DID Setup/Questions

[lanstein]

I am working on a new install of an MICS v.6.1. I have pretty much figured everything out (I think) although I am not a phone guy. I have a tech coming to help me (read: keep me from spending my entire weekend tinkering to get everything working), but I would like to do most of the work myself (both to keep the cost down and so I can make future changes myself without the need for finger-crossing/praying/etc....)

I have 2 DTI cards (each will have 24 channels). Our existing 33 lines are POTS and these phone numbers will be converted to DIDs. In addition, we are getting 100 DID numbers - one per station.

We currently have a hunt group for Operations for incoming calls. The receiptionist answers these calls and transfers them to a station(she will be using a 7324 with a KLM). Each station will also have a DID number for the individual employee.

Here's how I understand DIDs (correct me if I am wrong please);

- We get 4 digits from the telco
- Set up recv'd number to be these 4 digits and map onto a target line (this is a "virtual" line, not a phyiscal line).
- Assign this target line onto one or more stations as appear/ring/a&r as needed.

Now, here's what I would like to know:
- Can I map all 10 Operations DIDs onto one target line and give employees one button to allow them to answer overflow calls?

- Do I need to keep the hunt group set up, or do DIDs eliminate the need for hunting since they are essentially virtual numbers? My hunch is #2, but I'm not sure.

- I believe I need one appearance of the DID (or, if possible the target line that has 10 DIDs pointing to it) for each simultaneous call to be answered. I.e. I have a hunt group now of 10 lines - in order to answer 10 calls at once, the receptionist needs 10 Operations line buttons.

Sorry to be so long winded - thanks in advance for any help.

 

[jerryreeve]

- We get 4 digits from the telco
- Set up recv'd number to be these 4 digits and map onto a target line (this is a "virtual" line, not a phyiscal line).
- Assign this target line onto one or more stations as appear/ring/a&r as needed.

correct but you can also assign a primeset to the target line.

- Can I map all 10 Operations DIDs onto one target line and give employees one button to allow them to answer overflow calls

My prefered method for handeling this would be to create a MICS hunt group with the employees as members of the group and the target lines as assigned to the group. set the group to broadcast (rings all phones at once) for fastest call handeling.

- Do I need to keep the hunt group set up, or do DIDs eliminate the need for hunting since they are essentially virtual numbers? My hunch is #2, but I'm not sure.

This sounds like the telco hunt group for (your) incoming lines, since the hunt group is designed to allow you to have one advertised number that will "hunt" down a list of lines until it finds a free line to ring you with you should not need the hunt group, just the lead number of the group (you will also want any other "advertised" numbers, of the hunt group, chipped over to the DID's)

- I believe I need one appearance of the DID (or, if possible the target line that has 10 DIDs pointing to it) for each simultaneous call to be answered. I.e. I have a hunt group now of 10 lines - in order to answer 10 calls at once, the receptionist needs 10 Operations line buttons.


With DID's you will see multiple calls on each DID number. by that if the did for your phone is busy with a call and another person dials the same DID number that second call will come thru to your telephone/voicemail as programmed. So you may want to have either multiple appearances (up to as many incoming calls you want to handle at a time) on the attendents telephone or make the target line ring only and give the attendent multiple intercom buttons to handle the calls.



JerryReeve
Communications Systems Int'l
com-sys.com

 

[lanstein]

Hi Jerry,

<i>This sounds like the telco hunt group for (your) incoming lines, since the hunt group is designed to allow you to have one advertised number that will "hunt" down a list of lines until it finds a free line to ring you with you should not need the hunt group, just the lead number of the group (you will also want any other "advertised" numbers, of the hunt group, chipped over to the DID's)</i>


Thanks for the help. Yes, I was referring to my inbound hunt group from the telco.. The problem is, since everyone has individual lines on our existing system, people call out on unadvertised hunt group member lines and therefore people with caller ID call back in on those lines. We are converting all of our existing phone numbers (advertised and otherwise) to DIDs. My thought was to pipe all unadvertised numbers to a mailbox that says sorry, call the main number. This way I could have as many appearances of the main number on the receptionist phone as I want. Is there a better way of doing this?

On the prime set setting for the target line - can you give me a brief explanation of the purpose of this feature? Just when I think I understand prime set I hit something like this and can't figure out why you would designate a prime set.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[jerryreeve]

First on the 10 lines you might just lose the extra numbers and have your telco put on the courtesy recording for new number. (easiest on your part) or send the extra numbers to a hunt group and handle it to the attendent intercom.

the primeset has a global timer (one timer for the whole system) and is used in one of two ways. first as a backup set so that if the Auto attendent or regular attendent do not answer an incomming call within a set number of rings it then rings the primeset. secondly it gets used as an office backup so that if secretary dosen't answer the bosses phone(primeset) rings.

JerryReeve
Communications Systems Int'l
com-sys.com

 

[JYJYJY]

Ianstein

If you have planned use T1 (or PRI) in your Norstar, and convert all numbers to DID (put it on the T1), you do not need to worry about the outgoing call ID on the other side. Only the BTN (that you can ask your telco to put your main number as BTN) will appear as the CLID (or ANI if it is T1), disregarding what DID your user call from.

Hunt group for your 1st 10 DID will not be required because by default every DID number has the same opportunity to utilize all the channels (as per your 2 DTI cards, 48 if it is T1, or 46 if it is PRI). Unless you set different RTM size to restrict the number of channel can be utilized by each (or each group) of DID

 

[tysonp]

Do I need to keep the hunt group set up, or do DIDs eliminate the need for hunting since they are essentially virtual numbers? My hunch is #2, but I'm not sure.

Why can't you use a 60% ration of trunks to users? just create the telco hunt group to use the most frequent dialed and published numbers.


You can use Number Replacement from the telco to eliminate callback number problems. outbound ID allyour lines as your main published number. Are you gonna provide a line pool for outgoing as well? why do you need DID if you have a receptionist handling calls? force all traffic through her and overflow to a call pilot with broadcast hunt group setup. Provide the receptionist with however many lines she can actually handle (before transfer) and simply frovide intercom paths and assign the lines as ring only with again the overflow to a Call pilot queue setup. let me know I'm in a similar setup.

 

[lanstein]

Tysonp,

We have only 3 "published" numbers - one per hunt group. The operations hunt group is our main numbers which the receptionist answers. The sales HG is answered only by the salespeople (they are indpendent contractors and that's part of their deal). The 3rd HG is trading, which is answered only by them (time critical calls and also their phones are recorded).

I ported all of our existing numbers to DIDs just for the purpose of eliminating the number callback problem, then I am going to drop all but the published numbers. The unpublished existing numbers are DIDs per se, but I'm not using them in the traditional sense of a direct-dial number to a person.

It sounds like forcing all outbound ID to the main number will help me get rid of this problem quickly, but in the meantime it isn't too expensive to route all calls to a mailbox with a message.

I am going to provide a line pool for outgoing. Right now, we have 33 lines (including many very under-used modem/fax lines. It is cheaper to get 48 when we switched to digital, so I will have plenty of room for error in determining how many pool lines to have.

As JerryReeve suggested, I think an operations HG (system HG, not telco HG) for overflow calls will be the easiest (and will keep management happy, as this is essentially our current setup). Nobody cares that no one ever picks up the overflow calls, but as long as the phones ring incessantly all day long, they can sleep at night... but I digress....

Thanks everyone for all of the help!

 

[jerryreeve]

I was wondering why you aren't getting a PRI instead of straight T1? you woud get incoming Caller ID, two way calling on every channel instead of having to channelize the T1, outgoing line identifier(opposite of CID)



JerryReeve
Communications Systems Int'l
com-sys.com

 

[lanstein]

I'm not sure why this is the case... possibly our telco can't do DIDs over PRI? Would this make sense? I have a call in to them to determine this.

 

[jerryreeve]

If you have one of the smaller telco's they might not be tarrifed to supply PRI. I had this with one of the rural telco's we have in northern wisconsin.

JerryReeve
Communications Systems Int'l
com-sys.com

 

[lanstein]

Well they had a spot to pick a PRI circuit so they apparently can offer it. I was just wondering if maybe for some reason they can't pass DID digits on a PRI circuit.

 

[jerryreeve]

No the PRI circuit does pass did with enhancements like CID.

JerryReeve
Communications Systems Int'l
com-sys.com

 

[lanstein]

Okay I just talked to the telco... the problem is, the head honcho over here (who knows not a thing about phone systems) and therefore decided to buy the system, did not pay to get PRI support on the DTI cards. Therefore, we can't do PRI circuits. However, the telco can do DID over PRI (although due to the idiocy of management, I can't!)

Thanks again!