AT&T Voice DNA® Administrator Support

Overview

As an AT&T Voice DNA® Administrator, you're responsible for adding, editing, and deleting users' Internet Protocol (IP) phones and line appearances.

IP phones are designed to take advantage of AT&T Voice DNA features. A line appearance is a phone number assigned to a line key on an IP phone or device. IP phones often have multiple line keys. For example, you can configure a user's phone number to appear on multiple line keys of the user's IP phone, or to appear as a secondary line on other users' devices.

Only Enhanced and Premium feature packages support assigning multiple devices to a user or creating line appearances of that user's phone number on other users' devices.

Line Appearances and Line Key Settings

Before you add an IP phone to a user and configure the line appearances on that phone, it's important that you understand a few technical details about the IP phone's line keys and line key settings.

When you assign a phone number to a line key on an IP phone, you're adding a line appearance. The user presses a line key in order to use the associated line appearance for making and receiving calls. The assigned user's number is the first line appearance on the phone, and it can also be assigned to additional line keys. Other users' numbers can be used as secondary line appearances on this phone. An incoming call to a given number rings all phones on which that number appears.

Polycom phone models 321, 331, 550, 560, 650, and 670 can have a secondary line appearance that’s a number assigned to a user at a different location within your organization. You can view line appearances for a user on the Administrator Dashboard, on a user’s Devices and Line Appearances page. Line appearances from the user’s own location are indicated by the extension (for example, 1234), while line appearances from different locations include the location dialing prefix with the extension (for example, 8-1234).

Let's look at some line appearance scenarios.

Line Appearance Scenarios

Cynthia, Arthur, and Janelle work for Palus Systems, which uses AT&T Voice DNA^®. They each have an IP phone with four line keys, and there's an IP phone at a reception desk. Cynthia works at Location 1, and the others work at Location 2. Here's how the line keys are configured:

Phone number assignments

Line appearances on Cynthia's phone

Cynthia's phone has two keys assigned for her own extension. Plus, she and Arthur often work together, so it's convenient to have a key on each other's phone so they can answer for each other. She also has a key for the receptionist's number, so that she can answer when the receptionist is away.

Note that the extensions for line keys 3 and 4 include the location dialing prefix, since Arthur and the reception desk are at a different location.

Line appearances on Arthur's phone

Arthur's phone has two keys assigned for his own extension, plus a key for Cynthia's number, so that he can answer for her. He, too, has a key for the receptionist's number.

Line appearances on Janelle's phone

Janelle's phone also has two keys assigned for her own extension. Sometimes she helps Arthur's customers, so for convenience, his number appears on her phone, too. She also has a key for the receptionist's number.

Note that all four extensions are at Location 2, so there are no location dialing prefixes displayed.

Line appearances on the receptionist's phone

The receptionist's phone has a key for Cynthia, Arthur, and Janelle's numbers. If necessary, the receptionist can answer any of their calls.

Now that you've seen how line appearances can be assigned, here are some examples that show how users might use multiple line appearances.

Multiple line appearances of a number on one phone

Janelle is talking on line 1. She receives another incoming call to her phone number, which rings line 2. She puts line 1 on hold and answers line 2.

Arthur answers a call on line 2. He puts line 2 on hold and then makes a call on line 1.

Line appearance on another user's phone

A call comes in to Arthur's phone number. All phones that have his number as a line appearance ring. Cynthia answers the call on her own phone's line 3.

Configuring Line Appearances

As an AT&T Voice DNA Administrator, you configure line appearances on a phone by editing that phone's line keys. For example, to add Arthur's number as a line appearance on Cynthia's phone, go to Cynthia's User Details page and edit her line keys. (Note that you can't assign Arthur's number to other users' line keys by editing Arthur's User Details page.)

For details, see Add an IP Phone, Edit an IP Phone, and Edit an IP Phone's Line Keys, later in this topic.

Calls per Key

Each AT&T Voice DNA user is assigned one unique phone number. If you want a user to be able to handle two calls at once on that unique phone number, do one of the following:

• Configure the user's IP phone with two line appearances. For example, in the Palus Systems scenario, Cynthia can take a call on line 1, then put it on hold and answer a second call on line 2.
• Use the Calls per Key feature. Similar to Call Waiting on a home phone, this feature enables more than one incoming call at a time. Some IP phone models can have incoming calls "stacked" on a given line key, with a second call available on a single phone line. If the user's number is provisioned for only one line key, you can set the line key's Calls per Key to two. The user can then put one call on hold and take or make another call on that same line (assuming the user has Call Waiting activated).

Depending on the IP phone model, you can have multiple line appearances and calls per key. For example, you could have two line keys with two calls per key. The IP phone always first uses all the line keys provisioned for a given phone number before stacking calls on a line key.

Call Capacity

Call capacity is the number of calls (active, on hold, or incoming) that a phone can handle for a given phone number before the next call is sent to voicemail or receives a busy signal. Call capacity is determined by multiplying the number of line keys assigned to a phone number by the number of calls set per key. For example, if a phone number is assigned to two line keys on a phone, and Calls per Key is set to two, then the call capacity is 2x2, or 4. You configure call capacity for the assigned user's number when you add the device. For secondary (other users') line appearances, you configure call capacity when adding those secondary line appearances to the phone.

Call Presence

When a phone number appears on more than one phone, the presence can be shared or not shared. You set the call presence for the phone owner's number when you add the device. For secondary (other users') line appearances, you set call presence when adding those secondary line appearances to the phone.

Shared call presence means that multiple phones share a line appearance and, when a call comes in, all phones showing the same number ring at the same time. When a user answers the call, all phones show the shared call in progress. If the call is put on hold, it can be taken off hold by anyone sharing the line appearance. (Other users can access the call only if it's first put on hold.)

Not shared call presence means that all phones showing the same line appearance ring at the same time (like with a shared line presence), but when the call is answered, it becomes exclusive to the phone that answered it and no longer appears on the other phones.

For example, let's look again at the Palus Systems scenario. The receptionist's phone number (extension 2000) is a line appearance that appears on four IP phones. When a call comes in to extension 2000, all four phones ring. Janelle answers the call on her phone, and then puts it on hold. If extension 2000 is shared, all four phones show the shared call in progress, and any user can take it off hold. If extension 2000 is not shared, the call disappears from the other three phones, and only Janelle can take it off hold.

Note: When a user's phone number appears on multiple IP phones, all line appearances must be configured with the same call presence type. If a line appearance has a shared call presence, then the call capacity of that line appearance must be the same on each device.

Barge-in

If call presence is shared, and you enable barge-in, then any IP phone with the shared line appearance can barge into an active call by selecting that line and then pressing a feature key on the IP phone. A three-way call is established, with the barging in caller as host. The other parties will hear a warning tone when someone attempts to barge into an active call. You can enable or disable barge-in for an extension with shared call presence at any time. Configuring barge-in affects all appearances of the edited extension.

Add an IP Phone

When adding an IP phone, you first add it as a user's device. Then you configure how the user's phone number works on this IP phone. You add and configure devices using the Devices and Line Appearances tab of the user's User Details page.

AT&T Voice DNA® uses four types of devices: IP phones, softphones, desktop adapters, and location adapters. Desktop and location adapters are used to connect non-IP phones and fax machines to the network. For information about adapters, see Manage Desktop and Location Adapter Ports.

You assign a device to be a user's primary or secondary device. (Only users with the Enhanced or Premium package can have a secondary device.) A user can have only one primary device. Typically, you assign the primary device when creating a user, but you can add a primary device for the user at any time. You can also add one or more secondary devices at any time. (Fax users don't have secondary devices.)

Note: You can't change a primary device into a secondary device, or vice versa. To reassign a device as primary or secondary, you must first delete it and then add it again with the new designation.

Your AT&T Voice DNA service identifies and finds each IP phone by its unique MAC address, so you need the MAC address when adding an IP phone. You can find the MAC address on a sticker on the IP phone or on your invoice.

Your location may have a standard user configuration, such as two line keys with one call each, or a policy about shared call presence. Be prepared with this information before you add or edit an IP phone.

To add an IP phone

1. Open the AT&T Voice DNA Administrator Dashboard, and locate the user's profile information. (For help with this step, see Log In and Use Search.)
2. On the User Details page, click the Devices and Line Appearances tab. The user's current devices appear.
3. Click Add Primary Device or Add Secondary Devices.

    

   Note: Users with the Standard feature package can have only one device (primary device).

4. Under Primary (or Secondary) Device, select IP Phone.

    

   Note: An IP phone can be a primary or secondary device, but it must be the primary device to use the Place a Call or Intercom Over Speakerphone features. For more information, see Manage User Features.

    

5. Specify the following options:
   • From the Device Make/Model list, select the IP phone's make and model.
   • Enter the device's MAC address (found on a sticker on the phone or on your invoice).
   • Select the number of expansion modules you want. (This option appears only if it's available for the phone model.) Expansion modules allow additional line keys or speed dial buttons to be provisioned on a phone.
   • (Optional) Select an option from the Codec Priority list.

      

     The Codec Priority option is available for Polycom^® and Aastra^® IP phones, and for the analog adapter ports. It allows you to specify the default voice codec for the device according to your business needs and preferences. The default codec for most devices is G.729, which offers greatly reduced bandwidth. The other available options require more bandwidth, but they can provide higher quality in noisy environments and during conference calls.
   • For Device at Remote Location, select Yes or No.

      

     The Device at Remote Location option is available only if you have AT&T Virtual Private Network access. Select Yes if this device will be used away from the AT&T Voice DNA Virtual Private Network supported location. For more information, see Move IP Phones.

You're almost finished. Now all you need to do is set the options for the user's number on the phone's line keys, using the last three options on the page. The values available depend on which device make and model you selected in step 5.

To set line key options for the user's IP phone number

1. From the Call Presence list, select Shared or Not Shared.

    

   Note: If this user's phone number appears on multiple IP phones, then all line appearances must be configured with the same call presence type. If a line appearance has a shared call presence, then the call capacity of that line appearance must also be the same on each device. Remember, call capacity is determined by multiplying the number of line keys by the number of calls per key.

    

   If this is the user's first device (that is, the primary device or, if the user has no primary device provisioned, the first secondary device) and the user's extension doesn't appear as a line key on any other users' devices, the Call Presence option is unavailable. Later, if you add another device for this user or provision this user's extension on another user's device, you can edit Call Presence for this line appearance.

2. From the Number of Keys list, select the number of keys to which the phone owner's phone number will be assigned (typically, two or three keys).
3. From the Calls per Key list, select the number of incoming calls that can be stacked on the line keys assigned to the owner's phone number. The recommended setting is one or two calls per key.
4. Click Save. The Devices and Line Appearances tab reappears, with a confirmation message and showing the newly added IP phone in the device list.
5. Reboot the IP phone (or turn on for the first time). If you can't do this yourself, be sure to notify the responsible person. If this is the first time the phone is being connected, make sure that the phone is connected to the network using the correct port on the back of the phone and that it's receiving power.

Edit an IP Phone

You can edit the IP phone make/model, MAC address, number of expansion modules, codec priority, and remote location setting for an IP phone.

To edit an IP phone

1. Open the AT&T Voice DNA Administrator Dashboard, and locate the user's profile information. (For help with this step, see Log In and Use Search.) 
2. On the User Details page, click the Devices and Line Appearances tab. The user's current devices appear.
3. Under Primary Device or Secondary Devices, locate the device you're editing, and then click Edit at the left of the Delete button. The Devices and Line Appearances tab changes to edit mode.

4. Edit the following options as necessary:
   • Device Make/Model
   • Device MAC Address
   • Expansion Modules
   • Codec Priority
   • Device at Remote Location
5. Click Save. The Devices and Line Appearances tab returns to view mode, showing a confirmation message and the updated device information.

Edit an IP Phone's Line Keys

You can edit an IP phone's first line key, but you can't delete it. The first line key is provisioned with the information for the assigned user. To assign a different user to this IP phone, you must delete the IP phone from the currently assigned user's devices, and then add it as assigned to the new user. For more information, see Delete an IP Phone and Add an IP Phone.

You can add, edit, and delete secondary line keys.

Note: After editing line key information, you must reboot the IP phone. If you can't do this yourself, be sure to notify the responsible person. The phone is unable to make or receive calls while rebooting.

To view an IP phone's line key details

1. Open the AT&T Voice DNA Administrator Dashboard, and locate the user's profile information. (For help with this step, see Log In and Use Search.)
2. On the User Details page, click the Devices and Line Appearances tab. The user's current devices appear.
   • If the IP phone is the user's first device (that is, the primary device or, if the user has no primary device provisioned, the first secondary device), the line key details are shown along with the phone's other information.
   • If the IP phone is an additional device for this user, click View line key details for that particular device
   • To hide line key details for a primary or secondary device, click Hide line key details.

To edit an IP phone's line keys

1. With the IP phone's line key details displayed, click Edit to the right of Line Key Details. The page used for editing the line keys appears.

2. For the line key to be edited, under Actions, click the Edit icon. Note that you can edit only one line at a time.
3. Make your changes to the line key. These are the changes you can make:
   • Label: Displayed if the phone model supports electronic key labeling.
   • Call Presence: This can be changed if there are only two appearances of this number. You can change from Shared to Not shared, and vice versa.

      

     Note: If the call presence type is shared, then the call capacity (the result of multiplying the number of keys by the calls per key) must be the same anywhere this user's extension appears, including on other users' phones.
   • Barge-in: A sub-setting of Call Presence. If Call Presence is Shared, Barge-in can be on or off. If Call Presence is Not Shared, Barge-in can only be off.
   • Number of Keys: Changes the number of line keys provisioned for this extension.
   • Calls per Key: Displayed if the model supports configurable calls per key.
4. Under Actions, click the Save icon  to save your changes, or click the Cancel icon to discard the changes. Only appropriate values can be saved. If you try to save inappropriate values, an error message appears.

To add a secondary line key

1. With the IP phone's line key details displayed, click Edit at the right of Line Key Details. The page used for editing the line keys appears.
2. Click Add Line Key. A new row appears for the next numbered key, with fields for entering the line key details. Required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*).

    

   Note: This option isn't available when no additional keys are available on the phone.

3. To enter the extension, do one of the following:
   • Enter the extension directly. If this is a cross location line appearance, enter the location dialing prefix followed by a hyphen and the extension (for example, 7-2003).
   • Click Find user. In the Find in Directory window that opens, select a location, and then click a checkmark to select the user.
4. Edit the remaining fields.
5. Under Actions, click the Save icon  to save your changes, or click the Cancel icon to discard the changes. If you try to save inappropriate values, an error message appears.

To reorder line keys

Note: You can't change the position of line key 1 because that's the phone owner's line.

1. With the IP phone's line key details displayed, click Edit at the right of Line Key Details. The page used for editing the line keys appears.
2. Under Actions, click the directional icons in each row to move the extensions into the positions you want:

   Up one row (can't move into position 1)

   Down one row

   Up to Position 2

   Bottom of list

3. Click Save Reorder.

To delete a secondary line key

1. With the IP phone's line key details displayed, click Edit at the right of Line Key Details. The page used for editing the line keys appears.
2. To delete the line keys for an extension, under Actions, click the Delete icon
3. To delete line keys for more extensions, under Select all, check the extensions, and then click Delete. The column heading changes to Clear All.
4. To delete all line keys except those provisioned for the phone owner's extension, click Select all, and then click Delete. The column heading changes to Clear All.

Delete an IP Phone

You can delete a user's IP phone.

To delete an IP phone

1. Open the AT&T Voice DNA® Administrator Dashboard, and locate the user's profile information. (For help with this step, see Log In and Use Search.)
2. On the User Details page, click the Devices and Line Appearances tab. The user's current devices appear.
3. Under Primary Device or Secondary Devices, select the IP phone you want to delete, and then click Delete. The Devices and Line Appearance tab reappears with a confirmation message. The IP phone is no longer listed as a device.
4. Disconnect the IP phone from the network.

Request a Remote Reset of an IP Phone

As an Administrator, you can request a remote reset of a device that supports the reset feature. You can reset IP phones and desktop adapters from the Devices and Line Adapters page. You can reset location adapters from the Location Equipment page. Remote reset requires that the device be turned on and connected to the network, and that the device is currently registered with AT&T Voice DNA®.

To request a reset of an IP phone

1. Open the AT&T Voice DNA® Administrator Dashboard, and locate the user's profile information. (For help with this step, see Log In and Use Search.)
2. On the User Details page, click the Devices and Line Appearances tab. The user's current devices appear.
3. Click Reset for the IP phone that you want to reset. A confirm window opens.
4. To reset the device immediately, click Yes, Reset Now. To reset the device at a later time (typically overnight), click Yes, Reset Later.