EPM Config Variables Question?

Commercial Modules
1

OK, the commercial EPM is for sure damn handy and nice to have, but I am left scratching my head on one item unless I have just missed it someplace.

If I look at the wiki, I see the section that is titled variables exposed in the basefiles. My question is, where can I define/redefine the variables.

As an example, I was looking at the config for a Yealink phone, but wanted to enable multicast paging which it supports. If I look at the basefile template, I see for the setting multicast.listen_address.1.ip_address that they define it as %multicastAddress0%. So my question is, where does this %multicastAddress0% come from, and how can I define it’s value so the default variable is usable with my configuration?

I know I can just redefine it to fixed value, but if they are pulling global variables I can use across templates, that is even better.

2

Anyone?? Any ideas? I would have thought being able to set/use variables would be important. I know many were away at the convention last week, but thought someone might comment by now…

3

You can set them in the commercial version or you can use the OSS version and change the templates.

4

I have the commercial version, so if I have for example %multicastAddress0% as listed above, and I want to set that value so that any template that uses it gets the setting, where do I put this in the commercial EPM?

5

Base files. I think the manual goes into this in more detail.

6

I agree, that is where this should be, and if you go look at the wiki, it even has a section on the basefiles, and the exposed variables (http://wiki.freepbx.org/display/FCM/Variables+exposed+in+Base+File+Editor), but nothing about where you can set the variables.

Sure I can go in and remove as an example the %multicastAddress0% variable, and just hard code in the IP/Port, and it works, but then it’s restricted to that template, if I want ALL phones/templates to use %multicastAddress0% so they are the same, I see nothing in the manuals or wiki that show where to set this variable so it’s used. It’s for sure not in the global settings section, and I see no way to add new globals to the settings that would allow setting this.

I am surprised nobody needs this, as setting the variables and using them across templates is darn useful, especially when you have several hundred phones in a system and multiple brands in play…

7

Those variables are in the common settings module for each phone type.

8

OK, for some reason as much as I do with all this stuff, I am totally missing this one. If I look at EPM, I see at the top, I see Global Settings and Extension Mapping, then under that I see the Brands section, where I can pick from Aastra to Yealink, and if I pick one I can create a new template, or edit an existing one. The down under all the phone types we get into the Advanced section where I can do Image Management, Basefile edit (where I see the variables used), Custom Extensions, Firmware, and Network Scan.

I don’t see a common settings anyplace for the phone types, so where is this gem hidden that I am totally missing. I even went back and looked for it after your message, and I still don’t see this section, so if you could hit me with a cloo bat on this one I would sure appreciate it…

9

Those variables are set in basefile for each template.

10

I understand that pretty much anything can be set in the basefiles section, but riddle me this please.

I have multiple Yealink templates created, and if I want to setup the multicast paging (as listed in my initial post), so I go and look at the basefile for Yealink. In that one of the variables is multicast.listen_address.1.ip_address and if you look at the value that is set, it says %multicastAddress0%.

So needless to say the %multicastAddress0% variable is common at least across all my Yealink templates, if not globablly in the EPM, as to be honest I also have Aastra’s that also are using some multicast channels as well.

So the question I need an answer to is where can I define what %multicastAddress0% is, in this case being my IP/Port for multicast, so that ALL of my templates use this value??

Sure I know I can go into basefiles, and I can erase the %multicastAddress0% variable, and then hard code in the IP/Port, and that will work, as I have done it. Still that totally defeats the purpose of having a variable defined that can be pulled and used between templates, and why would you even define this variable if it’s not something that can be set?

11

The location for multicast is in the top of the template. However, Yealink did not have it listed. I have corrected that in the next version due out today or Monday.

You just enter the addresses separated by a comma (ie: 224.0.36.0:10000, 192.168.100.100:10001)

The module then breaks them up into the variables %multicastAddress0%, %multicastAddress1%, etc.

12

That explains it, and why I couldn’t find this multicast setting. Anyway I look forward to the coming update, and many thanks for a decent explanation…