[Asterisk-Users] Multi-line help

[Rich Adamson]

> On Sun, 2004-01-04 at 18:18, Sean Garland wrote:
> > I am looking for common practice ideas on how to handle multiple line
> > phones.  Is it common with asterisk to have the lines appear as
> > programmable buttons? Or to just have itcm like buttons and use the dial
> > 9 approach?  What I am specifically interested in, is to have my line
> > one appear on the first button (sip polycom phones) line two appear on
> > the second button, and use the third as an intercom (internal extension)
> > button.  I have managed to get the line 1 to ring on the line 1 button
> > and the same for line two.  I have even managed to get extension
> > transfers to happen on the itcm button.
> > 
> > The trouble I have is that I don't know if someone else is on the
> > particular line, and when I dial, it picks up the first available button
> > (line) so even if I dial an extension, it looks like I am dialing from
> > line 1 to the extension.  How do I make it pick the third button, etc...
> > 
> > Confusing?  I have read the "handbook" and countless searches through
> > wiki and Google, but cannot find practical examples of multi-line use
> > with asterisk.
> 
> The reason you didn't find anything is because the multiline approach
> doesn't scale beyond a small handful of lines. It shouldn't matter what
> line a call is on if you are supposed to answer it. If you have hunt or
> rollover on your lines, it doesn't matter what line you dial out on. In
> the long, the only thing that your phone should know is how to get you
> to the PBX, the pbx will take care of the rest.

Steve, I'll have to beg to differ with you. In some cases, which line or
extn is used does make a difference (from a business perspective).
Example, if x3002 is to be answered "Customer Service" and x3008 is to
be answered as "President" (or whatever), you really do want to know
which extn is ringing. Likewise, if you make a call from the Presidents
line to certain employees, there is some value/meaning when an employee
sees the call is coming from the President and not just 'another' customer
service call.

Other examples: share tennant services (how would you answer a phone that
has six extensions, each belonging to a different business and you are
the shared operator?  Happens all the time, at least in the US. Departmental
accounting is another (which department pays for which calls originated
from the exact same phone; sales vs collections vs cust services). Or, 
the shared services (again) and the operator is asked to call a dozen
foreign locations (who pays for that is determined by which button the
very non-technical hardly-trainable operator pushes).

So, his question is very valid.

With Cisco phones, no problem. We define each button to be whatever extn
we want and any callerid we want, and by pushing that button on the phone, 
we can initiate a call from "that" extn as well. Operates more like the 
older US key systems.

As of yesterday, the same is true with the Snom 200 running v2.03f code.
But the snom prior to that operated under what I've been told is the
European ISDN approach, where apparently there is less/no sensitivity
to which extn is actually used to initiate a call.

I don't have any polycom phones, so no idea how that one functions nor
how to program it, but since your asking, sounds like it follows the 
snom European approach.

I could probably list several dozen valid business reasons for doing
what he's asking, but probably very few (if any) valid technical reasons.
More of an issue in small business then in large ones, but I also know
the same kind of thing goes on in government offices as well.

Rich