Exclude SCN Users from Local Directory 2

[tylamb19]

Hey all,

I had this request from a site using SCN to connect two IPOs running R10.1 over a site to site VPN. What they want is to only see the users from the main site (IPO #1) on the phones when they press the contacts button, and vice versa (site #2 only sees users from IPO #2) but still be able to call each other's sites by dialing extensions manually (mostly they will call a main hunt group from site #1 that will ring all phones at site #2).

Is there any way to do this without hiding the any of the contacts from their own systems? I've looked over documentation and can't seem to find anything but I could be overlooking something.

Thanks!!

 

[sizbut]

No, want they want is no SCN. So turn off the SCN settings on the lines between systems and add system short codes to reroute extension number dialling.

Stuck in a never ending cycle of file copying.

 

[tylamb19]

That's what I thought of at first. But the IPO at site #1 is the only one licensed for Voicemail Pro so it is providing centralized voicemail to site #2, so if I disabled SCN on the trunk it would stop Voicemail Pro on site #2. Any way to make it so I can do Voicemail Pro at site #2 but keep the SCN data from coming over? My guess is that answer is no, and they'll just need to deal with it.

 

[derfloh]

I’m not sure if you can disable HTTP directory sync on the system tab.

IP Office remote service
IP Office certificate check
CLI based call blocking
SCN fallback over PSTN

 

[tylamb19]

Yeah that was one of the things I tried was setting directory services HTTP to "None" but it didn't resolve it. I couldn't find an option to disable the SCN directory sync anywhere in the system settings.

The frustrating part of this is that the system has built in HTTP calls for this, for example

http://<IPO

IP Address>/system/user/scn_user_list shows the full SCN user list, but

http://<IPO

IP Address>/system/user/local_user_list shows only the users of the local system itself. If only I could make the phones display the results of local_user_list and not scn_user_list the issue would be solved!

 

[IPGuru]

I do not believe there is any way to achieve this as it goes against all principles of good communication.
as suggested you could disable SCN, is embedded VM @ site B an option?

either way this again sounds like a customer trying to implement poor working practices & solve HR issues with the PBX rather than fixing the true issue (Probably dure to the age old "That's how or last system had to do it" fallacy).

Why do they want to hide users at the remote site, is it because users are not allowed to call directly between sites?
that is an inefficient & counter productive policy for a number of reasons.

1 it delays user at site A when then need to speak to a specific person @ site B
2 It places unnecessary extra work on people at Site B when they receive a call form Site A & then have to transfer it to the correct person.
3 users will eventually learn the direct extn numbers & call them anyway.

If this is absolutely not allowed despite common sense, then it is an internal discipline issue to enforce it.



Do things on the cheap & it will cost you dear

ACSS

 

[tylamb19]

Unfortunately I am only the messenger and cannot weigh into the decisions of the upper level management at this company. You are probably right with the justification of "well our last system did this" as until migrating to the IPO, they were on key systems (site #1 was Partner and site #2 was Nortel, the systems are still mounted on the wall!) but that was before my time having to deal with them, so I can't give a 100% yes or no on how it was set up before. I also was not the person nor was my company the one to set up the IPO, so I am also unaware of how the IPO was pitched to them.

This is not an issue with policy, but purely about trying to clean up the directory. To give some background:

This is for a hospitality environment. Site #1 is the corporate offices of the parent company, and site #2 is a small hotel that is owned by the parent company. There's also another hotel (site #3) but essentially everything before is the same there as it is with site #2. Site #2 has a few people that are consistently needing to call back and forth to site #1 and will usually call a hunt group of people at site #1. Same goes for site #1 calling site #2, most of the time they are trying to get a hold of reception or managers, so they'll call those respective groups and all the phones in the group will ring. Not many people directly use their extensions when calling between buildings, it's mostly whoever picks up first gets to deal with whatever is going on. Other than rooms at site #2, most people don't call directly to each other either as most phones are generalized, so they rarely use the directory.

The problem as it was brought up to me is that site #1 DOES use the directory to call back and forth between people's extensions directly within that site. However, when they open the directory, they are hit with a 100+ entry list with a bunch of phones from site #2 (for example, "Reception Desk Left" or "Conference Room B" or "Room 21"), and they want only the list of the 20 or so people local to their own system so it is easier to see who they are looking for.

Embedded voicemail at site #2 also is not possible, as they use Voicemail Pro for wake up alarms for guests. Last I looked, alarms were only supported in the embedded voicemail if you were running Partner/Basic (read muppet) editions.

Hope this sheds a bit of light on what I'm trying to do. If there truly is no way to do this I will bring that up to the client and they will just have to deal with it, but I will hold out hope haha!

 

[snowman50]

Ok maybe this idea will work but will take a bit of effort from you.

Why don’t you tick the box EXCLUDE FROM DIRECTORY for each user that you don’t want to be seen
You can also remove groups from the directory that you don’t need to see.

You could remove all users and groups from site #2 and remove the least dialled users from the main site.
This will reduce the list that’s displayed

You can set up the directory to type in a first letter to reduce the list that appears.
Same as a mobile phone directory.

As I said it’s an idea.

If it reduces the list that’s displayed then problem solved.

 

[IPGuru]

I understand that it is a decision for upper management & the customer, but on more than one occasion I have found my self needing to politely explain to such people why their request is not the great idea they think it is.

However I do see in this scenario the request does have some Merrit, perhaps making the less useful extns (rooms etc.) ex directory.

Also are they using the directory function on the handset or the PC app, in either case it is easy to filter by typing part of the required name.


Do things on the cheap & it will cost you dear

ACSS

 

[tylamb19]

Snowman, that’s the solution I was going to go with if there isn’t a way to show only the users on the local system. It’s not perfect (stops site #2 from using the directory to call those excluded extns) but it would work. The groups have a “replicate” checkbox function which limits replication across SCN. So it for groups I am set, if only that would be a function of users…


IPGuru, yeah if it had zero merit I would have told them about how bad an idea it was before even posting here. They don’t use softphones (other than maybe 1 or 2 people) at either site, and only use 9641GS IP phones at site #1. At site #2 there’s a mix of 1408, 1603, 9641GS, analog phones, and cordless DECT. I’ve explained the filter by name method. Some people get it and others don’t, and try to scroll through the massive list haha.

 

[sizbut]

Surely part of the answer is just employing better naming. Reducing the directory down to 20 entries is largely pointless as people will quickly learn the numbers they regularly use from such a short list so will stop using the directory. The directory is what you use for the numbers you don't know because you don't call often (and you want it to be a directory that doesn't contain most of the things they might be looking for in that scenario so rendering the directory doubly useless).

Also, "Reception Desk Left" is useless not just in the telephone directory but in any conversation about the different reception desks. Does the person managing the site facilities really call it that whe talking to their boss? Maybe think "Site A Reception" or "Reception Site A". That will also help resolve some of the WTF reaction that probably occur when people called see the callers name as "Reception Desk Left"!

Stuck in a never ending cycle of file copying.

 

[IPGuru]

Some people get it and others don’t, and try to scroll through the massive list haha.

Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning." Rick Cook

Do things on the cheap & it will cost you dear

ACSS

 

[tylamb19]

Sizbut, thanks for the input. In this case and your example, “Reception Desk Left” is the phone which is at the left side of the reception desk at site 2. There’s left, right, and center actually as there are 3 phones at the reception, one at each of the check in terminals. So personally I think it makes sense, but again most people will just call the “Site 2 Reception” hunt group which would ring all three phones at the reception desk at site 2. They never need to call the Reception Desk Left extension directly. And with regards to the caller name, I don’t think anyone really cares when the caller name is shown. They just pick up the phone. They had no caller ID on their incoming analog trunks until earlier this year when they switched to SIP trunks.

 

[sizbut]

Agreed, your reception phones, if multiple, should be ex-directory and all members of a "Site A Reception" group which is what then appears in the directory.

Stuck in a never ending cycle of file copying.