Routes

What is a route?

Routes are the cornerstone of any VOIP provider, a route detemines where your calls are "terminated" e.g. where the call gets off the internet and onto the PSTN (the standard telephone networks). Of course with vspPanel you can also setup internal routes, and routes which only accept certain calls etc. This is very useful if you are offering a free package or a package which requires different rates or connection to another provider. Additionally routes allow you to terminate certain call type through several different providers.

I've setup a provider, why do I need to setup a route?

When you setup a provider you created a connection to that provider from your server, however at the moment without a route your users calls won't know to go through that provider. By using a route we can tell certain calls to go out certain providers.

The two types of routes:

In vspPanel there are 2 types of routes, there are described below:

• Provider Route: A route which is simply a "pass-through" to a single provider. This kind of route will pass all calls through to the provider chosen.
• Custom Route: A custom route allows you to setup multiple path's for certain calls. E.g. a call to the USA may be handled by "provider A" where as a call to Australia may be handled through "Provider B".

Setting a "Pass-Through" route:

Setting up a pass-through route is a simple process and in most cases one is automatically created for you when you create a provider. If you want to create your own pass through route simply create a route using the top icon in the menu (the box with the plus symbol) and then once created choose a "Default Provider" in the drop down menu and click on the "set route type" button.

This will create a route which will automatically send any customer who is on that route through the chosen provider.

Setting a "Custom Route":

Setting a custom route is one of the most powerful features of vspPanel and along with call tarrifs is also one of the most complicated. A good understanding of the Asterisk dialplan is usually required when setting a call route, however we have attempted to make it easier for vspPanel administrators in some sections.

To create a custom route, first click on the "Add Route" Icon at the top of the menu (The box with the plus symbol). When a route is created, it is automatically created as a custom route. To edit the settings of the custom route scroll down to your new route and click on the edit route icon which is the box with the magnifying glass.

Once there you should see a menu like so:

As you can see, initially a custom route has no settings (it's an empty container) which means any calls that go into it will simply be dropped unless a match is found.

What you are about to do is create a "Dial Plan" (More information on dial plans can be found at the VOIP WIKI here)

The best way to show what a dialplan item does is to create one, so lets do it.

First we need to click on the icon just under the "All" item, (the blue planning icon with the plus symbol).

You should now see a menu like this:

This is where we can setup a basic "Dial Plan" item. What we're going to do here is setup calling to the USA in our route. To do this we do the following:

1. Choose "Begins With" from the dropdown list.
2. Choose "USA" or "1" from the next dropdown list.
3. Choose the provider you would like to send all calls to the USA out of.
4. Leave prefixed by blank and deleting as 0
5. Leave the next dropdown box a "Hangup"
6. Click on Add New Route

You should now see your route menu looking like this:

What we have done is created a route for the USA which basically says, "For any call that begins with "1" and has an unspecified number of numbers after it send it through provider "x" and then at the end of the call or if the call cannot be connected hangup.

An important thing to note here is that if a customer was to call ANY other number that did not start with a "1" the customer would simply be hungup on. What we need to do is create a rule which says "For anything else, put them through this provider".

This is how we do it:

1. Click on the add route button again (the blue icons with the green plus).
2. You should be presented with the same menu as before, however this time we need to click on the "Custom Extension" tab located at the top of the menu.

You should now see a menu like this:

To add a "Catch All" route, follow the steps below:

1. In "When call matches" type in: _X. (including the full stop)
2. In "Send Out Using The Asterisk command" type: IAX2/testprov/${EXTEN:0} (Where testprov is the name of the provider)
3. Leave section 3 blank and press "Add New Route"

And you now should see your screen with your first route "_1X." and your next route "_X." Like so:

Finally for our catch all route we will need to add a command to make sure at the end of calls made to anywhere other then the USA we hangup. To do this do the following:

1. Once again click the add route icon.
2. Choose "Custom Extension" in the tabs at the top of the menu
3. In item 1 enter: _X.
4. In item 2 enter: Hangup
5. Leave Item 3 Blank and hit "Add New Route"

Your routes menu should now look complete like so:

The complexities of routes:

As you can see from the example above, custom routes in vspPanel can quickly become very complex, however at the same time they can also give you the power to send a call just about anywhere you would like.

vspPanel modifies the Asterisk Dialplan for your customers in realtime, so it is important if you intend to use custom routes that you understand how that dialplan works, including pattern matching and dialplan organization.

For information on this we strongly recommend going to the main Asterisk WIKI at: www.voip-info.org