Problem accessing 4-digit Group mailbox number where 3-digit User exist 1

[AndyHG]

Hi,

First post on here so apologies if this is not the right place.

Just getting used to our new IP Office with embedded voicemail and we are having a problem accessing the Voicemail box for Groups with 4-digit mailbox numbers.
e.g. When I am prompted for the mailbox number and I try to enter 3762 which is the mailbox number of the Group, it takes me straight into mailbox 376 which corresponds to User 376.

Is there any way around this problem?

Many thanks in advance for any help.

Andy

 

[smokinjoe2938]

very bad way to configure a system make everything 4 digits and save yourself lots of headaches!

 

[IPGuru]

If you must have this mix of numbering plans (seriously it is not best practice) then either correctly program the users so the can use visual voice to access the mailbox or create a dedicates short-code for access to each group mailbox.


EG:

sc: #3762
TN: ?<group Name>
feature Voicemail Collect.

Actually create the short code even if Visual Voice is correctly configured otherwise you will not be able to record the greeting.



A Maintenance contract is essential, not a Luxury.
Do things on the cheap & it will cost you dear

 

[Telecomboy]

You will be waaaay better off eliminating this problem now by renumbering everything to 4-digits. And if you need to mix/match 3 and 4 digits, don't have them both start with the same numbering!! Have users x100-199, and hunt groups 3700-3799. But again, I would switch everything to 4-digit to save your sanity down the line.

 

[Switchman]

I have never seen anything from Avaya advising against 3 and 4 digit numbers with the same leading digit, this is quite normal on phone systems and manager doesn't complain about it in the error list.

Anyway first check that the embedded voicemail type is set to intuity mode. This is under system / voicemail, if it's set to 'ip office mode' change this to 'intuity mode' and merge the change.

Inutity mode will prompt you to enter the extension number then # which should work in your scenario.

 

[smokinjoe2938]

well if you like delays in calling then go for it but no a good practice!

 

[AndyHG]

Thanks for all of the comments.

Went with Switchman's solution of using the embedded voicemail in Intuity mode and so far so good. Certainly a lot less effort than renumbering all extensions / Users.

 

[intrigrant]

Avaya only document what is supported and not what is not supported.
The docs would be unreadable, so if they do not mention the use of overlapping three and four digit numbers then it is not supported, as simple as that.

 

[Switchman]

Nice input... but I cant recall seeing anything in the Avaya documentation advising that you can have more than one extension range... would that also be unsupported??

 

[Gunnaro]

I have never seen anything from Avaya advising against 3 and 4 digit numbers with the same leading digit, this is quite normal on phone systems and manager doesn't complain about it in the error list.

Have you read all of the docs? I got 78 hits regarding dial plan/extn numbering:

Dial plan considerations

"A uniform dial plan greatly simplifies configuration, management and phone calls within the network."

"IP Office has a very flexible numbering scheme for extensions, hunt groups and feature commands. While the system has default numbering for feature codes and extensions, they can all be re-defined. Default extensions and hunt groups have 3 digit numbers starting at 200 but these can be changed from 2 to 9 digits through the IP Office Manager."

The doc's won't explicitly say you can't make a numbering nightmare for yourself, you're supposed to understand that before even thinking about installing a system.

Conflicts usually comes when SCN is added later, but having different extn length also affects mobility features.

but I cant recall seeing anything in the Avaya documentation advising that you can have more than one extension range

Yes it does:

"Two types of numbering schemes are commonly deployed - 'Linked Numbering' and 'Node Numbering' schemes. In linked numbering schemes each site within the network has a unique range of extension numbers and users simply dial the extension number of the called party. Often, linked numbering schemes are used in very small networks (< 5 sites) with less than 500 extensions. With node numbering schemes each site is given a node ID and this is prefixed by the user when dialing extensions at other sites. In this way extension numbers can be replicated across sites while still appearing unique across the network. Node numbering schemes are common in larger networks. Linked numbering schemes and node numbering schemes are sometimes both used within the same network with node numbering used at the large offices and linked numbering employed at clusters of satellite offices."

Kind regards

Gunnar
______________________________________
Mille viae ducunt homines per saecula Romam

 

[intrigrant]

I did not bother to reply as overlapping numbering is just plain stupid ( although I use it sometimes just to prevent users to call a huntgroup or a specific user, yes most often the boss ).
I have four sons and three of them do a medical study at the University of Leiden and Delft, I asked them diring dinner : I have two phones here, phone A has numbe 123 and Phone B has number 1234. If I dial 1234 what will happen? They all four were sure only phone A would ring. They know nothing of telecom systems and I like to keep it that way

 

[Switchman]

Hi Guys

I think you are missing the point of the forum? which is to help people that have issues. AndyHG seems happy hence the star. I'm happy that I could share a good solution that resolved his issue.

Unfortunately I don't have endless time to waste proving you wrong, which isn't the reason for the forum anyway? However rest assured that you are.

As previously stated having extension ranges of varying lengths with the same leading digit is quite normal and supported on many systems, including Avaya's. I have yet to see anything that says otherwise, from my own personal experience I have encountered this many times on many systems none of which have had any issues.


Gunnaro

I appreciate your comments, I truly do. Its refreshing to see someone be so passionate about the systems they support. I didn't install or configure the system in question therefore do not know why it was configured in that fashion however I assume that it's like that for a reason.

My solution to the problem respects the person who did install the system also the high probability that they know more about the site than I do. This is why I didn't blindly advise AndyHG to re-program the extension ranges. I simply provided a good solution to the issue, renumbering may also have worked however without full site information it is not something I was comfortable in recommending especially as it could take some time to reprogram and would not be seamless to the end users.

The term uniform Dial Plan does not mean nor indicate that you can not have extensions of varying length with the same leading digit.

It was good of you to take the time to go through the manuals and paste the section you felt most relevant, can you highlight from your quote the part that that advises against having 3 and 4 digit numbers with the same leading digit?

Again on your quote regarding 'numbering schemes' it doesn't mention that they can be split or that you can have more than one range. Obviously I know this is possible however my reply was supposed to be a throw away comment based on your previous statement that 'Avaya only document what is supported and not what is not supported'.

It is never that black and white, there are lots things that are supported that are not explicitly explained or fully documented, I think this is one of them.

Intrigrant

I wouldn't be too upset that all of your sons were wrong. It's great that 3 of them are studying a fascinating subject at university, you must be proud of them. I'm sure if you were to ask me a question related to their study I'd also get it wrong. However dismissing something as plain stupid without knowing all the facts as to why it was configured is shortsighted at best.