asterisk users - May 2008 - Handling multiple fax machines and the fax extension, and general call routing

Hi,

I've been trying to implement a fax solution using a TDM880 (8 analog ports,
FXS). I have a PRI circuit that terminates on a TE120 at the same server.
The server is running Asterisk 1.4.18.

The idea is to have seven fax machines, each with a different number,
connected directly to the TDM880. Zaptel/Zapata are configured and work
properly (1-24 is the TE120, 25-32 is the TDM880). Voice calls are working
great, and a single fax machine works well.

I seem to be having some difficulty with my dialplan when using the fax
extension, however. Here is an abbreviated example of my dialplan:

extensions.conf

[internal]
exten => 2001,1,Dial(SIP/2001)
exten => 2002,1,Dial(SIP/2002)

; dial out
exten => _1NXXNXXXXXX,1,Dial(Zap/G2/${EXTEN})

exten => fax,1,Goto(${EXTEN})

; fax machines
exten => 1000,1,Answer()
exten => 1000,n,Wait(3)
exten => 1000,n,Dial(Zap/25)

exten => 1001,1,Answer()
exten => 1001,n,Wait(3)
exten => 1001,n,Dial(Zap/26)

exten => 1002,1,Answer()
exten => 1002,n,Wait(3)
exten => 1002,n,Dial(Zap/27)

[external]

exten => 2001,1,Goto(internal,2001,1)
exten => 2002,2,Goto(internal,2002,1)

exten => fax,1,Goto(internal,${EXTEN},1)

exten => 1000,1,Answer()
exten => 1000,n,Wait(3)
exten => 1000,n,Goto(internal,1000,1)

exten => 1001,1,Answer()
exten => 1001,n,Wait(3)
exten => 1001,n,Goto(internal,1001,1)

exten => 1002,1,Answer()
exten => 1002,n,Wait(3)
exten => 1002,n,Goto(internal,1002,1)

-----------------------------------

My PRI provider only hands off the last 4 digits, so the above works well
for voice calls. The fax detection extensions DO detect faxes properly
(faxdetect=both is set in zapata.conf), however I'm not sure how to route
them to the proper line (Zap/25, etc.) if I route the calls into a catch all
extension such as 's'. The above doesn't work since the $[EXTEN}
variable
gets changed from the dialed number, such as '1001', to 'fax'
and dives into
a loop. By changing the fax extension lines to something like this:

exten => fax,1,Dial(Zap/25)

I can get a single line to dial and receive without any problems, but this
obviously will not work for multiple fax machines.

What's the best method for properly routing numbers that get routed into a
catch all extension, such as 's'? I've been digging around in the
Asterisk:
TFOT v2 and on Google, but I haven't been able to find an example of this.
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On Thu, May 22, 2008 at 3:59 PM, arkda <thrills3k3r at gmail.com>
wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I've been trying to implement a fax solution using a TDM880 (8 analog
ports,
> FXS). I have a PRI circuit that terminates on a TE120 at the same server.
> The server is running Asterisk 1.4.18.
>
> The idea is to have seven fax machines, each with a different number,
> connected directly to the TDM880. Zaptel/Zapata are configured and work
> properly (1-24 is the TE120, 25-32 is the TDM880). Voice calls are working
> great, and a single fax machine works well.
>
> I seem to be having some difficulty with my dialplan when using the fax
> extension, however. Here is an abbreviated example of my dialplan:
>
> extensions.conf
>
> [internal]
> exten => 2001,1,Dial(SIP/2001)
> exten => 2002,1,Dial(SIP/2002)
>
> ; dial out
> exten => _1NXXNXXXXXX,1,Dial(Zap/G2/${EXTEN})
>
> exten => fax,1,Goto(${EXTEN})
>
> ; fax machines
> exten => 1000,1,Answer()
> exten => 1000,n,Wait(3)
> exten => 1000,n,Dial(Zap/25)
>
> exten => 1001,1,Answer()
> exten => 1001,n,Wait(3)
> exten => 1001,n,Dial(Zap/26)
>
> exten => 1002,1,Answer()
> exten => 1002,n,Wait(3)
> exten => 1002,n,Dial(Zap/27)
>
> [external]
>
> exten => 2001,1,Goto(internal,2001,1)
> exten => 2002,2,Goto(internal,2002,1)
>
> exten => fax,1,Goto(internal,${EXTEN},1)
>
> exten => 1000,1,Answer()
> exten => 1000,n,Wait(3)
> exten => 1000,n,Goto(internal,1000,1)
>
> exten => 1001,1,Answer()
> exten => 1001,n,Wait(3)
> exten => 1001,n,Goto(internal,1001,1)
>
> exten => 1002,1,Answer()
> exten => 1002,n,Wait(3)
> exten => 1002,n,Goto(internal,1002,1)
>
> -----------------------------------
>
> My PRI provider only hands off the last 4 digits, so the above works well
> for voice calls. The fax detection extensions DO detect faxes properly
> (faxdetect=both is set in zapata.conf), however I'm not sure how to
route
> them to the proper line (Zap/25, etc.) if I route the calls into a catch
all
> extension such as 's'. The above doesn't work since the
$[EXTEN} variable
> gets changed from the dialed number, such as '1001', to
'fax' and dives into
> a loop. By changing the fax extension lines to something like this:
>
> exten => fax,1,Dial(Zap/25)
>
> I can get a single line to dial and receive without any problems, but this
> obviously will not work for multiple fax machines.
>
> What's the best method for properly routing numbers that get routed
into a
> catch all extension, such as 's'? I've been digging around in
the Asterisk:
> TFOT v2 and on Google, but I haven't been able to find an example of
this.
>
>
exten => fax,1,Dial(Zap/25,5)
exten => fax,n,Dial(Zap/26,5)
exten => fax,n,Dial(Zap/27,5)

Timeout on 5 seconds roll to the next line.

Thanks,
Steve Totaro