SIP phones, like Aastra's or Polycom's, by hitting the transfer button during a call. Function

Code

In-Call Asterisk Attended Transfer

*2

In-Call Asterisk Blind Transfer

##

Transfer call directly to extension's mailbox

*+Extension

Begin recording current call

*1

End Recording current call

*2

Park current call

#70

[ 142 ]


Chapter 9

Agent features The agent features are used most often in a Call Center environment to monitor different calls and for agents to log in and log out of queues. Function Agent Logoff Agent Logon ChanSpy (Monitor different channels) ZapBarge (Monitor Zap channels)

Code *12 *11 555 888

Blacklisting If you have the PBX Configuration tool Blacklist module installed, then you have the ability to blacklist callers from being able to call into the system. This is great for blocking telemarketers, bill collectors, ex-girl/boyfriends, and your mother-in-law. Function Blacklist a number Blacklist the last caller Remove a number from the blacklist

Code *30 *32 *31

Day / Night mode If you have the PBX Configuration tool Day/Night mode module installed, then you can use a simple key command to switch between day and night IVR recordings. This is great for companies that don't work off a set schedule everyday but want to manually turn on and off an off-hours greeting. Function Toggle Day / Night Mode

Code *28

Do not disturb Usually, do-not-disturb functions are handled at the phone level. If you do not have phones with a DND button on them, then you can install this module to enable key commands to toggle Do Not Disturb on and off. Function DND Activate DNS Deactivate

Code *78 *79 [ 143 ]



Info services The info services are some basic functions that provide information back to you without changing any settings. These are most often used for testing and debugging purposes. Function

Code

Call Trace

*69

Directory

#

Echo Test

*43

Speak your extension number

*65

Speaking Clock

*60

Intercom If you have a supported model of phone then you can install the PBX Configuration tool module to enable paging and intercom via the telephone's speakerphones. Function

Code

Intercom Prefix

*80

User Allow Intercom

*54

User Disallow Intercom

*55

Voicemail If you want to access your voicemail from any extension then you need to choose 'Dial Voicemail System', otherwise using 'Dial My Voicemail' will use the extension number you are calling from and only prompt for the password. Function

Code

Dial Voicemail System

*98

Dial My Voicemail

*97

Adding new features The ability to add new features is built into the system. One common thing to do is to redirect 411 calls to a free service like Google's free service. The following steps will walk you through how to add a custom feature like this to your system.

[ 144 ]


Chapter 9

Begin by going to the Misc Destination module and enter a Description of the destination you want to create.

Next, go to Misc Application to create the application. Here we will enter another Description and the number we want to use to dial the application, make sure the feature is enabled, and then point to the destination that we created in the previous step.

As you can see, any code can be assigned to any destination and a custom destination can consist of anything you can dial. This allows you to create many different types of custom features within your system. [ 145 ]



Voicemail features trixbox CE comes with the Asterisk Mail voicemail system. Asterisk mail is a fairly robust and useful voicemail system. The Asterisk Mail voicemail system can be accessed by any internal extension or by dialing into the main IVR system. As we saw earlier in this chapter, there are two ways of accessing the voicemail system, 'Dial Voicemail' and 'Dial My Voicemail'. To access the main voicemail system, we can dial *98 from any extension; we will then be prompted for our extension and our voicemail password. If we dial *97 for the 'My Voicemail' feature, the system will use the extension number you dialed in from and only prompt you for your voicemail password. The following tables will show you the basic structure of the voicemail menu system:

Voicemail main menu options Press: •

1 to Listen to (New) Messages

•

2 to Change Folders

•

0 for Mailbox Options

•

* for Help

•

# to Exit

Listen to messages Press: •

5 to Repeat Message

•

6 to Play Next Message

•

7 to Delete Message

•

8 to Forward to another user Enter Extension and press # °

1 to Prepend a Message to forwarded message

°

2 to Forward without prepending

•

9 to Save Message

•

0 for New Messages

•

1 for Old Messages [ 146 ]


Chapter 9

•

2 for Work Messages

•

3 for Family Messages

•

4 for Friends Messages

•

* for Help

•

# to Cancel/Exit to Main Menu

Change folders Press: •

0 for New Messages

•

1 for Old Messages

•

2 for Work Messages

•

3 for Family Messages

•

4 for Friends' Messages

•


Mailbox options Press: •

1 to Record your Un-Available Message

•

2 to Record your Busy message

•

3 to Record your Name

•

4 to Change your Password

•


User area trixbox CE features a user area, which has several tools that are designed for non-administrators. These tools include: •

User Portal: °

•

This is for the individual users to manage their own voicemail and settings.

MeetMe: °

Users with access can create scheduled conference bridges. [ 147 ]



•

Flash Operator Panel: °

This is a web-based tool that will show the status of the extensions, trunks, queues, and parked calls. Users that know the password can transfer calls between extensions.

User portal Any user can log into his/her user portal with his/her extension number and voicemail password. When you first access the user portal, it will ask you for your Login and Password.

Once you have logged in, you will see a menu on the left and a list of available voicemails in the middle. You can select multiple messages and then use the pull-down menu to delete, move, or forward the messages. If you have recorded calls, the interface is very much the same and you access those recorded calls though the Call Monitor link in the left-hand menu.

[ 148 ]


Chapter 9

Under the Phone Features menu, you will find options to enable and disable Call Waiting and Do Not Disturb. You can also configure different types of Call Forwarding from the same screen.

[ 149 ]



If an administrator has already enabled and set up Follow-Me options for an extension, then the user can modify his or her own options. A user can enable or disable his or her Follow-Me settings, change the list of where a call will go during the Follow-Me process, set the ring times and whether or not to Use Confirmation (which will require the user to press 1) to accept a call when the call is answered from an outside line. This will help keep calls from going into a user's cell phone's voicemail and ensure that all voicemails remain on the phone system.

The Locator system is more like a personal digital receptionist as it allows each user to create his or her own call menu that can route users to different places. The 0, 1, and 2 keys can be programmed to either call another extension or phone number, as well as go to the company operator (configured in General Settings) or to send the call to the Follow-Me system. If the user is going to use the Locator function, then their voicemail greeting has to tell the caller about the options and what keys are available to press.

[ 150 ]


Chapter 9

The Settings menu contains the settings for the user to change his or her Voicemail Password, and set up Email Notification, Audio Format, and Call Monitor Settings.

[ 151 ]



MeetMe The Web-MeetMe control is for creating scheduled conference rooms and being able to prepare reports on previous conferences. The MeetMe tool is part of the user mode section since regular users can be given accounts in it. To log in, initially you need the default login and passwords: Admin Mode: Username: wmm@localhost Password: wmmpw Standard user: Username: tim@localhost Password: 1234

Once logged into the MeetMe system, you have access to create new conference rooms as well as Delete Conferences, view Past Conferences, manage Current Conferences, and see upcoming conferences. You can also manage users who have access to the MeetMe system.

[ 152 ]


Chapter 9

FOP (Flash Operator Panel) The Flash Operator Panel is a simple tool to view the status of your system as well as to manipulate calls somewhat. The first time you try to perform an action (such as dragging one extension to another), it will prompt you for a password. The default password is: passw0rd (that's a zero, not a capital O). [ 153 ]



A limitation in FOP is that it is difficult to manage large numbers of extensions as you quickly run out of available slots that can be used. Even so, it is still a fairly useful tool for a receptionist to see who is available for calls and for quickly transferring calls to people.

Summary So far we have covered the basic features of a trixbox CE system, and now we should be ready to look at all of the other features that are available. This chapter covered the basic feature codes and extra functions, as well as how to create custom features like redirecting calls for 411 to a free provider. The following chapter goes into detail on all of the PBX settings and what their options are.

[ 154 ]


Where to buy this book You can buy trixbox CE 2.6 from the Packt Publishing website: http://www.packtpub.com/trixbox-ce-2.6/book Free shipping to the US, UK, Europe and selected Asian countries. For more information, please read our shipping policy.

Alternatively, you can buy the book from Amazon, BN.com, Computer Manuals and most internet book retailers.

www.PacktPub.com
