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 dialed.
- 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.
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.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 a “better” route.
ZXXXXXX
and X.
.Dial Patterns of Outbound Route
To make an 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, 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
Strip is an optional setting, it defines how many digits will be stripped from the front of the dialed 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 dialed 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 dialed number matches the Pattern, then this will be prepended to the number before placing the call.
Example: If a trunk requires 10-digit dialing, but users are more comfortable with 7-digit dialing, 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.
You can edit the default rule or add new rules.
Add Emergency Numbers
Emergency calls have the highest priority. Extension users can make emergency calls at any time.