Configuring Fax routing
Introduction to fax routing
An important ability for Network fax packages is to be able to determine the right recipient of an incoming fax. GFI FAXmaker supports several ways of achieving this. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Overall, DID routing is preferred for larger installations, and MSN and Line routing for smaller installations. In this paragraph we discuss all the routing methods, their advantages and their requirements.
DID routing (ISDN)
ISDN is the faster, more reliable and more cost effective way to do faxing. ISDN is available in most regions via your telecommunications provider. The ISDN protocol is digital, and allows you to set-up direct-in-dial (DID) routing. In the UK, DID routing is also referred to as DDI routing.
With DID routing your telecommunications provider allocates you a range of virtual numbers, which will allow individual users/printers/public folders to have their own fax numbers, without requiring a physical fax line for each. If you already have ISDN you can choose to use available lines from your PBX. Upon answering the fax call, the ISDN protocol will pass the number on which the call is being answered to GFI FAXmaker.
Ordering a new ISDN line
If you wish to use a new fax number range with FAXmaker you will need to contact your telecommunications provider to install an ISDN service. You will need to let them know that you wish to use the service for faxing, how many ISDN lines you want installed and how large a range of numbers you wish to have assigned to service. The telecommunications provider will then install a port (or a network termination device depending on your region) at your location to connect to the ISDN card in the FAXmaker server.
I One ISDN Basic Rate Interface (BRI) consists of 2 ISDN channels. i.e. 4BRI will give eight lines for faxing. One ISDN Primary Rate Interface (PRI) will give 24/30 lines depending on your region.
Using available ISDN lines behind a PBX
If you want to use numbers from an existing number range for routing faxes to individual users you will need to contact your phone technicians. They will need to create what is commonly referred to as an `s-bus extension' and configure a port for the ISDN card to be configured as an `s-bus device'. The phone technicians will then need to program the PABX to present the DID numbers from the specified fax number range to the `s-bus device'. Your PABX may require either spare digital ports or an expansion card for this capability.
FAXmaker configured for DID behind a PABX
I Check with your telephone technicians to ensure that the PABX will be compatible with an ISDN fax solution before purchasing any ISDN hardware. Sample PABX configurations can be found on the Brooktrout website (Knowledgebase Article #1457).
Requirements for DID routing (ISDN):
- A separate ISDN Line or spare ISDN extension
- An active ISDN CAPI 2.0 card such as an EICON Server BRI (approx. cost $300-$500).
DID routing (analog/digital)
If ISDN is not available in your area, it is possible to order a DID trunk from your telecommunications provider. These are either analog or digital, depending on your provider. You will be allocated a range of virtual numbers, which will allow individual users/printers/public folders to have their own fax numbers, without requiring a physical fax line for each.
Ordering a new DID trunk
You can choose to order a new DID trunk, which you will dedicate to GFI FAXmaker. This requires that you buy a DID card from Brooktrout.
Using extra DID lines via your PBX
If you already have a DID trunk for your PBX, you can choose to use available lines from your PBX. Effectively you will configure your PBX to `forward' the DID number on which the call was received to GFI FAXmaker via a DTMF tone.
I DTMF (Dual Tone Multi Frequency) tones are the tones you hear when you press a number on your phone. DTMF uses two tones to represent each key on the touch pad. When any key is pressed, the tone of the column and the tone of the row are generated, hence dual tone. As an example, pressing the '5' button generates the tones 770Hz and 1336Hz. These tones are then recognized by the hardware and passed on to GFI FAXmaker
Requirements for DID routing (analog/digital):
- A DID line with X amount of numbers or spare extensions on your PBX.
- If using a separate DID trunk: A Brooktrout TR114 TR 1034 DID card (approx. cost $2000)
- If using DID lines from your PBX: any Brooktrout TR 114 or TR 1034 card. Ensure that they support your PBX and that you have a knowledgeable phone technician who is able to configure this for you. For information on this contact Brooktrout.
MSN routing (ISDN only)
This method is similar to DID routing, however it uses the available MSN numbers instead of dedicated DID numbers (ISDN only). Each ISDN line has 1 or more MSN numbers (usually 9) assigned to it. If your ISDN line has 9 MSN numbers, you can have 9 different routes for a fax. The number of lines assigned to each ISDN line is different for each telecommunications provider. Contact your telecommunications provider for the exact number.
Requirements for DID routing (ISDN):
- A separate ISDN Line with spare MSN numbers.
- An active ISDN CAPI 2.0 card such as an EICON Server BRI (approx. cost $300-$500).
OCR Routing
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) routing allows you to forward incoming faxes depending on its text content. First the fax pages are converted to text using OCR technology. Then the text is searched for the user's first and last name and/or configurable text phrases. The fax server will then forward the incoming fax to the respective user.
Requirements for OCR routing:
Line routing
Line routing allows you to assign a physical fax line to a user. For example, if your office had 4 fax machines in each department prior to purchase of GFI FAXmaker, you could use those 4 fax lines with a 4 port fax device to route the faxes to each department based on the number on which it was received.
Requirements:
Routing to a public folder or to an individual user
You can also choose to route to an individual's mailbox or a public folder/shared mailbox. In this case, faxes are manually routed by a single person or group of persons.
CSID routing
CSID (Caller Sender Identification) routing relies on the FAX ID, which each FAX machine/FAX card displays when sending a fax. Since it rarely changes, it can be used to identify the sender and thus the corresponding recipient. CSID routing is still present in the GFI FAXmaker fax server for backward compatibility reasons. We no longer recommend it.
