Creating Outbound Rules that route over Hardware Ports

Once the gateway device has been added to the system, the SIP trunk that represents it can be included in an outbound rule. In this way, calls sent out over the outbound route will be sent out to the service provider via the telephony hardware interfaces on the device.

Simply navigate to the Outbound Rules page on the GUI, and select Add.

Name the rule, and enter the appropriate configuration fields:

Calls to number starting with prefix: This field holds the leading digits of the number dialed. Provided the other credentials match, calls to numbers starting with this prefix will be placed over this route. Multiple prefixes can be configured per rule, using a comma character to separate values.

Calls from extension(s): This field can be populated to limit which extensions have access to the outbound rule. Including one or more extensions in this field (separated by a "," ) will allow access to the outbound rule only to the extensions specified and not to any other extensions.

Calls to Numbers with a length of: This field controls the length of the DIDs dialed that will be matched by this rule. Typically, a length of 10 digits will catch calls to local South African numbers, 12 digit length allows the matching of numbers in E164 format. Each E164 needs to be allowed independently though.

Calls from extension groups: This allows for the route to limited only to extensions belonging to particular extension groups. Creating and managing extension groups is covered in the 3CX Extension Management guide

Finally, select the primary trunk for the outbound rule, and enter appropriate values for the Strip Digits and Prepend fields.

Strip Digits: This filed allows you to select how many digits should be stripped from the dialed number before the call is sent to the service provider. This could be useful if different prefixes are used by different users for billing purpose, or perhaps prefixes are used to differentiate between trunks for outbound calls. The number of digits selected here will be removed from the number before dialing out.

Prepend: Any string of numbers configured in this field will be prepended to the number before dialing out to the service provider. In this manner, local dialing codes or prefixes can be automatically added to the number prior to sending the call to the service provider. The digits reflected in the "Strip digits" field will first be striped, prior to the string of digits being prepended.