I am a newb to the sip and voip language, leaning fast though.
Here is what I got going, I have had 1 trunk and 4 lines the trunk I pay for thru Metric Infinity and I am responsible for doing all of the programing and maintenance of the voip and voice switch.
I recently purchased 2 toll free numbers from Metric and I am just now getting around to trying to configure them. I was told in so many words that I would need to create a trunk and extension rules just like any other number except no outbound rules. Can I use the existing trunk I am using for my regular numbers? Do I need to purchase a special trunk from my provider?
I am totally lost if there is anyone out there that could share some suggestions I would greatly appreciate it
To help explain what they said: trunks go to specific servers or providers. They can be SIP, IAX2, POTS, etc. Each provider you set up for will have a trunk.
Once you have a trunk, you need to set up the rules that are associated with the numbers coming in. The first inbound route should always be “any/any” (no DID, no CID) with a generic destination (an IVR, the receptionist’s phone, etc.). Any call from any trunk will be handled by this inbound route.
Important note - the inbound routes and trunks are unrelated. Think of it as two “phases” in processing a call. Someone calls your PBX. The call is sent from a provider down the trunk. It is delivered to the Inbound Routes to be processed. One of the will pick up the call and processes (assuming you have an Any/Any route).
After that, you can start settings up new additional inbound routes based on their “DID” numbers. Once again, the process works without regard to how the call got in. The DID is what defines the process.
After that, you can set up CID routes. These are routes that are defined by the Caller ID of the call coming in. I find these useful for things like my kids’ phones. I don’t need them to come in through the receptionist - they are going to go straight to my desk.
So, thinking of trunks and inbound routes as a “set” doesn’t help you. They are just two parts in the processing string.
Same with outbound routes with one exception. With outbound routes, you tell the system which trunks to try with one of them being the correct trunk for your outbound call.