Groups configuration

Groups are used as the basic elements for routing of a call. They define a number of resources (ports and timeslots) being used for a common purpose. For example, if any one of a number of Ports can be used to make an outgoing call, then all the Ports can be put into one Group.

From the GroomerII Configuration Editordialog, select or Groups… from the Configuration menu to open the Groups Configuration dialog.

8.4.1 Groups

To add a new group select Add. The new group will be added to the bottom of the Groups list.

To update an existing group, select the group to be updated then make the required changes.

To remove a group from the Groups list, select the group to be removed followed by Delete.

CAUTION

Deleting a group will cause any route using that group to be deleted.

8.4.2 Setup

A Group can contain more than one Port.

A Port can belong to more than one Group.

A Group definition can contain one or more subsets of the available timeslots on a Port.

Individual ports can be moved between groups or new ports can be added to groups without affecting any of the routing definitions.

Figure 8-8 Groups configuration setup tab

Name – A unique identification string for user reference only, it is not used within the Kernel itself.

Hunt strategy – Specifies how the outgoing timeslot will be selected from the resources defined for the Group. The options are:

Lowest Available – places the call on the available timeslot that is closest to the beginning of the Group.

Highest Available – places the call on the available timeslot that is closest to the end of the Group.

Follow Input – places the call from the incoming group onto the corresponding port/timeslot in the outgoing port. This hunt strategy can only be used where the incoming and outgoing groups are of identical composition (i.e. contain the same number and type of ports, in the same order, with all bearer timeslots in identical positions). If the corresponding outgoing timeslot is being used, routing will fail.

Random – selects a timeslot at random from those in the Group that are not currently carrying calls.

Cyclic – starts with the first timeslot in the Group, and thereafter selects the next available timeslot following the last one used. When the end of the group is reached the process starts again at the beginning of the Group.

One to One – is similar to Follow Input but only requires the incoming and outgoing groups to have an identical number of bearer timeslots. Corresponding timeslots are determined by counting from the beginning of the group, which allows channel mapping between E1s and T1s. If the corresponding outgoing timeslot is being used, routing will fail.

Load Balancing – is used to balance calls across all ports in a group by looking for the port that is currently carrying the fewest calls.

NOTE

IP telephony has no concept of timeslots, When configuring a group for outgoing IP telephony calls the Load Balancing hunt strategy should always be selected.

NOTE

The hunt strategy only has an effect if the Group is on the outgoing side of a route. The equipment sending the call controls the incoming timeslot.

SIP Routing – These controls will only be enabled if the group contains at least one IP telephony port, and are used to specify how the IP address to which an outgoing SIP call is directed will be selected:

Address Mapping – The called party number presented in the outgoing SIP call will be used to select the destination IP address from the currently loaded address map. Section 9 describes how to create an address map using the GroomerII Address Map Editor. Section 5.3 describes how to load an address map.

SIP Proxy Server – The outgoing SIP call will be directed to the currently configured SIP proxy server for onward routing. Section 8.6.10 describes how to configure a SIP proxy server.

Gateway – The outgoing SIP call will be directed to one of the gateways in the selected gateway route. See section 8.6.9 for a description of gateway routing.

Gateway Route – Select the gateway route to be used by this group from the drop down list. This control will only be enabled when Gateway is selected.

NOTE

SIP routing only has an effect if the Group is on the outgoing side of a route.

Ports – Contains a list of available ports on the right, and a list of ports allocated to the group on the left.

• To remove a port from the group, select the port on the left followed by >>. The Clear button will remove all ports from the group.

• To add a port to the group, select the port on the right followed by <<. NOTE

When selecting a timeslot for an outgoing call, ports are searched in the order in which they are listed in the allocated ports listbox.

For each port in the group, you must specify the range of timeslots to be used. IP telephony has no concept of timeslots, and the timeslot controls will be disabled if an IP telephony port is selected.

Select the required port from the left hand list (ports included in group) Low Timeslot Set the low (first) timeslot for the selected port.

High Timeslot Set the high (last) timeslot for the selected port.

NOTE

For simplicity framing and signalling timeslots should be included in the timeslot range, as they will be automatically excluded from selection during operation.

8.4.3 Advanced

Figure 8-9 Groups configuration advanced tab

Minimum Digits Timer – The purpose of the Minimum Digits Timer is to route a call if it arrives with insufficient dialled digits. If the number of digits specified in the Minimum Digits field on the Port Configuration - Incoming page have not arrived within a specified time then the outgoing call will be redirected to a default destination.

Timeout – The time to wait for the minimum number of digits to be dialled.

Default DA – The destination to which the call will be redirected.

The minimum digit timer can be disabled by specifying a timeout of zero seconds.