Merlin Messaging R3 outcalling problem 2

[bigheas537]

Greetings,

I'm having a problem with my Merlin Messaging calling the paging service for Nextel. Perhaps someone here has experience with them and this setup.

I have a Merlin Legend V7 R9 with Merlin Messaging R3 setup for outcalling. It will call either a phone or a pager. The voice mail was recently replaced. We moved from R2.5 to R3.0. I ordered a R2.5 and got a R3.0.

Anyway, I installed the card after powering down and restored a backup which migrated for me to the new card using the PC admin software. The only wierd behavior is that after the upgrade was complete, the soft restart didn't work. I let the system go for 20 minutes and then did a hard reset. All came up fine after that.

I have everything working as before, 3 AA's, outcalling, coverage, ... What I'm having trouble with now is calling to the paging service with Nextel. I have several mail boxes programmed to call a pager with a numeric message which is the extension with the message. If I dial it manually from any phone, it goes through fine. Programming it in the Messaging software just doesn't work. I have also created the outcalling through the voice mail admin. I can see the port dial and have had Avaya on the system monitoring the port to see the characters go out. I have had Nextel checking their service as well.

I have checked every setting that I can find and no joy.

Just a few settings:

Merlin Messaging R3.0 - Merlin Legend R7 V9

Port Ext When Ext is Called Out Restriction FRL Trunk to Trunk
1 7132 VM Answers same as 770 Restricted 0 No
2 7133 VM Answers same as 770 Restricted 0 No
3 7134 VM Answers same as 770 Restricted 0 No
4 7135 VM Answers same as 770 Restricted 0 No
5 7136 No Answer Unrestricted 3 Yes
6 7137 VM Answers same as 770 Unrestricted 3 Yes
7 7138 No Answer Unrestricted 3 No
8 7139 No Answer Unrestricted 3 No
9 7140 Transfer to Operator Unrestricted 0 No
10 7141 Transfer to Operator Unrestricted 3 No
11 7142 Transfer to Operator Unrestricted 3 No
12 7143 Transfer to Operator Unrestricted 3 No

This is a 6 port voice mail. I have checked everything I can in the switch as well:

Rotary enable - all 12 extensions/ports
Removed ports 5 and 6 from the dis-allowed lists but didn't add them to allowed lists
Set ports 5 and 6 to the AA excemption list

Outcalling to a phone works fine, to Nextel's paging service - no.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Many thanks.

 

[tdaugirdas]

calling a pager may require various pauses to be interjected at various places in the dialing sequence. When you did your restore from R2.5 to R3 - some items may not have transferred correctly - so double-check all. I assume you got a copy of the R3 LAN admin software from Avaya.com - and are not using the R2.5 version to connect and program the voicemail.

Make sure the last 2 voicemail ports are unrestricted in ARS as well - but I doubt that is the issue. It is probably a lack of sufficient pauses in the right places. What is the dialing sequence for the pager that you have coded now?

Tom Daugirdas,
President
STCG, Inc.
stcg.com

 

[bigheas537]

9*1724333xxxx*******724730xxxx#****1***1**26#**1**1

9 to get out, 1's are stripped for local, local number, 10 second pause for service to pickup, my cell followed by pound, 1 if correct, 1 for numeric message, message followed by pound, 1 to send now, 1 for normal priority.

I thought that maybe the rotary dialing might be a problem, but I don't have anything to test my theory. I don't think it is a problem since I had R2.5 before this and had no problems. Before R2.5 I had MLM 007 and it worked also. I'm also thinking that Sprint didn't change the system to stop working with rotary either. Unless the rotary worked differently with the older cards, I'm probably looking at the wrong thing.

Btw, I also have my lines set to loop start and reliable disconnect.

I wonder if the system isn't ending the call at the end of the sequence. I have called the service and listened to the call to see what would happen if I stayed on the line without hanging up. I also didn't enter any characters after the numeric message. I have had messages by ending the call at that point before if I hung up. The page didn't go through. It took about 20 seconds for the service to give me the bad news.

Is it possible that this version has a different way about it for calling this way.

Thanks for the quick response.

 

[tdaugirdas]

I assume you programmed the outcalling number as a "pager" rather than a "telephone". Also - add a # sign at the end of the sequence string - so the messaging knows it is done. You can have up to 60 digits - and I only counted 52 or so - so it should work.

Tom Daugirdas,
President
STCG, Inc.
stcg.com

 

[bigheas537]

I tried the # after the sequence and still no joy. Originally, I tired *# but not just the #. I've also tried shortening the string and changing pauses.

If you look at my original post, you'll see that I listed the settings I found on the VM ports that I've not changed other than what was needed to get the voice mail to call out. Here they are again a little neater.

Merlin Messaging R3.0 - Merlin Legend R7 V9

Port [tab]Ext [tab]When Ext is Called [tab][tab][tab][tab]Out Restriction [tab]FRL [tab]Trunk to Trunk
1 [tab] 7132 [tab]VM Answers same as 770 [tab][tab]Restricted [tab][tab]0 [tab][tab]No
2 [tab] 7133 [tab]VM Answers same as 770 [tab][tab]Restricted [tab][tab]0 [tab][tab]No
3 [tab] 7134 [tab]VM Answers same as 770 [tab][tab]Restricted [tab][tab]0 [tab][tab]No
4 [tab] 7135 [tab]VM Answers same as 770 [tab][tab]Restricted [tab][tab]0 [tab][tab]No
5 [tab] 7136 [tab]No Answer [tab][tab][tab][tab][tab][tab][tab] Unrestricted [tab] 3 [tab][tab]Yes
6 [tab] 7137 [tab]VM Answers same as 770 [tab][tab]Unrestricted [tab] 3 [tab][tab]Yes
7 [tab] 7138 [tab]No Answer [tab][tab][tab][tab][tab][tab][tab] Unrestricted [tab] 3 [tab][tab]No
8 [tab] 7139 [tab]No Answer [tab][tab][tab][tab][tab][tab][tab] Unrestricted [tab] 3 [tab][tab]No
9 [tab] 7140 [tab]Transfer to Operator [tab][tab][tab] Unrestricted [tab] 0 [tab][tab]No
10 [tab]7141 [tab]Transfer to Operator [tab][tab][tab] Unrestricted [tab] 3 [tab][tab]No
11 [tab]7142 [tab]Transfer to Operator [tab][tab][tab] Unrestricted [tab] 3 [tab][tab]No
12 [tab]7143 [tab]Transfer to Operator [tab][tab][tab] Unrestricted [tab] 3 [tab][tab]No

I thought it odd that the ports would have different behavior from one another. Perhaps, I might need to remove the ports and add them again. What I'm confused about is how far I need to go. For instance, would removing them as members of the 770 calling group, applying, adding them back, applying and resetting the security be enough. Are restarts necessary? I realize that this isn't a Windows machine, but it still uses software. And I have to keep in mind that the only thing that didn't work was outcalling to a pager after replacing R2.5 with R3.0.

Thanks again.

 

[tdaugirdas]

If your outcalling is working to a phone - then the only possible issue with getting it to work with a pager - is getting the sequence of pauses correctly. Each pause is 1 second. Normally we use 5 pauses after you dial your pager number - for it to connect (you were using 7). The pound at the very end of the sequence is so the switch understands that it has no more digits to dial. And - again - I assume in mailbox outcalling setup - you chose the option for outcalling to a pager vs. outcalling to a telephone. I am concerned that VM port 5 does not answer when called directly. It could be a defective VM port. If it is - that could be creating a problem - especially if there are additional problems with the messaging module that we are unaware of.

Did you do a "board renumber" after installing the R3? If not - do that - because it may correct some of the problems.

Tom Daugirdas,
President
STCG, Inc.
stcg.com

 

[bigheas537]

I will try altering the sequence again and I will do a renumber.

Btw, the ports are numbered correctly right now. I haven't done a renumber in quite some time. I am thinking that I would renumber to dummies, applying, renumber back, applying and restarting the slot.

If the board renumber doesn't do anything, I'll keep trying the dialout sequence. I wanted to call attention to the different settings of the ports. I thought it odd that I couldn't get some of the ports to answer.

Again, thanks.

 

[tdaugirdas]

If the VM ports don't answer - you may have a defective voicemail module. I always number the voicemail ports in a different range than the extentions - that way it is rarely an issue. I use the 600 range - so I always know VM1 = 600, VM2 = 601, etc. You should be able to call each voicemail port and get an answer. If the ports are programmed correctly as members in your voicemail calling group (usually 770) - then dialing any port ext directly should give you the "Welcome to Merlin Mail/Messaging" greeting. If you are not getting that response - I would contact whoever sold you the messaging module and get a replacement - this may solve your pager outcalling issue as well.

Tom Daugirdas,
President
STCG, Inc.
stcg.com

 

[bigheas537]

I have been out of the office for the past week. I'll try your tip to renumber the system this weekend. I'll return with the results the beginning of next week. Thanks for your help.

 

[odysseusatm]

Tom:

Just to be sure, when I check the "last two" voicemail ports to be sure they are unrestricted in ARS am I checking the extensions assigned to the two HIGHEST NUMBERED ports on my 016 that are connected to the voicemail server (in my case Intuity AUDIX 4.4) or is there some place in VM that assigns the order of call pickup logically?

 

[TouchToneTommy]

Since you are using Audix, there are line cord running from the Legend to the 3-line adapters, and then into the Audix. Any extension port could be patched to any voice mail port, so you should trace the line cords to see what is connected.

OR, simply unrestrict ALL if the voice mail ports and try again.

Since this is audix, it is possible to use a butt set on monitor and listen to the voice mail attempt the outcalling. Then you will be able to hear at what point the call fails, i.e., get waveoff trying to get an outside line, or a network problem with the telco.

 

[bigheas537]

Tom,

I did the renumber and still have had no luck.

Is it possible to monitor the call when the voice mail makes the call to the paging service? I tried #9<ext#> and get a busy. Actually, I've tried to do a pickup on all the voice mail ports and all attempts ring busy. None of the ports were being used at the time I tried to pickup any of the ports. And I tried to pickup port 5 when the call was being made. If I can't monitor the call, is there a log which will let me find out what happened during the call, ie. the service hung up, prompts not satisfied or timed out from the paging service, ...?

Other than calling the paging service, everything works properly. The only thing I've found in the docs was a reference to ttr's and mentioned this to the Avaya tech who didn't ssem to think that ttr's were an issue.

I have no analog appearances on the switch other than the messaging card as far as I know.

Thanks

 

[tdaugirdas]

If you have a single-line phone available - plug it into any of the open 016 T/R ports. Pickup the handset and dial *04, then dial 01, then press each of the keypad buttons in order (123456789*0#) - you should hear a 2-beep or 3-beep confirmation that TTR 01 is OK, then do the same for the 2nd TTR - dial *04, then dial 02, then the keypad numbers - and listen for the confirmation tone. You should have at least 4 TTRs - perhaps more - depending on the modules in your system. If you try TTR 05 and get a wave off - it probably does not exist. If any of the first 4 flunk the test - the 016 T/R will need replacement.

Tom Daugirdas,
President
STCG, Inc.
stcg.com

 

[bigheas537]

I found what I think is another odd behavior.

I programmed outcalling on my extension to call a pager programmed with my cell phone number and a numeric message. Now I'm sure that the phone won't respond properly to a call as a pager, but I at least thought it would ring my phone which it didn't. I can change the outcalling to a phone with my cell number and it calls fine. I get the Welcome to Merlin Messaging when I answer the call. Just no action when programmed as a pager.

If you or anyone can make sense of this, I'll try anything at this point.

In the meantime, I'm going to call my vendor and probably get an RMA.

Thanks

 

[bigheas537]

Tom,
Apparently I've been troubleshooting an intermittant problem that finally failed. I restarted the system last night and no outcalling worked. Port 5 finally let go. I am getting a replacement tomorrow. I'll post the results and offer my appreciation now.

Thank You

 

[tdaugirdas]

GOOD LUCK!! Hopefully that was the problem.

Tom Daugirdas,
President
STCG, Inc.
stcg.com

 

[odysseusatm]

Got my system working thanks to this thread. TTT's tips were a BIG help on troubleshooting the problem from the AUDIX side. Thanks to both TTT and Tom (how do you pronounce it?) D. for all your great help. Only one killer problem left: which one of you two do I vote for as TipMaster? By the way, wouldn't the advice given here make a good FAQ?

Ody

 

[tdaugirdas]

I thought you had a Merlin Messaging R3 - not an Audix Messaging system - so my advice pertained to the Merlin Messaging - similar in some ways to Audix - but very different in other ways.

Tom Daugirdas,
President
STCG, Inc.
stcg.com

 

[odysseusatm]

Yes, I jumped on BigHeas' thread because my problem was almost identical and I was able to follow all the same steps till it came to identifying which ports to unrestrict on the VM side (TTT was exactly correct, the last two VM ports were NOT connected to the last two 016 TRR ports) since AUDIX comes in a box and not a card. My thought was that starting a new thread would have been confusing and redundant but perhaps I misstepped. In any case, there's a lot to setting up outcalling on either MMx or AUDIX that isn't well explained in the sa manual, and which this thread addressed beautifully. I do think a "tips to watch for when setting up outcalling" FAQ would be a big help for many.

 

[bigheas537]

Gents,

Just back from vacation.

Finally -- success.
I did what I should have done in the 1st place. I went back to basics.

When I migrated from R2.5 to R3.0 I restored the backup and fired up the switch. All was well except for outcalling.

Friday August 17, I stayed late and collected my equipment and monitored the trunks as the outcalling occured with a hand set and jumpers. I found that the calls made to the paging service were sending every character programmed including the pauses. Odd, but I didn't think I would hear the pause characters being sent.

I started fresh with my voice mail and programmed the outcaliing number with my a phone instead of the software. Aha. With the number properly programmed, the page went fine.

It seem that the R2.5 admin software uses stars(*) to program pauses and the R3.0 admin software uses commas(,) for pauses.

Just a note: the outcalling numbers in R2.5 were programmed with phone not the admin software. When I restored the backup after upgrading to R3.0 the outcalling numbers were restored with the pauses intact. However, the software didn't correct for the differences.

So for further reference, R2.5 admin software uses stars for pauses and R3.0 admin software uses commas for pauses.

At least that's what my experience has been.

I thank you all for your help.