KB108 - Unavailable & Unconditional Forwards

Clearfly currently supports two types of forwarding: unconditional and unavailable. Details and limitations for each type of forward can be found in KB102.

Background

An unavailable call forward allows a customer to specify a phone number that calls will be forwarded to in the event that a customer endpoint becomes unresponsive due to an Internet outage or software/configuration failure of endpoint.

An unconditional call foward will forward calls immediately, regardless of the state of the customer endpoint.

Both unavailable and unconditional forwards can be specified on a per-voice group or per-DID basis (or both) and it is important to understand how forwards at different levels interact with one another. Since the configuration of both types of forward is identical, the generic term "forward" below will refer to either type of call forwarding.

Voice Group level Forwards

Forwards configured at the voice group (VG) level will apply to all calls to the customer’s system unless a per-DID forward has been configured for the called number. By default, all DIDs without explicit forwards will inherit this number as the unavailable/uncondtional forward number.

VG-level unavailable forwards can be specified during the ordering/provisioning process, and the requested unavailable forward number will automatically be applied to the VG upon acceptance of your service. If an unavailable forward number was not specified as part of a voice order but should be added after activation, or if you need to update or remove your unavailable forward number, this is something that can be done by customers or authorized partners anytime via the Clearfly Portal.

Voice groups are accessible from the site or organization views in the Clearfly Portal. Once you’ve selected the VG you want to update, simply click the "Realtime Switch Info" button:


Clearfly Voice Group View


You can then update the forward by clicking the "Update Forwards" button:


Clearfly Realtime Voice Group View


This will then open the "Update Forwards" window, which will allow you to update the VG-level unavailable and unconditional forwards. To remove a forward, just delete the information in the input field and leave it blank. Simply clicking "Update" when you’re done editing will take you back to the Realtime Switch Info page where you can verify that your forwards are properly configured.


DID level Forwards

Forwards configured at the DID level will apply to all calls to that particular DID. A number configured in the per-DID field will override the VG-level forward. By default, all per-DID forwards are configured to inherit the VG-level forward.

Note: Due to the special nature of the directory number, per-DID forwards cannot be configured for the telephone number that is configured as the directory number.

Unlike VG-level forwards, DID-level unavailable forwards cannot be specified during the ordering/provisioning process. Any DID-level forwards will be the responsibility of the customer or authorized partner to configure via the Clearfly Portal. Realtime DID information can be accessed from within the voice group view. If you don’t see a list of telephone numbers in your VG, you may need to expand the telephone numbers panel. To do this, simply click on the heading that says "Telephone Numbers" and lists your telephone number count in parentheses:


Clearfly Voice Group Telephone Number List


Once you see your number list, just click on the number you wish to edit:


Clearfly Voice Group Telephone Number Link


Inside the telephone number view, click the "Metaswitch Info" button:


Clearfly Telephone Number View


Then simply click the "Update Forwards" button to open the Update Forwards window.


Clearfly Real-time Telephone Number View


To specify a per-DID forward, un-check the "Inherit Unavailable Forward" (for unavailable forwarding) or "Inherit Unconditional Foward" (for unconditional forwarding) checkbox and enter the number you’d like to forward to for this DID. Click the "Update" button when you’re done and you’ll be taken back to the switch information page for the telephone number where you can verify that the correct forward has been set.

To remove the per-DID forward and resume inheriting the VG-level forward, simply check the "Inherit Unavailable Forward" or "Inherit Unconditional Forward" checkbox in the Update Forwards window and then click "Update".


Disabling Forwarding for a DID

To disable forwarding for a particular DID (e.g. for a fax machine or modem line), you can follow the instructions above, but simply leave the number blank after you un-check the "Inherit Unavailable Forward" or "Inherit Unconditional Forward" checkbox in the Update Forwards window. After you click update, you will be taken back to the switch information page for the telephone number where you can verify that forwarding has been disabled for this telephone number:


Clearfly Real-time Telephone Number View - Disabled Unavailable Forward