Updating to Switchvox SMB 5.8

Switchvox 5.8: Enhancements and Changes

General Enhancements

• For Administrators

  • Digium Phone configuration (in extension management) has 2 new options:

    • Blind transfer rapid dial (by default, contacts on a rapid dial key use assisted transfer)

    • Number of rapid dial subscriptions (determines how many contacts show Status)

  • Backups now have an SFTP option

  • Music On Hold can now come from an external source via USB to the Switchvox appliance

  • A new Phone Network setting, UDP Persist-Connection, has the Digium Phone attempt to keep a NAT tunnel alive. If your router is shutting off port forwarding to a Digium Phone before the phone re-registers, turn this on. The interval depends on your router's behavior.  

• For Extension Owners

  • Voicemail greetings can now be activated from a call rule's Send to Voicemail action

  • Digium Phone configuration has the 2 new options for contacts on rapid dial keys (see administrators section)

• For Digium Phones (1_4_0_0_57389)

  • A timezone can be set for the phone (this does not affect Switchvox itself, just the phone's display of date/time)

  • Press-and-hold a contact on a rapid dial key displays the contact detail page on the main screen

  • The contact detail page works a bit differently

  • Digium Phone configuration has  the 2 new options for contacts on rapid dial keys (see administrators section)

Peered Switchvoxes New Feature

If you are already peering 2 Switchvoxes together using a SIP Provider, there is no need to move to the new Peered Switchvoxes tool. Your existing SIP Provider that is the other Switchvox will continue to work the same way after you update to 5.8.

The new "Peered Switchvoxes" interface (Setup > Call Routing) makes it easier to create a peered Switchvox, but it does not necessarily offer new features for peers. 

• For administrators:

  • Peering two Switchvoxes is easier with a new interface

  • Adding peered extensions to the Internal Directory (Tools > Contacts) is easy

• For extension owners:

  • Creating a phonebook entry for an extension on a Peered Switchvox is easier 

  • You can forward a voicemail or fax to an extension on a Peered Switchvox

For details about the setting up Peered Switchvoxes, see this knowledgebase article. IMPORTANT: the Published to Peer feature in Peered Switchvoxes will be deprecated in the upcoming version of Switchvox; all extensions will be published for use by the peered Switchvox. We recommend leaving the setting Publish All Groups set to YES.

Issues Resolved

• Recorded-calls files are now correctly deleted under particular circumstances.

• Simultaneous calls to a paging extension no longer result in the two separate calls to be combined.

• Changes to Extension Settings 'beep after an assisted transfer' option now saves correctly.

• The Switchvox call API now does not fail when using ignore_call_rules variable.

• Now a warning message pop-up is displayed when a new incoming call rule conflicts with existing rules.

• Using 'acknowledge call' from a call rule action now correctly restricts the acknowledge prompt to just the cascade or ring-all action.

• Analog phone extensions are no longer available as targets for intercom/paging extensions or feature codes. It was not possible to complete those calls, so the option has been removed from the interface.

• Administrative Call Reports with breakdown by account and incoming or outgoing calls now show correct numbers.

• Extensions added to queue member groups are now correctly added to the queue member list, which did not happen under particular circumstances.

• Table controls now work more consistently and intelligently in regard to "check all." For example, when selecting all call recordings on the page for deletion, system no longer deletes recordings from another page.

• When setting an extension's status (using any presence option) entering a Status Message that contains a line break no longer leads to those breaks displaying as %%NL%%.

• External Hostname on the IP Configuration page now allows up to 255 characters, rather than 20.

• The failover call through provider setting within an outgoing call rule is now used when dialing out via IVR.

• Queue Report date format is now consistent for language settings using DD/MM/YYYY.

• Voicemail routing option 'press the 0 key to exit' now correctly transfers to the extension itself, rather than the extension voicemail box.

• Overview reports now correctly report talk time on transferred calls.

• Front end updated so that the text area for Call Queue 'pause reason' only allows up to 64 characters. Previously larger entries caused trouble with pausing a queue login.

• Setup > Extensions > Permissions page now loads correctly under particular circumstances.

• User-initiated call recordings of queue calls are now offloaded properly when the call was originated by an external caller.

Details: Switchvox PBX Administrators

Extension Management

On each phone-type extension's Phone Settings tab, the Contact Settings section (a new section) has these settings:

• Use line keys as RDKs (that setting already exists prior to 5.8, it moved to this section)

• Transfer mode (blind or assisted)

• Number of watched, or subscribed Rapid Dial Keys (RDKs)
  This refers to a contact on an RDK where that person's status is displayed in real-time. Status shows whether s/he is on or off the phone, and his/her availability. This number used to be 40, and could not be changed.

  IMPORTANT: Contacts that are active are resource intensive. Prior to 5.8, the first 40 contacts on each extension's Digium Phone Phonebook were always subscribed to. In 5.8, the default is 15 and you can change it based on the needs of the user. However, be careful when setting this: if you put a lot of subscribed contacts on a lot of Digium Phone RDKs, and those contacts are active, it will impact the load on the Switchvox appliance. That is not necessarily a problem, depending on the appliance and what else is happening at the same time.

These settings are also available in Extension Templates and Bulk Modify. And, the settings in this section are controlled on the extension's permissions tab.

Backups

SFTP is now an option in Backups and Scheduled Call Recordings Backups.

Music On Hold

• You can plug in a USB audio streaming device, and it becomes a new MoH Group. That group can be used for the system's MoH, and/or for MoH of any queue. 

• A Group can be set as the system's MoH. Meaning, groups aren't just for queues anymore.

NOTE: To use an external music on hold source, plug in a Turtle Beach Amigo II USB sound card (TBS-1155-01). It's an inexpensive audio-to-USB sound card and adapter. It must be plugged into a Switchvox appliance.

Peering Two Switchvoxes

• Easily add a Peered Switchvox (Setup > Call Routing: Peered Switchvoxes)

  • Name the Switchvox that is this Switchvox

  • Name the Switchvox that is the other Switchvox

  • Username and password (same on both peers)

  • Dial prefix (not required, this is used to create the outgoing call rule)

  • Advanced: SIP and HTTPS ports, alternate host, codecs, passthrough call rules

  • Publish extensions to Peer (publish all, or specific extension groups)

• See Connection Status of Peered Switchvoxes (Server > Connection Status: Peered Switchvoxes)

• Easily add peered extensions to the local Internal Directory (Tools > Extension Features: Contacts)

  • Use the search function in the collector, that now has a 'Peer Name' column

• Peer Alerts (get an email message when there are extension conflicts on a peer)

Notes about Peered Switchvoxes

The existing VOIP Providers page still works as it did prior to 5.8, and existing providers that are set up as Switchvox peers will not change or become a Peered Switchvox. The only difference is that the VOIP Provider page has a warning that you probably should not use the setting 'Host is a Switchvox Peer', and instead create a Peered Switchvox. 

Peered Switchvoxes are for peering two Switchvoxes with each other. If you have 3 Switchvoxes, you can peer each of them with the other 2 but you cannot peer all 3 together.  

Once you have peered two Switchvoxes, you can use peered extensions in the Internal Directory. You will not be able to use peered extensions elsewhere in Switchvox: extension setup (queue members), IVR actions, extension permissions, etc.

For details about the setting up Peered Switchvoxes, see this knowledgebase article. IMPORTANT: the Published to Peer feature in Peered Switchvoxes will be deprecated in the upcoming version of Switchvox; all extensions will be published for use by the peered Switchvox. We recommend leaving the setting Publish All Groups set to YES.

Switchvox PBX Extensions

Voicemail Greetings

• Voicemail Greeting Activations are now managed through the Call Rules Send to Voicemail action. In that action, you can now choose which greeting to play based on the timeframe and your status.

• You continue to use the Voicemail Options > Greetings tab to create, modify, and delete custom greetings.

• On the Unavailable Greetings section, you can set a Default Unavailable greeting. This is what plays when calls are sent directly to your voicemail (when you press Send VM on an incoming call, or when someone else sends a call directly to your voicemail). This can be different than any greeting that plays based on your call rules.

Digium Phone Rapid Dial Key features

There are new options for Digium Phone Features section on the Phonebook Features options dialog:

• Blind or assisted transfer to a RDK contact (set a default transfer mode for all the RDKs)

• Number of watched RDKs (explained above, in the administrator's section)

Peering

• Easily add peered extensions as Phonebook entries (Features > Phonebooks: Create Phonebook Entry)

  • Use the search function in the collector, that now has a 'Peer Name' column

  • Peered extensions are only normal entries

  • Peered extensions' call status is only on-call or off (e.g., not 'ringing'), just like prior to 5.8

  • Peered extensions' Jabber status works (Available, Away)

• Voicemail messages can be forwarded to peered extensions:

  • From a Switchvox extension's phone, dial 899 for the voicemail system, follow the prompts to forward a voicemail message, dial an extension number on a peered system

  • In the Digium Phone Voicemail app, the Forward list includes peered extensions

  • In the Switchvox GUI Voicemail / Fax > Mailbox, the "Forward to Extension" list includes peered extensions

  • In the Switchvox GUI Voicemail / Fax > Voicemail Options, automatic voicemail forwarding includes peered extensions

• Switchboard improvements for peered extensions:

  • A phonebook entry with a peered extension functions the same way as a 'normal' local extension. (Because the local admin cannot give permissions on peered extensions, there are no options that require permission: intercom, pickup, monitor/whisper/barge, record, see caller.)

  • Current calls panel recognizes a peered extension and shows the extension's caller information.

  • A Profile panel for a peered extension functions the same way as a local extension.

  • The Directory panel:

    • Includes all peered extensions that the local Switchvox administrator made available in the Internal Directory

    • All extensions have a voicemail option, including peered extensions

    • The peer name is displayed for each extension

  • The chat panel includes all peered extensions that the local Switchvox administrator put in the Internal Directory.

Digium Phones

Digium Phone firmware version 1.4:

• A Timezone can be set for the phone (Preferences > Localization Settings). This does not affect Switchvox, just the phone's display of the date/time.

• Press-hold a contact on a rapid dial key opens the contact-details page in the main screen (as if you had used the "Info" button on a D50 or D70).

• The Contacts app works a bit differently. The actions that used to be on softkeys (Transfer, Intercom, Monitor) are now available as a selector list in the main details screen. 

• The Transfer Mode for contacts on rapid dial keys can be set up to always transfer immediately (blind), or always dial the contact first so you can talk and then press transfer when you are ready (assisted). Prior to 1.4, if you pressed transfer then an RDK, the phone always dialed that extension and then you had to press Transfer again (assisted). 

• The number of subscribed RDKs is adjustable (explained above, in the administrators section)

Screen Captures 

Open

Open

Affected Version(s)

SMB 5.8;SMB 5.7.3