2.2. Users
The User Menu
In sipXecs, the persons using the phone system are called “users”. In most cases, they are identified by a phone number (but you could also use other names if you are calling from computer to computer for example instead of using “normal” phones).
There are 4 options on this menu:
Users
User Groups
Extension Pool
TLS Peers
Users and User Groups are used to configure settings for users and groups. Before we cover this in more detail, let’s explain the last two options, as they are not as frequently used.
The Extension Pool option simply defines what phone numbers (i.e. user identities) are available in the system. This helps mostly if you enter many numbers one by one to assign numbers to the next user automatically. (Even if you define your numbers here, you can actually still create users outside this range.)
The TLS Peers option defines settings for remote workers. This would refer to employees or users which are not located directly on the premises of the company but work from home or in another office and wants a secure “internal” phone connection to the company. TLS is an abbreviation for Transport Layer Security and is a standard for secure communications.
Users
Clicking on the Users options brings up the list of all users.
Here you can add a new user by clicking the Add New User link.
You can change settings by clicking on one of the user IDs.
Click on the page number at the bottom to display additional pages of the overall list, or use the backward / forward navigation buttons to move through the list.
You can filter which phones are displayed on the list by choosing one of the options from the Filter dropdown list. You could choose one of the group names, for example
And it will only displays phones belonging to that group:
You can use the Search option to filter by specific names. The Search option will filter on the Last Name column.
Adding a New User
When you click on the Add New User link, you will be presented with a screen to enter information about the new user (see illustration below).
Right from the start it should be said that there are 2 ways to enter a new user – with this user screen, or by importing user and phone data from a file. Importing is the preferred method because you can easily duplicate settings from other phones. But you need to be familiar with the settings, so we will cover what can be configured here.
At the top you will see a number already assigned. This is the first free number of the range of numbers you may have configured in the Extension Pool option. You can change this number if you want.
Above the number you have two options: Enabled and Phantom.
By default, a new user is enabled, but you could set it to disabled by unchecking this box.
A phantom user is a user which does not have a phone and is an “abstract” user which is sometimes used on the system to route calls properly.
You can enter an Auth Account Name for the user below. This is optional. This user name is intended for logging in to the personal user web portal pages. Without that account name, you would log in with the user-ID (= phone number) and the password.
Note - this will only work if the admin setting Account Name Authentication on the System > Admin Settings menu is enabled (see the part 4 - Advanced System Setup, section Admin Settings).
You have to enter a password – this one can be used to log into the sipXecs phone system to check one’s own calls or information. This is not optional, it must be entered.
Also a voicemail PIN (= password) must be entered, also if we may not use voicemail internally.
The SIP password is the password which any phone this user has will use to register with sipXecs. It has to also be configured on the phone (but this is done automatically by sipXecs, as we will see later in when we come to the Devices menu).
The next setting, Groups, refers to user groups. You can enter a name of an existing group here. You can also enter a new group name, which then gets created automatically.
Next you select the Branch for the new user. Branches are basically separate offices of a company. To be able to select a branch, they must have been configured prior from the System menu.
Aliases are additional names for a user. For example, you can enter an external number here by which this person should be reachable from the outside, so an alias for 6506 could be something like +4533736506.
The remaining are optional, and may not be as frequently used as the above options:
- the E-Mail address is used to inform a user that a phone account has been created for him.
- LDAP managed refers to LDAP = Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, a system which one can use to centrally manage user lists. You could for example already have a list of users on another server and you want to synchronize changes with that server. In that case sipXecs would reflect changes to e.g. user names/address done on the other server and vice versa.
Click OK or Apply to save the changes.
Having created a new user allows that user to make calls via sipXecs. He could for example connect an X-Lite softphone, enter his number and SIP password in the X-Lite configuration and start calling.
In most cases, you would want to have sipXecs also configure his phone, especially if you use desk phones, such as snom or Polycom phones. This is a separate step and is not strictly necessary. But if you don’t do the phone configuration via sipXecs, you’ll have to do it manually, phone by phone yourself. We will cover this later in the Devices menu.
After you have added a single user by the above method, you would add a phone by clicking on the Phones tab in the user screen, and from there clicking Add Phone. You have to then enter the serial number of the phone and select a phone manufacturer and model.
It is preferable to import user and phone data from a file. This way, both user and phone data get imported combined at the same time. It is also easier to match earlier settings.
Editing User Settings
There are a number of settings you can configure for users. We will cover the important ones primarily here. You can change any of those settings for entire user groups (which changes settings for all users of that group) and that is the preferred way to do any configuration change.
Clicking on any of the user IDs on the user list display above brings up the editing screen as shown below.
As the screens for group settings are identical to the screens of individual users, we will explain the settings here for individuals.
The first screen (Identification) is identical to the entry screen for a new user explained above.
Apart from this screen, the only ones you normally need to change any settings are:
Time Zone
Permissions
Music on Hold
In the Time Zone screen, you control what time the phone will display. If any branches are configured, they will have already a time zone set, and by default, this zone is used. It can however be overridden here, and you can set a specific time zone.
Permissions controls what the user is allowed to do, related to what type of calls he can place.
Disabling the voice mail permission removes the voicemail box from that user. If voicemail is enabled, every call which is unanswered (also internal calls) will go to voicemail.
To avoid users placing international calls without using pin codes, disable the International Calling permission. This forces the users to dial a pin code before they can dial out for external calls. The authorization code feature (pin codes) give the user additional permissions, and so he can then dial out.
Music on Hold
You can select specific Music on Hold for that specific user.
Provide files in MP3 format or WAV format, click the Browse button to select and upload them.
These files will be played when this user is placing someone on hold. This is typically occurring when transferring calls, parking calls, or in a conference.
Here is a short overview of the remaining setting screens.
Unified Messaging
You can set voicemail configuration options here. The system can send e-mails with voice mails for example or other notifications. One can also configure incoming telefax traffic which then would be forwarded as PDF file to the user’s e-mail.
Contact Information
This edits address and other details of the user.
Phones
If you want sipXecs automatically configure phone settings for you, the phone belonging to a user need to be entered here. You can enter multiple phones per user.
Call Forwarding
Configures automatic call forwarding (i.e. what should happen if an the user does not pick up his phone). You could configure here that a call to his mobile phone gets placed automatically if he does not take a call in his office. You could also configure that both his mobile and office phone ring at the same time on any call.
Schedules
Sets times and days where the user is allowed to use the system.
Speed Dial
You can set speed dial numbers here. If your phone supports it, speed dials on the phone can automatically be updated from those settings.
Personal Auto-Attendant
This is sort of an answer machine with configurable options like “press 1 to call Reception” etc, specifically configured for that specific user.
Conferences
sipXecs has its own conference system built in. You can create special conference phone numbers for a user. He is then the owner of that conference. Calling that number means you are participating to a conference. You can then invite other users or external callers into the conference. This can be controlled from the sipXecs user interface, or from a phone. We cover conferences in detail in the Advanced section of the manual.
Registrations
This shows information about when the phone was registered with sipXecs and the status of the registration. Every phone must register with the server. Registered phones are operational and ready to make and receive calls.
Caller ID
This sets the number which receivers of outbound calls will see on their phones.
However, this caller-ID is often set by gateways and other devices on the phone network as well, overriding any setting you would put here.
Domain
Specify a user domain name here. In most cases, this should be left empty and the default system setting is used here.
Instant Messaging
You can use sipXecs to send instant messaging communication between users. This works only if the devices they use support this. This is often not the case for desk phones, but most soft-phones can handle it.
User Groups
Users can be placed into groups which can help finding a specific user, for example separated by department. This can also help configuring settings for a whole group at a time instead of having to configure user by user.
Clicking on the Users Group option brings up above display of the existing groups. You can add a new group by clicking on the Add Group link, and you can then enter a group name, description and optionally which branch the group belongs to.
Editing group settings is identical to editing individual user settings – these are the same screens.
To add a user to a group, you have to edit that specific user and input the group name.
Important – group settings are linked directly to all users. This means if you change a group setting, it will have immediate effect on all users belonging to that group. If you want the setting for a specific user be different from the group, enter that setting in the edit screen for that individual user after having set the group default.