In this article we are going to take a look at a pre-existing account and demonstrate common routing setups in the Stratus Portal.
The best place to start learning call routing in Stratus is the Inventory.
Here we can see the phone numbers and their next immediate routing destination.
Direct Dial Number
Ring a Phone
Let’s take a look at (469) 445-2111
This number routes to a User and that user is x200 (Spock).
Click on Users to see what happens when this number is called.
(pro tip: when opening new pages in Stratus, you can click with the middle mouse button to open each step as a new tab, making it easier to back track if necessary.)
Then search for extension 200.
In the Profile Tab, you can update the name information, caller I.D., and other settings, but to view what happens when the number is called, click the Answering Rules Tab.
This user is set up with simultaneous ring.
That means when I call (469) 445-2111 or dial directly to extension 100, all the user’s registered devices will ring.
If the user only has a desk phone it, will ring on the desk phone, and if the user doesn’t pick up the call will go to voicemail.
If the user is also using the SpectrumVoIP Mobile App, the call would ring on the desk phone, and on the app.
Then if the user doesn’t pick up, the call will go to voicemail.
If the user wants a particular phone to ring, we can click the edit button and make the answering rules more specific.
For example, I can have calls ring the desk phone, and then ring into the mobile app if unanswered by clicking Always, typing my name or extension, and selecting 200.
Then we’ll click Unanswered, and type 200m to route the calls to the Stratus Mobile App.)
And click Save.
Now navigate to the Voicemail tab.
And scroll down to the Greetings menu to play or edit what the caller hears if the call goes to voicemail.
We have now verified the complete call path.
Call Queuing
Ring Multiple Phones
Let’s look at (251) 236-4364.
This number routes to a Queue and that Queue is 8000
Call Queues (aka Hunt Groups, Ring Groups) are located in the Call Queues section.
Here is call queue 8000. We can see that it is set as a Ring-All queue.
Click on agents to see the users or devices that the calls will ring on.
We can add and remove agents from this interface.
To edit the Queue settings, click the name of the Queue
We can change the queue type, and in the “In Queue Options” we can edit the ring length and the unanswered destination.
It is a good practice to route unanswered call to a user’s voicemail, but you can also insert ten-digit numbers if you have an answering service.
Auto Attendant
Hear a message, Press a button, Go Somewhere
Let’s take another look at the (251) 236-4364 number.
This number now routes to Auto Attendant 8100.
To veiw the Attendant, click on Auto Attendants.
And click the Auto Attendant name.
Click on the numbers in the dial pad menu to see what each button option does.
If the caller presses 1, the calls will route to User 100.
Button 2 routes to the Bridge queue.
And button 3 routes to the general voicemail.
You can view all possible routing options by clicking an unused button.
To make changes to the audio message, navigate to the menu prompt, by clicking the pencil tool.
You can record a new greeting through the phone,
or use our text to speech.
Remember to click save!
The Routing User
Putting it all Together
Now let’s look at these three numbers.
All three of these numbers route into User 8900 (Inbound Routing/ Time Frame User).
Think of a Routing User as a virtual switchboard operator, that sends calls to the phones during the day and to a voicemail or an answering service after hours.
Now that is overly simplistic, so let’s click on Users, find the routing user, and click its name to open it.
Routing Users have the same features as normal users, but all we are really concerned with here are the Answering Rules. These are the rules that govern the main number and the roll overs.
These Time Frames are created and edited in the Time Frames section of the portal.
Click the name of the Time Frame to view the settings.
The Business Hours time frame follows a weekly schedule. (Days of the week and times)
And Holidays use a calendar interface. (Specific Dates or Ranges)
Time Frames are created and edited here, but are applied on the Routing User.
Back to the Routing User.
Time frames are applied in order of priority.
The Default time frame runs all the time, and it is used for the After Hours routing, then the Business Hours are applied on top of the Default rule.
During Business Hours, calls will ring the call queue, and After Hours calls will go to straight to voicemail.
Holidays are applied on top, overriding the bottom rules but only during times specified in the holiday timeframe.
You can click the edit button on each Time Frame to change its destination.
Then from there, whether your destination is a User, Call Queue, Auto Attendant, or Voicemail, you can see each step of the call path from the Answering Rules of the Routing User.
From there, you’d manage each module as previously described.
If I have one piece of advice for navigating the Stratus portal, it is to always start at Inventory.
Determine the next destination from here, and open new tabs using the middle mouse click until you reach the end of the call path.
I hope this has been informative, and I’d like to thank you for being a SpectrumVoIP Customer.