Retail Accounts

Retail Accounts are the main routable option in Retail clients. More or less like Friends are to Virtual PBX Clients, devices contain the required configurable options to provide a SIP connectivity service with IvozProvider and an external SIP entity.

Warning

Although both Carriers/DDI Providers and Retail Accounts are defined by the brand operator, the former are designed to connect with the public switched telephony network while the latter connects the system with our clients’ SIP entities.

Types of retail accounts

There are 2 main types of SIP endpoints that can use retail with IvozProvider:

  • Direct connection endpoint: IvozProvider must be able to talk SIP directly with this kind of devices by just forwarding the traffic to the proper port of the public IP address of the PBX.
  • Endpoint behind NAT: Not directly reachable. This kind of endpoint must register at IvozProvider (just like all the Terminals do).

What kind of calls can be routed through a Retail Account?

Contrary to Friends, Retail Accounts have some simplifications and limitations:

  • Retail Accounts only route their assigned DDIs
  • Retail Accounts only place externals calls to Carriers
  • Retail Accounts only receive external calls from DDI Providers

Retail Accounts Configuration

These are the configurable settings of Retail accounts:

Name
Name of the retail account. This name must be unique in the whole brand so it’s recommended to use some kind of sequential identifier. This will also be used in SIP messages (sent From User).
Description
Optional. Extra information for this retail account.
Password
When the retail account send requests, IvozProvider will authenticate it using this password. Using password IS A MUST in “Register” mode. In “Direct” mode, leaving it blank disables SIP authentication and enables IP source check.
Direct connectivity
If you choose ‘Yes’ here, you’ll have to fill the protocol, address and port where this retail account can be contacted.
Numeric transformation
Numeric transformation set that will be applied when communicating with this device.
Fallback Outgoing DDI
External calls from this retail account will be presented with this DDI, unless the source presented matches a DDI belonging to the retail client.
From domain
Request from IvozProvider to this account will include this domain in the From header.
DDI In
If set to ‘Yes’, set destination (R-URI and To) to called DDI when calling to this endpoint. If set ‘No’, username used in Contact header of registration will be used, as specified in SIP RFC (retail account name will be used for endpoints with direct connectivity). Defaults to ‘Yes’.
Enable T.38 passthrough
If set to ‘yes’, this SIP endpoint must be a T.38 capable fax sender/receiver. IvozProvider will act as a T.38 gateway, bridging fax-calls of a T.38 capable carrier and a T.38 capable device.
RTP Encryption
If set to ‘yes’, call won’t be established unless it’s possible to encryption its audio. If set to ‘no’, audio won’t be encrypted.
Multi Contact
Same SIP credentials can be configured in multiple SIP devices. In that case, all devices ring simultaneously when receiving a call. Setting this toggle to ‘No’ limits this behaviour so that only latest registered SIP device rings.

Warning

All retail accounts within a retail client will have the transcoding capabilities configured at client level.

Tip

On retail account edit screen id field shows internal identification number assigned to the retail account. This id is transported to Endpoint Id field in External Calls section for CSV export.

Tip

Retail account can be contacted due to calls to several DDIs. DDI In setting allows remote SIP endpoint to know which number caused each call, setting that number as destination (R-URI and To headers). This way, retail account can handle calls differently.

Voicemail settings

There is no voicemail service for retail clients.

Call forwarding settings

There are 2 types of call forward settings for retail accounts:

  • Unconditional call forward.
  • Unreachable call forward.

You can point both types to 2 different destination:

  • An external number.
  • Another retail account within the same retail client.

Unreachable call forward will be executed whenever the retail account cannot be reached:

  • Direct connectivity accounts: when no answer is received from defined address.
  • Accounts using SIP register: when no answer is received from last contact address or when no active register is found.

You can also add called DDI as call-forward criteria, making it apply only when a certain DDI is called. These call-forward settings have precedence over call-forward with no DDI selected (Any DDI).

Tip

Unconditional call forward has precedence over unreacheable call forward.

Warning

Retail accounts marked as T.38 won’t have any call forward settings.

Asterisk as a retail account

At the other end of a account can be any kind of SIP entity. This section takes as example an Asterisk PBX system using SIP channel driver that wants to connect to IvozProvider.

Account register

If the system can not be directly access, Asterisk will have to register in the platform (like a terminal will do).

Configuration will be something like this:

register => retailAccountName:retailAccountPassword@ivozprovider-brand.sip-domain.com

Account peer

[retailAccountName]
type=peer
host=ivozprovider-brand.sip-domain.com
context=XXXXXX
disallow=all
allow=alaw
defaultuser=retailAccountName
secret=retailAccountPassword
fromuser=retailAccountName
fromdomain=ivozprovider-brand.sip-domain.com
insecure=port,invite
sendrpid=pai
directmedia=no

Warning

Retail accounts MUST NOT challenge IvozProvider. That’s why the insecure setting is used here.

Note

As From username is used to identify the retail account, P-Asserted-Identity (or P-Preferred-Identity or Remote-Party-Id) must be used to specify caller number. Prevalence among these source headers is: PAI > PPI > RPID.