> Call Parking

Skill-Based Routing
Skill-based routing allows the caller to be routed to the best support representative
based on the skills required. Prior to talking with a support representative, the caller
is prompted with a series of questions that are compared against the skill sets of multiple
representatives.The caller will be routed to the best matching skill set agent to
achieve the best possible support experience.


DUNDi Routing Protocol
Distributed Universal Number Discovery (DUNDi) is a peer-to-peer protocol used
to dynamically discover how to reach users throughout the VoIP network. Asterisk
PBX uses DUNDi protocol for scalability and redundancy among its peer PBX systems.
Its advantage over ENUM protocol is that it is fully distributed without centralized
authority. DUNDi is a proprietary protocol developed by Digium, submitted
as an Internet Draft to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
According to the Internet Draft submitted in 2004, DUNDi supports overlaying
multiple dial plans between PBX systems defined by private context. DUNDi also
supports sharing of E.164 numbers between PBX systems and its route base. E.164
number route context in Asterisk’s PBX is defined by “e164” and is reserved only
for members agreeing to the General Peering Agreement (GPA). For more information
on DUNDi visit the www.dundi.info Web site.


Other Functions
PBX systems offer other functions besides call routing, billing, dial plans, and call
management. Some of their other functions include music on hold, conferencing,
voicemail system, IVR system, call parking, and many more. In the following topics
we will review a few of these functions and look at how they are configured on
PBX.


Music on Hold
The music on hold feature provides music to a party waiting for its connection to be
established. Music on hold can be triggered to play during call transfers, while
waiting in queue for the next available representative, when a call is parked, or when
the receiving party simply needs to mute the conversation. Playing music informs
the waiting party that the connection is still established and prompts them to continue
to wait.
There are several sources for music to interconnect into PBX systems. Some
interconnected music sources that PBX systems can utilize include, but are not limited
to, AM/FM connected radios,Television music channels, and MP3 music files.


Call Parking
Call Parking allows you to place (park) a call in a designated extension area where it
can be retrieved later from the same or a different extension.This feature often is
used in stores, where the operator may announce over a loudspeaker for an
employee to dial extension XYZ in order to retrieve an incoming waiting call that is
currently parked. Call parking helps the operator to keep the line clear by transferring
callers to parked extensions. Music on hold usually is played for callers waiting
in a parked extension area. An optional call parking feature called the call parking
time wait interval can be configured.Time wait interval prevents parked users from
waiting indefinitely. When the time wait interval for a parked user is reached, PBX
will rering the original number dialed. Call parking allows mobility for employees
and avoids unnecessary call back charges.



Call Parking with Asterisk PBX
Configured parked zones are simple extensions that are used to hold calls. Parking a
caller in the designated extension is performed by transferring the call to the
preestablished extension. Prior to parking a call, the end-user must know the designated
parking extension.
Asterisk PBX uses the features.conf file to configure its Call parking feature.Three
important variables in the configuration file include parkext, parkpos, and
parkingtime.
■ parkext represents the extension the end-user must dial in order to park
a call.
■ parkpos represents the extension range that PBX will use to park calls.
■ Parkingtime represents the time wait interval before a call is transferred back
to its original party.
Figure 2.8 displays Asterisk’s features.conf file. In this particular example the designated
extension that end-user must know in order to park calls is 700. When enduser
transfers a call to parking extension 700, the PBX system will automatically
park the call in any of the 701 to 720 available extensions defined by the parkpos
variable in the features.conf configuration file. Figure 2.9 displays an Asterisk PBX
debug log window of an actual call being parked into a 701 phone extension.The
PBX system will announce the parking extension it has picked to the end-user and
the caller.
NOTE
Do not forget to restart or reload your Asterisk PBX after making changes to
your features.conf file in order for the changes to take effect.




Call Pickup
The call pickup feature gives you the ability to retrieve and answer an incoming call
directed at your phone using a different nearby phone station.This feature can be

used in a scenario where you might be working in a nearby office and hear your
phone ring. Call pickup allows you to use the nearest phone in the remote office
and pull the incoming call from your phone station into the phone you picked up
nearby. Group call pickup and direct call pickup are two features of call pickup.
Group call pickup allows you to pull in an incoming call from a phone configured
to be part of your call pickup group by simply picking up a phone. Direct call
pickup allows you to pull in an incoming call by picking up a remote phone station
and dialing your extension along with the pickup number.



Call Recording
Call recording provides the ability for a PBX to record call conversations. Call
recording can be configured as a systemwide feature or be based on a specific extension
group. Call recordings can start recording a conversation from start to finish or
allow the operator to control the time by pressing a feature button (number) during
the call to initiate and stop recording.
NOTE
Some jurisdictions do not allow monitoring of phone calls. Different jurisdictions
may apply different laws and monitoring procedures. Some jurisdictions
require for both parties to know that the call is being recorded. Make sure you
consult your lawyer before implementing this recording feature.



Conferencing
Conferencing allows for more than two parties to participate in a call and enables all
parties involved to hear each other at the same time.Typically the end-user’s phone
is able to conference up to four other parties using the conference feature button.
Avaya PBX system capability can be configured with up to six party conferences
from a single phone extension.The Asterisks PBX system uses the meetmecount()
function to limit the number of available conference parties per phone and is
defined by the capability of the system. For large-scale call-in meetings, designated
conference numbers can be used to interconnect more parties than allowed by a
single user’s phone.



Conferencing with Asterisk PBX
Asterisk PBX makes use of its MeetMe() function to provide conferencing ability.
Asterisk PBX function has the capacity to create password-protected conferences,
conference administration options, dynamic and static conferences, and much more.
TIP
As a prerequisite to using the MeetMe() function, the Zaptel application must
be installed and configured with Asterisk.
Configuring conferences in Asterisk requires editing of the meetme.conf and extensions.
conf files.To illustrate this process, we will set up a simple conference room
using extension 1001.The initial step is to edit the meetme.conf file, as noted in Figure
2.10.The first variable in the meetme.conf file represents our extension for the conference,
the second optional variable is the pass code (11111) that the caller must enter
in order to access the conference, and the third variable is the conference administrator
pass code (232323). Once inside the conference, administrators have additional
options, such as disconnecting users and muting the conference. Figure 2.11 represents
the extensions.conf configuration.The top line directs the call to transfer to the
(conf,1) line when a user dials extension 1001.The (conf,1) line starts the conference
by initiating the MeetMe() function. Figure 2.12 shows a caller with extension
2001 calling into conference 1001 and initiating the MeetMe() function of the PBX.
Conferencing—PBX Initiating MeetMe() Conference Function
Additional options, including recording the conference in audio format, regulating
the number of participants, and permitting only one speaker can be configured.
Figure 2.13 shows Asterisk’s PBX Command Line Interface (CLI) and some of
the meetme command functions available to PBX administrators.To access
Asterisk’s CLI, type the asterisk –r command within the root shell account. For a
complete list of available options, visit www.voip-info.com and search for the
MeetMe() feature.