There are numerous external paging systems, or overhead pagers that can be configured to work with trixbox Pro. First though, there are two separate types of overhead paging systems…those that work over VoIP, and those that work via FXS ports. More…

By default, trixbox Pro’s DNS server (BIND v9) comes enabled, but is only configured to answer requests on the localhost address (127.0.0.1). This guide will show you how to enable DNS for all ethernet interfaces, and also how to set up a forwarder to another DNS server to handle unresolved requests. More…

I was recently tasked with a new project: Figure out the best way to load balance SIP across multiple trixbox Pro servers for a large call center. In my research, I came across the SIP Express Router (SER). It has been around for a LONG time, and the project…even though functional…was pretty much stalled. I suppose the original programmers lost interest, or moved on to other ventures…who knows…it happens all the time in the open-source world. More…

I have been going through the process of beefing up the trixbox Reseller wiki lately, and I have just added a new article entitled ‘DHCP 101′ which details the configuration of DHCP services on the trixbox Pro.

If you are a trixbox Pro Reseller, but don’t have a logon to the new wiki, please let me know! Based on your permissions, the reseller section will appear or not. http://help.trixbox.com.

I read this article by Garrett Smith last night and just found myself thinking ‘Well said Garrett…’ Quite a good pep talk for trixbox Resellers…now is a great time to push hard for VoIP PBX systems…customers are now more than ever looking to save their nickels and dimes, and going with a trixbox Pro solution over a legacy PBX or even a Cisco solution will practically sell itself on price alone.

Again…well said Garrett!

http://www.smithonvoip.com/voip-commentary/economic-woes-present-open-source-voip-opportunities/

-Schwood

We hear bad news all the time these days…bad economy…gas prices rising…global warming…and on and on and on. Well…I must be a glutton for punishment because I decided to give VMware 2.0 a try. As if I didn’t have enough problems. More…

I was pretty excited about the release of Google’s new browser, Chrome. In addition to being faster (10x faster javascript processing than FireFox, and up to 56x faster javascript processing than IE7), more secure, and more reliable, it still holds to the open source philosophy, and once developers start utilizing the V8 they have used to beef up this browser, we should see some pretty exciting web enhancements. I have only been using it for a short while now, but I think I’m already pretty well sold on it. Just the fact that you can drag and drop tabs out to new windows was almost enough to make me switch from FireFox 3 to Chrome…the fact that FF3 lacked that functionality irritated me to no end. Add in all of the other bells and whistles, and it was an easy sell.

Of course, that was based on one fairly important function of my job…whether or not Chrome is compatible with the trixbox CP. And, I am proud to announce that from my testing, there is absolutely no problem configuring trixbox Pro systems using this awesome new browser…so feel free to give it a shot!

As for when we can expect to see a FONcall for Chrome? I have no idea…so don’t even ask…but I’d love to see it sooner than later…hint hint Fonality development team.

Fonality has created a special bundle of trixbox Pro EE and the trixbox Appliance at a great rate. This is a perfect solution for a small office, and you can’t beat the price…these are lifetime Enterprise Edition licenses! Here’s the official Fonality offering:

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trixbox Pro Summer Bundle Special

Recognized with esteemed awards such as “Product of the Year” by INTERNET TELEPHONY Magazine and Unified Communications, and for receiving 4 Stars by PC Magazine, trixbox is the next-generation business phone system.

Take advantage of the trixbox Pro summer promotion. Starting today, resellers can purchase the trixbox Pro Appliance Bundle (MSRP $3,999) for only $2,199, which is a 50% reseller discount off the list price of $4,417.

trixbox Pro Bundle includes:
• 1 trixbox Pro appliance base (TBP00)
• 10 trixbox Pro EE Lifetime licenses
• 1 year hardware Warrantee
• 1 year unlimited technical support
• Remote Installation Assistance

This is a limited time offer and will expire September 30th, 2008 so do not wait! No minimum quantity required and boxes can be opened without voiding warrantee (i.e. to add Sangoma cards). Contact your trixbox Channel Manager to order today.

If you don’t know who your dedicated Channel Manager is, please call 888-trixbox or email resellers_tb@fonality.com

I received an interesting call from Andy Roe from Orange Coast Information Technology this morning. Andy’s company is in Orange County, CA, and the California Public Utilities Commission is currently in the process of overlapping a new area code (657) on the existing 714 area code area. This means that everyone in 714 will have to start dialing 1+714+nxxxxxx for all local numbers…basically mandatory 10 digit dialing starting on Saturday 8/23/2008. I know of other counties in the country that do this as well, so this problem doesn’t apply to OC only.

Andy proposed modifying the trixbox Pro dial plan so that if a user dials 7 digits, they are re-routed to a recording that explains that they have to dial 10 digits rather than simply disabling 7 digit dialing altogether, which is a great idea as well as a great value-added service he will be providing for all of his trixbox Pro customers in the OC area. I set this up in my home lab, and it works great! Here’s how it is done:

Almost like standard IVR programming, you want to design forward and program backwards. First, we need to create the recording that tells users that they can no longer dial 7 digits from within the 714 area code.

Go to ‘AutoAnswer –> voice prompts’ and enter in the name of your recording. I am using ‘SevenDigitNotice’ as the name. Then enter in a more detailed description and your extension. When you click ‘Call Me,’ your extension will be called, and you will be walked through recording the new voice prompt.

My new voice prompt sounds something like this:

“You have dialed only 7 digits. You must now dial 1 plus all 10 digits for local calls in the 714 area code. Please hang up and try again. Thank you.”

Once your voice prompt has been recorded, we now need to create a sub-menu that points to this recording. Click on ‘AutoAnswer –> sub-menus’ and create a new sub-menu. I called mine ‘SevenDigitNotice’ much like the recording I just created.

Edit your new sub-menu and delete the first step (no need to change the caller ID). Add two steps:

1. Play recording (SevenDigitNotice) don’t listen for keypress
2. Hang-up

Very simple. We now need to create an extension for our new sub-menu. Click on ‘Extension –> add extension.’ Give it an extension number (I used 7007), a description, first name, last name, and a web username and password. These are mandatory fields even though most of them will not be used. From the ‘Phones / Devices’ field, select ‘voicemail only (free).’ We can use a voicemail only extension so that we don’t have to allocate a license for this solution.

Now select the ‘SevenDigitNotice’ sub-menu from the ‘Call Forwarding’ drop-down box and disable voicemail (optional). Click ‘Add extension’ to finish up. Now, if you dial x7007, it will play my recording and hang up.

The last step is to configure my 7 digit dial plan to go to this recording whenever someone dials 9+7 digits. Click on ‘Options –> dial plan’ and select the 9+nxxxxxx dial plan. Change it to reflect these settings:

Dial string: 9+nxxxxxx
Description: (can be whatever you want)
Type: local call
Route: local system (very important setting!)
Strip digits: 8 (the number 9 plus all 7 digits of the number they dialed)
Prepend: 7007 (the extension I created that plays my recording)

Now when a user dials 9+7 digits, they are redirected to x7007 which forwards to a sub-menu that plays a recording telling them about having to dial 10 digits…thats it! Much better than a fast busy.

One of the questions I get quite often when provisioning a new system is ‘Can trixbox Pro record all calls automatically?’ The answer is no…unfortunately, at the moment, we don’t have the ability to do so. trixbox Pro can automatically record INBOUND QUEUE CALLS ONLY. For all other calls, you will have to click the record button in HUD, or use the record star code to get the calls recorded.

Ok, so does this mean that if your company needs to record all inbound/outbound calls (for call center reporting purposes, for legal reasons, or just because) that you’re out of luck with trixbox Pro? Absolutely not. More…