[Index]

Model: relation/NumberInventoryREL

Number Inventory

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Overview

Number inventory allows you to view and manage the numbers for use by users, devices, and services for the given hierarchy level. The inventory includes a combination of data that is automatically managed by the system (like usage) and other fields that are configurable and available to store any additional useful information you choose about the numbers (examples include ranges, billing IDs, circuit IDs) to complete your inventory view.

The inventory supports a range of capabilities outside the basic loading and tracking of inventory status. These include:

• Number Reservation - mark numbers reserved and include a note about why to hold numbers for specific purposes (e.g VIPs, specific services, etc).
• Number Cooling - this provides the ability to automatically quarantine numbers for a period of time when unassigned from a user/device/service to prevent re-use for a period of time.
• Number Audit - this check the inventory against the currently configured devices and updates the inventory where needed to keep the inventory in sync for changes made outside the system.
• Number Inventory Alerting - configure alerts to be sent if a threshold is met (e.g less than 10% of numbers are available) to allow for proactive management of the inventory. See: Number Inventory Alerting.

More details on these features are provided in the sections below.

Hierarchy Considerations

The number inventory can exist at the same or higher hierarchy level to the users, services, and devices that consume them. This means you can define number inventory at the appropriate level to suit various needs:

• Site specific - numbers dedicated to a site due to geographical or local breakout purposes. For instance, a range purchased with a local area code for a given site in a city or a site using a local breakout gateway.
• Common pool of numbers to be shared by sites when central breakout is used and number distribution is not rigid. For instance loaded at Customer level to be shared across all the sites under that customer. This is also required for numbers shared across sites as a number in a site cannot be utilized in another site.
• Number inventory can reside at an Intermediate Node level (e.g between Customer and Site).
• If using dial plan schemas, these will have rules about where numbers can sit depending on the dial plan selected - for instance Site Code based dial plan will require numbers to be at the site level.
• When assigning a number from the inventory residing at a specific hierarchy to a user, automated workflows do not move the number to the user's hierarchy if this is different. An admininistrator can however manually move the numbers if needed.

Users, devices, and services that will consume numbers are typically at the site level in the system, so numbers they need should be at the same level (site) or above the site they reside in (Intermediate, Customer). The approaches can also be mixed as needed if some numbers are site specific while others are shared pools. When adding the number(s) into the inventory, you choose which hierarchy level to add the numbers to and this will determine their visibility in the system so should be considered when loading.

Number Uniqueness Considerations

Numbers in the inventory should be unique within a hierarchy structure (in other words, looking up the hierarchy). The inventory is not aware of dial plan elements or other mechanisms that can allow the same number to coexist multiple times - for instance partitions in UCM. This can lead to unpredictable results if the numbers tracked are not unique. For instance, in the Cisco Communications Manager world, having the same number in multiple partitions or even in multiple clusters while the inventory sits at the Customer level - it will be treated as a single number in the inventory. This is where allocating numbers to a site can help as long as the different UC app instances are in different VOSS Automate sites.

Partition and Cluster

Number inventory is not partition or cluster aware. If the same numbers are used multiple times but in different partitions, then these all map to the same number. This should be taken into account when thinking about the hierarchy level at which the number inventory exists.

Also, not being cluster aware, if the same number exists on different clusters, this again will map back to the same inventory value unless numbers are assigned to the site level.

Reservation

Numbers can be reserved for future use. For example, for users who will soon be joining the company. When a number is reserved, it is unavailable and cannot be allocated to a subscriber, phone, device, etc.

Number Cooling

Numbers can be placed into a cooling period, either manually or automatically. When automated number cooling is enabled, numbers are placed into cooling for a predefined period when the subscriber or phone associated with the number is deleted.

While the number is in its cooling period, it is unavailable and cannot be allocated, for example, to a subscriber, phone, or device.

A number is released from cooling and is available for use when:

• The cooling period reaches its end date
• It is manually released from the cooling period

Number Inventory entries - End-user Provisioning Tasks

The number inventory is integrated into various features in the system to:

1. Display options of numbers for selecting/assignment across the system. The numbers presented for selection follow rules specific to the feature in many cases, for instance can lines be shared or not, etc.
2. Manage the state of the numbers in the inventory via the workflows - marking the number used, available, and updating other managed fields depending on the MACD being performed. This includes any specific logic setup for the unmanaged fields - See the section on flexibility for options to control the update that occurs.

Related Topics

• Number Status and Usage
• Number Cooling
• Number Reservation
• Number Inventory Alerting

Viewing Numbers

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You can view the number inventory and details of individual numbers by going to the relevant menu item - default menu Number Management > Number Inventory. You can see an overall view of the inventory including search capabilities. To see the specific details for a number including full usage information, you can select a number from the list view. When viewing a number's details you will see:

• The Number Details tab showing read-only details for the number. See Number Details.

• The Usage tab provides a dynamic view of all the service(s) that are assigned to that number. This includes links to easily navigate to the service instance for further details or to unassign the number if required.

  Note

  If the same number is shared by multiple devices/services of the same type, only the first 10 instances will be displayed.

Unlike other list views in the system, you cannot add or delete numbers from this inventory view. This needs to be done via the Number Range Managment form - see Number Range Management.

Number Details

Managed and Non-managed Number Inventory Fields

Number Inventory data fields are of 2 types:

• Managed - managed by VOSS Automate

  • Status - managed automatically by the system
  • Vendor - can be set on loading the range; afterwards it is managed automatically.
  • Usage - managed automatically
  • E164Number - if the number has an E164 number associated in the system it is shown here (read only). If not using E164 number inventory, then not relevant and you can hide the field.
  • Release Date - if the number is in Cooling, this is the date/time the number will become available - managed automatically. See number cooling for how to change the cooling status for a number.
  • Internal Number Type - set when adding then managed automatically if relevant.

• Un-managed - not managed by the system include

  • Tag - free text and can be utilized as needed

  • Description - free text field that can be utilized as required for additional useful information

  • Extra 1-9 - free text field that can be utilized as required for additional useful information

    These additional useful information fields can be utilized to store any extra business information you require to store in the inventory with the numbers. This can be static data defined when the numbers are loaded or updated or it can be dynamically updated as the system manages the numbers (allocated to a user, unassigned, etc). For instance, the system provides some out-of-the-box options for description to utilize, or if you want to set a value in Extra1 when events happen in the system.

See Number Inventory Flexibility and Description Customization in the Advanced Configuration Guide on how to utilize this capability.

If you are using any of the fields to store additional information, you can re-label the fields and include relevant help text for tool tips to be meaningful for administrators according to the data you are storing (e.g Billing ID if using a field for that) by means of a Field Display Policy for the relation/NumberInventory model.

For more details on the automated logic for managing status and usage, see Number Status and Usage.

Modify an individual number

While viewing a number's details, you can also modify settings on that individual number by selecting it. (To modify a range of numbers, see: Number Range Management.)

• To reserve a number, click Reserve Number on the button bar of the number instance form.
• Edit free text fields, for example: Tag, Description, Reservation notes, E164Number (if applicable), and Extra1 to Extra9.

Click Save.

Related Topics

• Number Range Management
• Number Reservation
• Number Status and Usage
• Number Cooling

Number Status and Usage

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Overview

Values in the Status and Usage columns in the Number Inventory allow administrators to understand how numbers are used at a specific hierarchy level.

The table describes values in the Status and Usage columns in the Number Inventory:

Footnotes

Related Topics

For details on call handlers and shared numbers, see Auto-Attendant Call Handler in the Core Feature Guide.

Cisco-Microsoft Hybrid Number Inventory

A Cisco-Microsoft hybrid setup is an integration of Cisco and Microsoft capability where we route Microsoft calls via Cisco Unified CM.

In a hybrid setup, the Internal Number Inventory (INI) can be set up in 2 ways:

• E164 number based, for example:

  • an INI entry 3334567 is mapped to an external number of +15553334567.
  • The number 3334567 is set up in Cisco (along with routing for the mapped external number).
  • The number +15553334567 is set up in Microsoft as the line.
  • The numbers 3334567 and +15553334567 should be seen as the same number from an INI tracking perspective.

• Internal number based (site code+extension or just extension)

  • an E164 number is generated by adding a prefix (+88800) to the internal number for setup in Microsoft.

    Note

    The named macro called MultiVendorLine-InternalExt-E164Prefix is used to store the prefix - currently set to +88800.

  • For example, 3334567 is set up as an internal number for the user and no external number is mapped. The line is selected in the Hybrid setup. Then the prefix is added, so the number +1888003334567 is the number in MS Teams for that user.

  Important

  The numbers 3334567 and +888003334567 should be seen as the same number from an INI tracking perspective. The mapping is also reflected in the Run the Directory Number Inventory Audit Tool. In this case, an update of the inventory takes place so that these are not counted as two separate numbers.

The table below sums up the Number Inventory data for these cases.

Note that Extra2 and Extra4 hold the service type and E164 number (includes generated) respectively.

For details on the service type scenarios, see Multi Vendor Service Definitions in the Core Feature Guide.

Footnote

Details and Usage

Selecting a specific number from the Number Inventory list view, opens the details view for that number.

The Number Details tab shows read only details for the number, for example Internal Number, Status, Usage, as well as editable fields such as Tag, Description, Reservation Notes, etc. In the case of Cisco-Microsoft hybrid entries, the vendor added would be "Cisco, Microsoft".

The Usage tab provides links to all instances where the number is used.

• In the case of Cisco-Microsoft hybrid usage, the last vendor added would be appended, as seen above in the "Device, User" instances.

• In the case of Webex App Calling usage, the link directs to the Webex App user.

  See Webex App in the Core Feature Guide.

Related Topics

Webex App in the Core Feature Guide.

Wrapper relation for InternalNumberInventory. Summary attributes is defined in data-model (and in future core-versions, the FDP will define the summary-attrs)

Model Details: relation/NumberInventoryREL