Overview of EPM

The PBX End Point Manager (EPM) on your phone system lets you manage external device settings such as phones, gateways, and overhead paging devices. With EPM you can create templates defining the settings you want for a group of devices, and then map extensions to use specific templates.

The following items are the main parts of EPM:

• Global Settings - These are global settings that EPM will use for all templates, such the external and internal IP addresses of your PBX.

• Extension Mapping - This is where you map an extension on the phone system to a specific MAC address of a device and define what template will be used to build the configuration files.

• Brands - This is where you can see which brands have been set up with a template in EPM. Clicking on a brand name will bring up a screen to see all the templates that are created for that brand.

• Add Brand - Here is where you would add a new brand of phones/devices for which you want to create one or more templates.

• Image Management - Here you can manage uploading images that you can use in any template that supports phone side images.

• Basefile Edit - This section is for advanced users and should only be used with guidance from support. This allows you to change hard coded values of any template settings on any brand of phone. Many settings for a template are set to use hard coded default values, but these can be changed in the base file edit on a per template basis. You can also add new config file values that we do not let you define in the Template Management section for each brand.

• Custom Extensions - The premise of EPM is to pull extension information such as SIP passwords and names from within your local PBX. If you want to set up a phone or a line key on a phone for an extension that does not exist on the local PBX, you would first need to define the extension information here for EPM to pull from.

• Firmware Management - The firmware management section is used to install and update firmware for each brand of phone that supports firmware management. You can choose which firmware version should be installed in two different versions: "Slot 1" and "Slot 2." You can then choose on a per template basis which firmware slot to use for that template.

• Network Scan - Network Scan is software that will scan your network for all MAC addresses of all the devices we support. It presents you with all MAC addresses for devices that are currently not mapped in Extension Mapping and lets you automatically map those MAC addresses to any extension and template.
   

Getting Started

When you first log into EPM you will see a menu like this on the right side with the sections as defined above. You can click the menu button  at any time to expand or collapse the menu.

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Global Settings

•  First, make sure you have some global settings set correctly, so choose the Global Settings option on the right.
  
  

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• Internal IP - You need to set the Internal IP Address to be whatever the IP Address of the PBX is. You will use this later when creating a template.
  In our example this is set to 192.168.0.1.
  
  

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• External IP - If you are going to have any phones connecting to the PBX from outside your local network, then make sure to define the External IP address or FQDN that will resolve to the External IP Address of your PBX.
  In our example we have set this to 178.891.919.111.
  
  

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• Ports - This section displays which ports are used for the web server, HTTP provisioning, and RESTful Apps. This information is based on what you have set up in the Port Mapping section of the System Admin module. For instructions on how to change the ports, see the System Admin - Port Management wiki.

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  • Web Server Port - This is the port for the PBX Admin GUI for controlling the system.

  • HTTP Provision Port - Set the phone's config to this port number if you are using HTTP provisioning for your phones. All traffic from this port will automatically be directed to the folder that contains your phone configuration and firmware.  

  • RESTful Apps Port - If you are using Phone Apps, this is the port that the applications will use to communicate with the PBX.

• Phone Admin Password - All phones that we support have a Phone Admin Password. You can set this password here, and it will be used by all phones as the Admin password for logging into the phone's web GUI. You are required to use at least 6 characters for your password. You can also use this password when using the Login REST App on the phone to login as a user without knowing the user's password.
  
  

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• Phone User Password - Some phones, such as Cisco, have both an Admin User and a Normal User. You need to first log in as a Normal User, then log in as the Admin User. The Phone User Password set here defines the password for the Normal User. You are required to use at least 6 characters for your password. You can also use this password when using the Login REST App on the phone to login as a user who does not have a voicemail password set up.
  
  

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• ReSync Time - Most phones will auto sync periodically to see if there are any phone config changes for the phone to apply. You can define this interval here in seconds.
  In our example below, 86400 would tell the phone to check once every 24 hours for new configurations and apply them if found.
  
  

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• XML-API (RestAPI) Default Login - If you want to allow a phone to use the Phone Apps Login/Logout hot-desking feature, if supported by the phone, then you need to enable this option. This will cause the system to generate a default config that will present a new user with a login button on the phone after the previous user logs out. If this default login option is set to No, then when a user logs a phone out, there will be no login button available to a new user. Be sure to set this to Yes if you need to enable hot-desking. (Dark blue background = selected)
  
  

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• Extension Mapping IP Address and Phone Status - Choose whether to display these items.

  • IP Address - This will display the IP address that the phone is reporting to your PBX while it is registered to the PBX.

  • Phone Status - This will display the ping time of the phone from the PBX while the phone is registered to the PBX.
     

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• Click the Save Global button to save your changes when done.
  
  

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Adding a Brand

• Click the menu button  on the right side to expand the menu.

• Here you will see a list of phone Brands (manufacturers) that have been activated on your PBX.
  
  

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• To add a new brand, click the Add Brand button under the Advanced section of the menu.
  
  

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• A pop-up will then let you pick which brand you want to add. Click on a brand name.
  
  

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• A new template will be created. You can now set up the template as outlined below for each manufacturer.

Template Creation and Editing (Example with Sangoma Brand) 

• Click the menu   button on the right to expand the nav menu.

• Click on the Sangoma option under brands.
  
  

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• At this point you can either edit an existing template or create a new template.

  • To Edit an Existing Template: Click on any template name from the list. A list of all extensions that are mapped to the template will be listed under the "Used By" section.
    
    

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  • To Create a New Template: Click the New Template button.
    
    

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• Template Name: Give your template a name, such as “Default.”

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• Default Template: A single template for each brand can be marked as the default template. Please review our Hot Desking Primer wiki for EPM and Rest Apps.
  
  

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• Destination Address: Here you define what IP Address or FQDN you will program the phone with. This will tell the phone how to reach the PBX and where to register. You can either type an IP or FQDN, or select the Internal or External button to automatically pull the information from the EPM Global Settings.

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• Time Zone: The time offset from 0 (GMT) for the time zone where the phone is located, in +/-HH:MM format. For example, Central Time would be -06:00

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• Primary Time Server: The IP or FQDN Address of the time server you want the phone to use. We recommend using 0.us.pool.ntp.org    

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• Daylight Savings: This is used to tell the phone weather it should use daylight savings or not.

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• Background Image: Use this option to change the background image used on your phone. See the Image Management section later in this wiki for information on how to upload a background image for devices.
  
  

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• Line Label: If the device supports an LCD screen for the line label you can pick between having the extension name, extension number, or both show up on the LCD for the line label on the device. Please note, the label portion of your phone is limited in the number of characters it supports. Anything too long will be cropped.

  • Name- Only the assigned name will show up, for example, "John Doe."

  • Extension- Only the extension number will show up, for example, "4000."

  • Name-Extension- Both the name and number will show up, for example, "John Doe 4000."
    
    

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• Multicast Enable: Enable or disable multicast paging on this device. If enabled, you can define a list of addresses it will listen on for a multicast page, below.
  
  

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  • Multicast Address: List of IP addresses that the device should listen on for multicast pages, separated by commas.
    
    

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• Dial Pattern: Here you can change the default included dial pattern for the phone. A dial pattern is what the phone looks to for a match for sending calls to the PBX.

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• Firmware Version: The firmware slot this template will use for the firmware for these devices. Please see the Firmware Management section later in this wiki for instructions on how to create firmware slots. Each brand has an included recommended firmware slot by default, which is the version that we have tested with. This does not mean all features will work or that the firmware is bug-free; it is just the version we tested with. You can pick between Recommended, Slot 0, Slot 1 and Slot 2.
  
  

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• Ring Tones: Here you can pick from the 5 included ring tones that you want to set as the default ring tone. This will be used for calls to this device any time something in the PBX is not explicitly set to override the ring tone. Please see the Sangoma phone Ring Tones wiki for more information on how Sangoma phones can dynamically change the ring tone from within the PBX based on where the caller originated.
  
  

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• Screen Saver and Screen Saver Timeout: You can optionally turn on a Screen Saver and what time it should wait before it kicks on.

  • Screen Saver- Select one of the available types.
    
    

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  • Screen Saver Timeout- If you do not want to enable the screen saver, select Screen Saver Off. Otherwise, select one of the time delay options for how long the phone should wait before turning on the screen saver.
    
    

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• Headset Priority: Enable this option if you want to connect an Electronic Hook Switch (EHS) headset to the phone.
  
  

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• Call Waiting Signal: Enable this option if you want to hear a beep on the phone when a call is sent to your device while you are already on a call. If you set this to Disabled, the call is still sent to your device and you can see the inbound call on the screen of the phone, but an audible call waiting tone will not be played to you.
  
  

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• BLF Alert: If you have a BLF button set up to monitor 1 or more extensions, you can optionally have an audio alert, visual alert, or both sent to your phone. See the BLF Alerts wiki for more information. 
  
  

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• HotLine and HotLine Destination: The Hotline Dial option allows you to set up the phone to auto-dial a specific extension or phone number when you take the receiver off hook. This is handy in a lobby area where you can inform the caller to pick up the handset in order to automatically place a call. You can set this to route the call to a destination such as an extension, outside phone number, queue, ring group or IVR. 

  • HotLine-  Pick whether to enable or disable the hotline dial option. If you Enable it, you will see the option to enter a destination below.

  • HotLine Destination- The destination that the phone will automatically dial when a user takes the receiver off hook.
    
    

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• Provision Server Address: This is used to tell the phone what IP or FQDN Address it should use to locate and pull firmware and configuration files from. This is usually your PBX IP or FQDN.
     

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• Provision Server Protocol: Define what protocol you want your phones to use when receiving their config files.

  • TFTP should be used when phones are local to the PBX, as it's easy to use and requires no setup.

  • FTP should be used if your phones are remote, as it requires the phone to know the FTP username and password to receive the config file.

    • If using FTP, you will need to set up an FTP username and password for the PBX. Review this wiki on how to set up an FTP server for phones to receive their configuration files.

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• When done, do not forget to press the Save Template button at the bottom of the page.
  
  

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• Once you have saved your template, you can now manage the settings for each specific model number/device that you want to set up.

• Scroll to the bottom of the template page and click on one of the model numbers under Available Phones.
  
  

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• The first 2-3 buttons should always be set up as line keys. A line key is what allows you to make or receive a call, so if you want to manage 2 calls at a time, you need to set up 2 line keys.
  
  

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  • From the Type drop down, pick Line.
    
    

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  • Repeat this process to set up 2-3 keys as the Line type. Note that the Label and Value columns become unavailable for Line Keys.
    
    

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• Continue your button setup by selecting a Type for each key you want to configure, and enter a Label and/or Value whenever appropriate.

The information included below explains the various types of Line Keys available on Sangoma phones. This information is also available as a standalone wiki: Line Keys

Line Keys Setup

End Point Manager will help you set up the Line keys for your Sangoma Phones, based on the phone family:

S-Series

Line Key Types

Depending on the phone family type, Line keys can be set up in End Point Manager either for S-Series or P-Series with the following options.

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• Line Key Types:

  • BLF- ("Busy Lamp Field") - Monitors another extension or feature code that has state information on your PBX. The state is indicated by the BLF button.

  • Call Park- Used for one-touch Call Parking.

  • Conference- Configures a conference button to allow 5-way conference calling.

  • DTMF- Sends DTMF digits while on a active call, such as having the system dial a feature code while on a active call.

  • Hold- Places the caller on Hold.

  • Intercom- Causes the dialed extension to answer using Intercom Calling/Auto Answer instead of ringing.

  • LDAP- Button to Launch LDAP directory

  • Line- Sets up a line key. Each phone needs at least one line key.

  • MultiCast Paging- Starts a page to a specific MultiCast address.

  • Record- Toggles on-demand call recording. Requires the user to have on-demand recording permissions in the PBX.

  • Redial- Redials the last number.  

  • SpeedDial- Dials the programmed external number.  

    • To insert pauses, use a comma.  Each comma adds a 500ms pause when dialing.  

    • If you want to create a speed dial that dials a number and then waits for the user to enter more digits on the keypad you would use a + at the end of your speed dial such as *80+ would dial *80 when you press the speed dial button and then wait for you to enter more digits.

  • Transfer-Transfers a call to a new recipient.

  • Voicemail- Dials the voicemail system, allowing the user to check voicemail.

  • XML API- Provides access to the specified Phone App.

Configuring Line Buttons

• S-Series Line Buttons

• You can optionally change the Label name to be something different for any button type except Line. The Label is the name that will be shown on your phone screen for that button.  

  • For the Line type, the Label name will automatically be whatever you defined in the Template Settings section called Line Label. The default is to show the extension number of the device. You can change this to show the name instead, or both name and extension number.
     

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• You can also drag the button to be in a different position. Left-click on the table row for the button, and while holding down your left mouse button, drag the button to a different spot and release it.
  In our example we will drag Button 21 up toward the top to make it button 4 on the phone. Note that it will initially say "21" instead of "4" after dragging it to position 4. However, the number sequence will be corrected after you save your settings.
   

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• Once done, click the Save Model button to save your settings for this model.
  
  

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• If you go back into the model number it will show the new numbering.
  For example, our Intercom button that was 21, is now 4 instead of 21.
  
  

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• You now need to update the phone config. Choose an option from the drop-down and click the Apply button. Your three options at the bottom of the template are:

  • Save - This will only save your changes into the PBX database. It will not write out new config files for the phones that are using this template as mapped in Extension Mapping section of End Point Manager.
    
    

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  • Save and Rebuild Config(s)- This will save your changes to the PBX database and write out new config files for the phones that are using this template as mapped in Extension Mapping section of End Point Manager. The phones will not retrieve the changes.
    
    

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  • Save, Rebuild Config(s) and Update Phones- This will do both the Save Template and Rebuild Configs options above. It will also immediately update any phones that are mapped to use this template and currently registered to the PBX with no need to reboot the phones.
    
    

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Extension Mapping

Extension mapping is where you link an extension to a MAC Address of a phone, and link that phone to a specific template you have created. This will cause EPM to write out the configuration files for that phone based on the template.

To navigate to Extension Mapping:

• Click the menu   button on the right to expand the nav menu.

• Click on Extension Mapping in the nav menu.
   

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  • You should see a table similar to this, showing any extensions you have mapped.
    
    

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Adding a New Extension

• On the Extension Mapping home screen, click the Add Extension button at the top. This will add a new row to the table of extensions.
   

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  • Here you can configure 6 options:

    • In the first column select an Extension Number and Name on the top and an Account on the bottom.

    •  In the second column, select a phone Brand on the top and enter the phone's MAC Address on the bottom.

    • In the third column, select a Template on the top in and a phone Model on the bottom.
      
      

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  • Scroll to the bottom and select one of the options from the drop-down menu. Then click the Use Selected button to apply the action. The options are:

    • Save and Rebuild Config(s)- This will save the information to the database and build the config file for that phone, so the phone can retrieve the configuration file.
      
      

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    • Save, Rebuild Config(s) and Update Phones- This will save the information to the database, build the config file for that phone, and tell the phone to retrieve its config file. The reboot option will only work if the phone is currently registered with the PBX.
      
      

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    • Delete Selected- Deletes the selected Extension from Extension Mapping.
      
      

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Color Coding of Extensions in Extension Mapping 

All the extensions listed in Extension Mapping will either be green or yellow in color.

• Green- Means the config file is up to date with all changes saved in the database for this device.

• Yellow- Means the config file has not been updated with changes made in the template for this device that are saved in the database.
  
  

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Updating Phone Configurations for Extensions Marked as Yellow

To rebuild the config(s), and optionally update the phones:

Select the desired extensions using the checkboxes in the far left column.

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• At the bottom of the page, pick one of the following two options and click the Use Selected button to apply the action.
  
  

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  • Save and Rebuild Config(s)- This will save the information to the database and build the config file for that phone, so the phone can retrieve the configuration file. This will not automatically update the phones.

  • Save, Rebuild Config(s) and Update Phones- May cause the phone to reboot. This will save the information to the database, build the config file for that phone, and tell the phone to retrieve its config file. This will only work if the phone is currently registered with the PBX.

Pushing Config Updates Rebooting the Phone (Sangoma Phones Only)

Sangoma phones support the ability to update the phone's running configuration file without rebooting the phone. 

Any Sangoma phone set up in Extension Mapping will have a "Push Config"  button under the Action section. 

Pressing this button will send an updated configuration to the phone and have it process the changes without a reboot. For this feature to work, your phone has to be registered and connected to the PBX.

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Adding Expansion Modules

You can now go back to Extension Mapping select an expansion module to include as a part of a phone's configuration.

• Click the menu   button on the right to expand the nav menu.

• Click on Extension Mapping in the nav menu.

  • Click on the Edit Icon  for the extension you want to modify.

  • Expansion module options will be displayed near the bottom of the window. Use the drop-down menus to select your expansion module(s).
    
    

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• Scroll to the bottom and select one of the options from the drop-down menu. Then click the Apply button to apply the action.
  
  

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  The options are:

  • Save Extension- This will save the information to the database but will not build the config file for the phone. 

  • Save and Rebuild Config(s)- This will save the information to the database and build the config file for that phone, so the phone can retrieve the configuration file. It will not update the phone.

  • Save, Rebuild Config(s) and Update Device- This will save the information to the database, build the config file for that phone, and tell the phone retrieve its config file.

  • Delete Extension and Remove Config(s)- This will delete the selected extension from Extension Mapping. 

BLF Substitution

Since Busy Lamp Field (BLF) buttons are controlled by a template, and you may share the same template with more than one device, BLF Substitution simply means, "If my extension is set up as a BLF button in the template, please substitute this button on my device with the extension defined in this field." (Most users don't want to monitor the BLF state of their own phone.)

In our example, we are going to edit extension 4001's advanced settings. Since our extension mapping is using a template that includes a BLF to extension 4001, the system will substitute the BLF 4001 with what we define below.

• Click the menu   button on the right to expand the nav menu.

• Click on Extension Mapping in the nav menu.