Outbound Route

An outbound route works like a traffic cop giving directions to road users to use a predefined route to reach a predefined destination.

Outbound routing is a set of rules that the PBX uses to decide which trunk to use for an outbound call. Having multiple trunks allows you to control cost by routing calls over the least costly trunk for a particular call. Outbound routes are used to specify what numbers are allowed to go out a particular route.

How does an outbound route work?

Every time you dial a number, PBX will do the following in strict order:

  • Examine the number you dialled.
  • Compare the number with the pattern that you have defined in your route 1 and if matches, it will initiate the call using that trunk. If the route 1 does not match, it will compare the number with the pattern you have defined with route 2 and so on.
  • Pass the number to the appropriate trunk to make the call.

Add an Outbound Route

To allow users make outbound calls through trunks, you need to set up at least an outbound route on the PBX.

The PBX has a default outbound route with dial pattern X. that allows you to dial any outgoing numbers. You can delete the default outbound route, then add a new one to configure settings according to your needs.
  1. Go to Settings > PBX > Call Control > Outbound Routes, click Add.
  2. Set the Name to specify the route name. The name is usually descriptive, i.e. “local” for local calls, “international” for international calls.
  3. Set a dial pattern of the outbound route.
  4. Optional: Click  to add a dial pattern for the outbound route.
  5. In the Member Trunks field, select the desired trunk from Available box to the Selected box.
    The users can only use the selected trunk to make outbound calls through this route.
  6. In the Member Extensions field, select the desired extensions from Available box to the Selected box.
    Only the selected extension users can make outbound calls through this route.
  7. Optional: Set the other settings.
    • Password: If a password is set, when users try to make outbound calls through this route, they will be asked to enter a password.
    • Rrmemory Hunt: If this function is enabled, the PBX will remember which trunk was used last time, and then use the next available trunk to call out.
    • Time Condition: By default, users can call out through the outbound route at any time. You can define when the outbound route is available for users.
  8. Click Save and Apply.
Note: After you finish the outbound route configurations, you need to check the priority of your outbound routes and adjust the priority if needed.

Adjust Priority of Outbound Routes

The PBX will search for a matching dial pattern from the top route. If a route with higher priority is matched, the PBX will not continue going down the route list to search for a “better” route.

The route priority is important, especially if there is some overlap. For example, the number 5503305 will match both a dial pattern of ZXXXXXX and X..
  1. Go to Settings > PBX > Call Control > Outbound Routes.
  2. Click the buttons     to adjust the priority of your outbound routes.

Dial Patterns of Outbound Route

To make outbound calls from the PBX, users need to dial according to dial pattern settings of the outbound routes.

Pattern

A dial pattern is a unique set of digits that will select this route and send the call to the designated trunks.

Pattern Description
X Refers to any digit between 0 and 9.
N Refers to any digit between 2 and 9.
[###] Refers to any digit in the brackets, for example [123] is 1 OR 2 OR 3.

Ranges of numbers can be specified with a dash ([136-8]) would match the numbers 1,3,6,7 and 8.
. Wildcard . matches one or more characters.
! Wildcard ! is used to initiate call processing as soon as it can be determined that no other matches are possible.
Z Refers to any digit between 1 and 9.

Strip

The strip is an optional setting, it defines how many digits will be stripped from the front of the dialled number before the call is placed.

Example:

If you set Pattern as 9. and set Strip as 1.

If a user wants to call number 1588902923, he/she should dial 91588902923. The PBX will strip one digit from the dialled number, and call the number 1588902923.

Prepend

Prepend is an optional setting. The prepend will be added to the beginning of a successful match. If the dialled number matches the Pattern, then this will be prepended to the number before placing the call.

Example: If a trunk requires 10-digit dialling, but users are more comfortable with 7-digit dialling, this field could be used to prepend a 3-digit area code to all 7-digit phone numbers before the calls are placed.

Restrict Outbound Calls

The PBX has a default rule to limit how many outbound calls a user can make during a certain time period.

The default rule limits users to make a maximum of 5 outbound calls in 1 minute. If a user makes outbound calls over the limit, the extension will be locked and prohibited from making outbound calls.

You can edit the default rule or add new rules.

  1. Go to Settings > PBX > Call Control > Outbound Restriction, click Add.
  2. On the configuration page, set the rule name.
  3. Set the Time Limit and Number of Calls Limit.
    This will limit how many times a user can make outbound calls during the configured time period.
  4. Select All Extensions to apply the rule to all the extensions, or select Selected Extensions, and select the desired extensions to apply the rule to the users.
  5. Click Save and Apply.

Add Emergency Numbers

Emergency calls have the highest priority. Extension users can make emergency calls at any time.

Note: If the trunks used to make emergency calls are busy, the PBX will terminate the ongoing call, then place the emergency call.
  1. Go to Settings > PBX > Emergency Number, click Add.
  2. Set the Emergency Number.
  3. Set the Trunk.
    1. Select a trunk to make the emergency call.
    2. Optional: If your trunk needs a prepended number before the emergency number, you need to set the Prepend.
      For example, if your trunk needs a prepended number 0 before the emergency number 911. The users should dial 0911 to make the emergency call. To comply with the user’s dialling habit, you can set the Prepend as 0; in this way, the users can dial 911 as they usually do.
    3. Optional: Click  to add a new trunk. If the first trunk cannot work properly, the PBX will use the second trunk to make calls.
  4. Set the notification contacts.
    If someone makes emergency calls through the PBX, the contacts will receive notification calls on their extensions.
    1. Select an extension from the Notification drop-down menu.
    2. Optional: Click  to add another contact.
  5. Click Save and Apply.