Fonality Installation Guide

This installation guide serves to make the installation process of a premises server as easy and simple as possible. Please follow the guide carefully, and take note of all warnings and "NOTES", such as the one directly below:

NOTE: Although this guide focuses primarily on premises phone systems, some general guidelines can also pertain to Connect users, as well. For the Connect Installation guide, please see this article.

Hook up the cables and power up the server

Plug in a monitor and keyboard, then plug the server into the local network using the onboard network connection* much like a desktop computer, and press the power key to turn it on.  The PBX should get an IP address automatically via DHCP.
*-Use the lowest numbered Ethernet port, or in the absence of numbers, use the grey port.

Log in to the web admin panel

Once the server is booted, which can take anywhere from two to five minutes, you should be able to log in to the Fonality Web Admin Panel at http://cp.fonality.com/
(for legacy Trixbox servers, use http://cp.trixbox.com/ ).

Your username and password are typically e-mailed to you, or included in an envelope taped to the side of the server.  Your admin username is either "admin#" (standard), "fonality#" (Dell-sold PBX), or "tbadmin#" (Trixbox Pro).

NOTE: If an error message appears, it means that the server cannot connect to the Fonality datacenter via the internet. For network troubleshooting, please see this helpful article. Additional troubleshooting steps can be found on the IP Connectivity Troubleshooter.

Set a static IP address

It is advisable to set a specific static IP address for the PBX server - this ensures maximum reliability between the IP phones and the phone system.  Failure to do so will result in the PBX getting different IPs on the network at different times, which will break phone connectivity.

NOTE: For best performance, Fonality recommends connecting the PBXtra on the same LAN segment as the location where the majority of the IP phones will be installed; the phones should use the same IP Address subnet if possible. Although it is possible to connect the PBXtra on its own independent network or Internet provider, it is recommended only to do so if there is an individual available who has a good understanding of the local network infrastructure.

Once you've logged in to the web admin panel, go to the Options tab: and click on "Network".  Change the IP address to something suitable for your network.  It should be an IP address outside of the DHCP auto-assignment range - unlikely to interfere with another device on your network.

For example, if your PBX auto-acquired an IP address of 192.168.1.103, a safe static IP would probably be either below 100 or above 200 - such as 192.168.0.10 .  The router is less likely to assign that IP address to some other device. 

Most other settings can be left at defaults, but we recommend setting the DNS servers specifically.

Good primary and secondary public DNS servers are:

8.8.8.8  (Google DNS)
4.2.2.2 (Level 3 Communications)

Local DNS requirements *important*

In order to guarantee reliable phone service, please set your router or firewall to use the IP address of the PBX as the first DNS server.  Full explanation here, if desired:
Primary DNS Server Requirement for premise-based servers

For Windows Domain Controllers, you must add a static DNS entry for the PBX.  You do this by creating a new zone (a fully qualified domain name) pointing to the IP address of your PBX.  For example "s1234.pbxtra.fonality.com". 

Step by step directions are provided for Windows Domain Controllers (found in the table of contents) here, and will result in good performance if followed exactly:

Primary DNS Server Requirement for premise-based servers (click on "3. Windows Domain Controller" in the contents).

Installing the phones

Once a successful login is accomplished at http://cp.fonality.com, it is safe to unpack and install the IP phones onto the local network.

All IP phones provided by Fonailty are set up to automatically connect to the server upon boot up. Note that while it is advised that the server have a static IP address, it is best that the IP phones use DHCP. Allow the phone a few moments to boot up completely, then place a test call by picking up the handset and dialing "0". A voice prompt should play that says "Thank you for calling". Phone registration can also be verified by logging into http://cp.fonality.com and navigating to the Users -> Extension Status section.

If the phones experience any issues registering to the PBX, please refer to this helpful article.

Security considerations

Prevent hackers and crackers from getting into your PBX.

Don't forward/allow unsolicited traffic on TCP port 22 (SSH) for example. 
Please take a look at:
Security considerations and port forwarding.

Remote users

In some cases, users may need to work from a location outside of the local network. It is best to first verify that the phones assigned to those users are registered to the server by plugging in the phone to the local network and testing its functionality while on site. Once functionality has been established, it is safe to send the phone to the remote location.

In order to implement remote users, the local network must forward certain ports to the internal IP address of the PBX:

UDP port 5060
UDP ports 10000-20000

Note that while the ports must be forwarded to the PBX on the server-side network, the remote site's firewall must simply allow outbound VoIP traffic on these ports.

For more detailed instructions on setting up remote users and troubleshooting, please refer to:
Remote Phones

Installing phone service

Now that the server and phones have been installed and verified, the next step is to install and verify the trunking for the phone system.

Analog lines

Analog lines need to be connected in reverse hunting order, meaning the busiest line should be placed in the highest port numbers. The Fonality PBX server will dial out from the lowest port numbers first. By connecting the analog lines in a reverse hunting order, it effectively avoids attempting an outbound call while an inbound call is ringing in on the same line.

For more information regarding analog line installation and troubleshooting, please refer to this helpful article.

T1/PRI Lines

A PRI turnup can be a complicated process if one is not familiar with the process. It is typically recommended to have a Fonality Customer Support representative or Installation Engineer on the phone to avoid any pitfalls that may be experienced. Prior to installation of a PRI line, please be sure to have the telephone line provider test the circuit for proper set up and connectivity.

For more information regarding T1/PRI installation and troubleshooting, please refer to this helpful article.

VoIP Lines

Setting up a VoIP provider is a fairly straightforward process. Simply log into the Fonality Web Admin Panel at http://cp.fonality.com and navigate to the Options -> VoIP section. Here, multiple VoIP provider accounts can be set up. All information required to set up the account on the PBX will be provided by trunking provider. Fonality has created default profiles for several of the more popular providers, which require a very minimal amount of additional information to register; other carriers may also be set up here even if there is not a default profile created.

For more information regarding VoIP installation and troubleshooting, please refer to this helpful article.

Configuring outbound dialing

In order to place calls out of the phone system, dial plans will need to be established. To configure dial plans, log into http://cp.fonality.com and navigate to the Options -> Dial Plan section.

The dial plans found here have been created with the intention that they cover most general methods of placing outbound calls. New dial plans can be created by enterting the required information and then clicking the "Add Dial Plan" button below. An explanation of the various options follow:

Dial String: the phone numbers that can be dialed. Note that a new plan needs to be made for a particular number of digits that may be dialed (i.e.: 7-digit dialing vs 10-digit dialing)

Name: simply a way of identifying the particular dial string. Not required, but handy to tell one dial plan apart from others easily.

Type: an organizational nomer only; used to determine how a dial string is being used (long distance. local, etc.)

Route: the trunks used and in which order they are to be used; "1st" is required so that the system knows how to handle the call for the particular dial string, but "2nd" and "3rd" are only needed if there are more than one trunking service is installed on the server.

Strip Digits: how many digits to strip from the dialed number to send to the PSTN. Be default, users place outbound calls by dialing 9 + XXX-XXX-XXXX. The dial tone provider does not need the "9" digit, however, so the system by default is set to "1" to get rid of that digit before sending the dialed number to the PSTN.

Prepend: this determines what digits should be prepended to the outgoing dialed number. This is optional and is not required to create a valid dial plan.

Toll Restriction: sets the system to allow only particular users access to certain dial plans. This is particularly effective against allowing users to utilize expensive dial plans such as international or long distance.

Note that once any changes are made to the dial plans on the Options -> Dial Plan page, the phones will need to be restarted to take advantage of the new settings. For any assistance in this matter, please contact the Fonality Customer Support team.

Configuring inbound calls

Although not all companies prefer to use an inbound call menu, the option is available for those who would like to utilize its functionality. By configuring the call menus here, one can determine the paths taken by inbound calls whether it is direct to user extensions, entering queues, or joining a conference bridge.

Please see some various examples below:

Route by business hours to receptionist

Open

Route by keypress options

Open

Route by number dialed

Once the inbound dialing routes are set up, the system is ready to go!

How to contact Fonality Customer Support

If for any reason any issues arise that need to be addressed by Fonality Customer Support, there are several ways to contact the team.

Call Support

Please call the Fonality Customer Support team at 866.366.2548. Be sure to have the server ID of the server in question handy, and be prepared to take down any ticket numbers that the support representative might provide.

Email Support

Log into the Web Admin Panel at http://cp.fonality.com and navigate to the bottom right of the screen. Here, click on the big orange question mark, then click on "submit a ticket" in the panel that opens to the right. In the pop up that appears, fill in all relevant information and click "submit" to send the ticket to the Fonality Customer Support team.

Call Professional Services Installation

If installation time with the Fonality Professional Services team was purchased with the system, please feel free to call 877.366.2548 x6215 to schedule an appointment. Likewise, one may also open a ticket by sending an email to ps@fonality.com and one of the team members will reach out shortly.

Troubleshooting

Note: many of these will link to other, pre-existing articles on the topic, to avoid duplication of effort.

Recover Forgotten Username or Password

If you've forgotten your web username or web password, but have access to the email account tied to your account, then you can have them both emailed to you.

1. Goto the Web Panel login page ( http://cp.fonality.com ) and click on the 'Forgot' link.

2. Enter the email address tied to your extension on the 'Email' field and press the 'Remind Me' button.

3. Check your email to retrieve your web username and web password.

Server is offline or unreachable - error

See:
Network Config Troubleshooter - I cannot log in to my Web Admin Panel