Busy on Busy not possible?

[cybermaus]

So maybe this is a weird old fashioned question nowadays, everyone seems to want all sorts of queus and voicemails.
But what if I want my line simply to be "busy" when everyone (ok, both of us) are busy?
Or when we both put our phones on DnD

No voicemail. No 2nd line beeps. Just busy.
Its a very clear signal to the person calling, and I feel we may undervalue it.


I know how to send a busy signal in the inbound rules. This, when the processing gets to it, nicely sends a busy signal back up to the caller.

<action application="hangup" data="USER_BUSY"/>

But I do not know how to get past the earlier transfer command.
Because that either already calls (notifies 2nd line) or when put in Do-Not-Disturb causes the caller to hear a "number not exists" message.
Which is of course not what we want.

So how to make a condition, that it skips the transfer if all extentions are busy.
Or better yet. How to get the system to naturally send out a busy signal.....

Inbound rule:
<extension name="new_xxx464461" continue="true" uuid="f292b54b-9d56-4327-bae4-4cbca5fc74fd">
<condition field="destination_number" expression="^\+?xx?(xxx464461)$">
<action application="export" data="call_direction=inbound" inline="true"/>
<action application="set" data="domain_uuid=455exxxx-xxxx-415c-8b55-8bc597093924" inline="true"/>
<action application="set" data="domain_name=fusionpbx" inline="true"/>
<action application="set" data="hangup_after_bridge=true"/>
<action application="set" data="continue_on_fail=true"/>
<action application="transfer" data="200 XML fusionpbx"/>
<action application="hangup" data="USER_BUSY"/>
</condition>
</extension>

 

[Adrian Fretwell]

In the Dialplan Manager, have a look at call-limit, by default it is not enabled, you should find it at order 25.

There may be a better way of doing this but one trick I have done in the past with this is to change the condition so it only logs (limits) inbound and instead of using the max_calls variable, I use a literal 1. So it looks a bit like this:




Then I add another dialplan entry to increment the same hash when a chosen extension (in this case 202) makes an outbound call. This time I allow 2 calls so the extension still has the facility to do an attended transfer:



Hopefully this will give you some ideas to play with...

 

[cybermaus]

Thanks

I need to tune a bit further, but indeed this gives me some tools.
I think I need to read up and decode how this limit-data section actually works, but already I am able to at least hard code to 1 or 2 with a nice user busy rather then a cannot reach.

 

[Adrian Fretwell]

I don't believe that Fusion sets the max_calls variable anywhere by default - I could be wrong. It could easily be set on the global-variables or the variables dialplans as required.

Have a look at the FreeSWITCH documentation on using limit:
https://freeswitch.org/confluence/display/FREESWITCH/mod_dptools:+Limit

 

[DigitalDaz]

Whats wrong with disabling voicemail then turn off call waiting on the phones?

 

[Adrian Fretwell]

Whats wrong with disabling voicemail then turn off call waiting on the phones?

I said "There may be a better way of doing this"...

EDIT: but having said that, what if they still want voicemail when away from the desk?

 

[cybermaus]

Whats wrong with disabling voicemail then turn off call waiting on the phones?

Thanks, well while I was able to disable voicemail, I was unable to disable call waiting (could not find it anywhere). And also, as mentioned, when I instead turned the phone in DnD (Do not Disturb), instead of busy the caller gets a "number not reachable" message. I am fearing if I do eventually find the call-waiting, it will cause the same unreachable message. That may also have something to do with how my provider has their system setup.


But mostly, I am working toward a solution where (if only one person is present in the workshop) indeed I want only one incoming call, even if multiple handsets are available. So that I can pick up whatever handset is nearest, yet not have another call coming in.
Without enforcing the habit of putting and taking these handsets out of DnD all the time. (which is already a problem, because as mentioned DnD does not give a busy but unreachable signal).


You may wonder why I installed a high-tech RasPi/FusionPBX, if I essentially want the equivalent of "multiple parallel handsets on one old analog line"
Well, we used to have ISDN, so 2 lines spread over multiple handsets. And the old ISDN switch had a very simple setting: BoB (Busy-on-Busy) toggle on/off. Which meant that if incoming MSN is already in use, it cannot be called again, on any handset, even though those other handsets can still call outward.
Seems this BoB setting is simply faux-pax nowadays. Every device/system I looked at assumes I want them to go to call waiting and/or voicemail.

 

[cybermaus]

Have a look at the FreeSWITCH documentation on using limit:
https://freeswitch.org/confluence/display/FREESWITCH/mod_dptools:+Limit

Will do. As mentioned, you have given me some hints, and while I was already using the manual before, sometimes it is hard to know where exactly to start reading. The limit section is now on my todo reading list, as was the hangup section before.

 

[PBXMePlz]

Can't you limit SIP channels on the gateway and wouldn't that provide a busy signal when the SIP Channel quantity is reached?

Its a very clear signal to the person calling

I'm not certain that's all age generations. When I hear a busy signal, I immediately discount the company I'm calling. Younger generations might not even know what the busy signal means, and assume the number is no longer operational.
I would recommend dumping into a voicemail when everyone is on the line, and advising "you've reached us either after hours or at a moment when we're busy helping other customers"