Tech Prefix

Owned by Tom Cavey
Last updated: Dec 16, 2022
4 min read

Many VoIP Innovations customers have multi-tenant systems that use a single IP address to send us outbound traffic. This creates a need to make separate endpoint groups in our Back Office that correspond to different end-users so that the traffic can be properly distinguished. The tech prefix feature is an alternate way to send outbound traffic from the same IP address in multiple endpoint groups when our Advanced Server Configuration does not meet your needs. This can be for a few reasons, but the most common reason being that an IP address that is contained in three or more Endpoint Groups. Since we only have two sets of unique IP addresses to send to, this creates a quandary for routing. For example, if you have three or more endpoint groups with the same IP address and have one group set for Dialer, one set for Standard, and one set for T38 you need to understand how routing will occur. If you have a scenario such as this, we will route from the lowest number Endpoint Group ID for the groups having matching configurations. The below screenshots give a visual representation to bring clarity to this situation.

In the above screenshot, we see two unique Endpoint Group IDs which are 19120 and 25441. Each group also has a friendly name which is used only for identifying the group by a name (FYI and FYI Second). In this example, assume that each group contains only one IP address, and it is 72.95.217.191. Notice that both group 19120 and group 25441 have the VI Server configured to use the Primary VI servers but are set for different rate decks. Group 19120 is set to use the Standard rate deck, and group 25441 is set to use the T38 rate deck. Since our system uses the lowest group ID number to route the call and the lowest group number in this scenario is 19120, our server will view any calls sent FROM 72.95.217.191 TO 64.136.174.30 (or any of the other Conversational IP addresses) originating from group 19120 and therefore route the call over our Standard rate deck. If you send an outbound fax call to us from 72.95.217.191, the call will fail in this configuration as it would not traverse the T38 Rate Deck, in which the carriers in that rate deck support the T.38 protocol.

To remedy this situation, we can add the Tech Prefix feature to your account. To request this feature, please open a ticket from the Back Office (Tickets > Create a Ticket) stating that you wish to have Tech Prefix added to your account. Once this has been enabled, you will now be able to use a Unique Tech Prefix for each Endpoint Group. The value of the tech prefix must be numerical only, and will need to contain a minimum of four digits, with a maximum of six. In the below screenshot Endpoint Group - FYI Second has the Tech Prefix of '1234'



To view the Tech Prefix option, click Show More as seen below:

This means that the above Endpoint Group would need to prepend '1234' on the Destination Number that is being called to tell our Switch to utilize the Standard Rate Deck for calls originating from IP 72.95.217.191. For example, to call 8665095040, you would need to send us the call like this: 12348665095040


Things to note:

 

  • If Tech Prefix is enabled on a group, and you do not prepend your calls with the correct prefix code, then your call would either fail at our switch, or route from the lowest Endpoint Group ID that does not have Tech Prefix enabled.

  • After enabling tech prefix on your account, all endpoint groups will now have the Tech Prefix box available. If it is blank, then it is deactivated for that endpoint group.

  • Tech Prefix does not affect inbound calls, as DIDs are pointed to endpoint groups on a 1 to 1 basis. For example, if a call is placed to DID 987654321, traffic will always be sent to the endpoint group for which the DID is pointed to. Tech prefix does not interact with these calls, so you will not need to adjust your inbound routes.