Book Image

FreePBX 2.5 Powerful Telephony Solutions

By : Alex Robar
Book Image

FreePBX 2.5 Powerful Telephony Solutions

By: Alex Robar

Overview of this book

FreePBX is an easy-to-use GUI that controls and manages Asterisk. It gives you pre-programmed functionality accessible through user-friendly web interfaces that allows you to have a fully functional PBX pretty much straight away with no programming. With this book it's easy to master the many features of FreePBX, which will help you to save time and money as you set up your enterprise-class network. This book will guide you through these features to install, configure, and maintain a professional PBX with plenty of examples and screenshots. By the end of this book, you will have learned to create an enterprise-class VoIP PBX that features the stability and feature set of traditional telephony systems without the hefty price tag. This book will help its readers to roll out a robust, web-based, and inexpensive yet powerful telephony solution through the GUI. By following the practical examples in this book, you will learn how to install, configure, and manage an enterprise-class PBX using open source telephony tools Asterisk and FreePBX. From here on, this book takes a closer look at the open source telephony engine software, discussing a broad range of topics from how to build and deploy an enterprise-class VoIP PBX to creating VoIP trunks using SIP, IAX2, and ZAP technologies and setting up user extensions with voicemail. FreePBX 2.5 Powerful Telephony Solutions will introduce you to advanced options such as call routing, voicemail, and other calling features. Finally, this book will provide you with the relevant information to help you personalize and secure your PBX.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
FreePBX 2.5 Powerful Telephony Solutions
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
Preface
Voicemail.conf Options

Internal options and configuration


Module

Function

Call Forward

Allows users to set up call forwarding from their extension to another extension by dialing a feature code.

Call Waiting

Allows users to toggle call waiting by dialing a feature code. When enabled, the user's phone will give an audio or visual indication that another call is coming in, if the user is already on the phone.

Callback

Allows a trigger to be configured that calls back a specific number and provides the callee with access to a module or application. The callback number can be predefined, or can be the number that triggered the callback. This is mostly used to provide a user's cell phone with a dial tone on the Asterisk system, giving them access to long distance calling that is cheaper than dialing directly from their cell phone.

Conferences

Provides the ability to set up conference rooms in which two or more users can join together in a single call. Conference rooms can be password protected.

DISA

Provides Direct Inward System Access (DISA) as a call target. This will give the caller a dial tone on the system allowing them to dial any of the features of the system, or initiate an outbound call through the trunks of the system.

Dictation

Allows a user to dial an extension, speak, and then have a recording of what they just said emailed to them.

Do-Not-Disturb (DND)

Allows a user to enable Do-Not-Disturb (DND) mode on their extension. If DND is enabled, calls to that extension will go straight to voicemail and the extension will not ring.

Info Services

Allows access to several information services through feature code for users. These services include:

  • Company directory

  • Call trace

  • Echo test

  • Speaking clock

  • Name current extension

Languages

Allows a call to be tagged with a specific language. The call can then be routed to a specific person or a set of people who speak the same language as the caller.

Misc Applications

Allows an administrator to configure arbitrary feature codes that direct the caller to a specific call target.

Misc Destinations

Allows an administrator to configure call targets that dial any local number (such as an extension, feature code, or external phone number). These destinations can then be set up as the target for inbound routes or as the failover destination for other call targets.

Music on Hold

Provides the ability to upload custom sound files or define streaming audio sources that will be played to callers while they are on hold.

PIN Sets

Allows an administrator to define a set of identification codes that can be used to grant access to outbound routes or conferences.

Paging and Intercom

Allows an administrator to define paging groups. When a paging group is called the phones in the group will automatically answer the call and play the caller's audio through their speakers. It also allows the creation of an intercom feature code that allows paging functionality to be directed to one phone specifically.

Parking Lot

Allows a call to be "parked". When a call is parked, the person parking the call is given a parking space number. Anyone who dials that number will be connected with the parked caller.

Recordings

Allows users to record, upload, and merge audio recordings. Recordings can be used in IVRs and as confirmation clips for ring groups.

Voicemail Blasting

Allows an administrator to create a group of extensions that can be "blasted" with a single voicemail message. When this functionality is invoked the caller records a message that is dropped into the voicemail box of all of the extensions that are members of the blast group.