Applies to: Exchange Server 2007 SP3, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP1
Topic Last Modified: 2009-05-12

Use the Settings tab to configure dial plan settings for Unified Messaging (UM). When you configure settings on this tab, you can control how internal and external callers locate users in the system, the number of logon failures that are allowed when an internal user tries to access their voice mail, and the default language that the dial plan uses.

Dial by name primary method
  • Use this list to select the primary way that callers can locate a user when they dial into the system.

  • By default, Last First is selected. This means that when users are searching for a user in the directory, they will enter the user's last name first and then their first name.

  • When a subscriber or a UM-enabled user uses the subscriber access number to access the Unified Messaging system, they can access the menu that enables them to spell the name or alias to locate a user in the system. The option that is selected is the default method that is used by UM-enabled users.

  • You must select one of the supported methods to be able to use the dial-by-name primary method. The following methods are supported:

    • Last name, first name (default)

    • First name, last name

    • SMTP address

Dial by name secondary method
  • Use this list to select the secondary way that callers can locate a user when they dial into the system.

  • By default, SMTP address is selected. This means that when users search for a user in the directory, they will enter the user's e-mail alias or SMTP address.

  • When a subscriber or a UM-enabled user uses the subscriber access number to access the Unified Messaging system, they can access the menu that enables them to spell the name or alias to locate a user in the system.

  • You are not required to select one of the four methods that are supported. However, if you do not select a secondary method, callers are given only one method to use to spell a user's name in the system. The following four options are available:

    • Last name, first name

    • First name, last name

    • SMTP address (default)

    • None

Audio codec
  • Use this list to select the audio codec that will be used by the dial plan.

  • When a caller places a call to a user who is associated with the dial plan, Unified Messaging uses the audio codec that you select from this list to record voice messages that will be sent to UM-enabled users.

  • The following three audio codecs are supported:

    • Windows Media Audio (WMA)

    • G.711 Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) Linear

    • Group System Mobile 06.10 Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).

  • By default, WMA is selected. WMA is used because it is highly compressed and has high-quality format properties. G.711 PCM Linear is a telephone quality audio codec format that is the least compressed and has the lowest quality format. GSM 06.10 is an audio codec format that used by cellular telephone vendors and is the standard for digital cellular telephone services.

  • If you are concerned about users' disk quotas, select WMA as the audio codec. Voice files that are saved in .wma format are approximately half the size of the same voice recording made by using one of the other audio codecs.

Operator extension
  • Use this text box to enter the telephone number or an extension number for the dial plan's operator.

  • You can configure this setting to transfer calls to an auto attendant if one is configured, to a human operator, to external telephone numbers, or to extension numbers.

  • When a caller who is using the telephone keypad presses 0, or they say "reception" or "operator," or the number of Input retries threshold is exceeded, the caller is transferred to the telephone number that you specify in this text box.

  • This telephone number can be a number that is external to the organization or an internal telephone extension number. For example, if the extension number for the receptionist or operator is 81964 and your organization has only one dial plan, enter 81964.

  • By default, this setting is blank. If you do not enter a number in this text box, the ability to transfer calls to the operator is disabled and callers are politely disconnected because there is no one to answer the call.

  • We recommend that you populate this text box with a telephone number that transfers callers to an operator if they cannot locate a given user in the directory.

Logon failures before disconnect
  • Use this text box to enter the number of sequential unsuccessful logon attempts that are allowed before a caller is disconnected.

  • The value of this setting can be between 1 and 20. Setting this value too low can frustrate users. For most organizations, this value should be set to the default of three attempts.

Max call duration (min)
  • Use this text box to enter the maximum number of minutes that an incoming call can be connected to the system without being transferred to a valid extension number before the call is ended.

  • This setting applies to all kinds of calls. This includes incoming subscriber access calls, voice calls that are internal to your organization, voice calls that are external to your organization, and incoming fax calls.

  • The value of this setting can be between 10 and 120. Setting this value too low can cause incoming calls to be disconnected before they are completed. For example, if your organization receives many large fax messages, you may want to consider increasing this value from the default so that all the pages for fax messages are received.

  • For most organizations, this value should be set to the default of 30 minutes.

Max recording duration (min)   
  • Use this text box to enter the maximum number of minutes that are allowed for each voice recording when a caller leaves a voice mail message.

  • The value of this setting can be from 5 through 100. Setting this value too low can cause long voice messages to be disconnected before they are completed. Setting this value too high lets users save lengthy voice messages in their Inboxes.

    Note:
    For Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) the value of this setting can be from 1 through 100.
  • This setting is important if you have implemented strict disk quotas for users. This value must be less than the value that is set for the Max call duration (min) setting.

  • For most organizations, this value should be set to the default of 20 minutes.

Recording idle timeout (sec)
  • Use this text box to enter the number of seconds of silence that the system allows when a voice message is being recorded before the call is ended.

  • The value of this setting can be between 2 and 10. Setting this value too low can cause the system to disconnect callers before they are finished leaving their voice messages. Setting this value too high allows lengthy silences in voice messages.

  • For most organizations, this value should be set to the default of 5 seconds.

Input idle timeout (sec)
  • Use this text box to enter the number of seconds that the system will wait for the caller to speak or use touch tone inputs before the user hears a voice command.

  • This setting applies to authenticated subscribers and call answering or calls answered by a UM auto attendant.

  • The value of this setting can be between 3 and 32. Setting this value too low can prevent callers from making selections in the menu before they are disconnected. Setting this value too high makes the system seem non-responsive.

  • For most organizations, this value should be set to the default of 5 seconds.

Input retries
  • Use this text box to enter the number of times that the system prompts a caller for input before the caller is transferred to an operator, if an operator is configured on the UM dial plan.

  • For example, if the Input retries value is set to 1, the system operator prompts the caller only one time before the caller is transferred to the UM dial plan operator.

  • The value of this setting can be between 1 and 16. Setting this value too low may prematurely transfer the caller to an operator.

  • For most organizations, this value should be set to the default of three retries.

Input failures before disconnect
  • Use this text box to configure the number of times that a caller can enter incorrect data before they are disconnected.

  • Examples of incorrect data include when a caller requests an extension number that is not found in the system, the system cannot locate the user's extension number to transfer the call, or the caller presses a menu option that is not valid.

  • The value of this setting can be between 1 and 20. Setting this value too low may prematurely disconnect the caller.

  • For most organizations, this value should be set to the default of three attempts. This is an important setting for speech-enabled UM dial plans.

Default language
  • Use this list to specify the default language that will be used by callers.

  • When a caller places a call to a user who is associated with a dial plan, this is the default language that the voice recorded operator uses. The system prompts that callers will hear are also played in the default language.

  • This language is also used by the text-to-speech engine when it reads e-mail messages or calendar items or when a personal voice greeting has not been recorded.

  • By default, if you install the US-English version of Exchange Server 2007, you will have only one language listed in this list. To have other language options available, you must install the UM language pack for the required language.

  • Adding other languages lets subscribers use a language other than US-English. For example, if a subscriber calls in to the Unified Messaging system by using the subscriber access number from a desk telephone, they are greeted with a prerecorded operator's voice in English. Even if the same user selects a different language in Outlook Web Access, such as French, the menus are still read to them in US-English. For the user to be able to hear the prerecorded operator menus in French, you must install the appropriate language. To add other languages, you must install a language pack. The language packs can be found in the <dvdroot>\UMLang\<language> folder on the Exchange Server 2007 installation DVD.

After you configure the settings on this tab, click Apply to accept the changes.

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