Frequently Asked Questions

This page will expand over time and answer (statistically) frequently asked questions.

• Q: I want to host a conference, but one of the participants is unable to send DTMF tones and therefore unable to join it. What shall I do?
  Some institutes configure their telephony system to block DTMF tones on outgoing calls. There are three ways to circumvent this problem:

1. The person may use a VoIP client.
2. The person may be invited using the 'Invite' button:
   On the Web-MeetMe-Control Web page, click on Current Conferences, choose your Conference, click on the 'Invite' button on the bottom of the page and enter the person's phone number (e.g.: 0041446354396).
   This will trigger an outgoing call to the person, who will be connected to the conference immediately after picking up the phone.
3. You may choose the 'Conference Number' 1:
   Edit the 'Conference Number' field to display '1' and do not enter any passwords for the conference when adding it. This conference room will be accessible not only via the usual extension, but also via (+41)44/63-50991 .
   Calling this number will connect directly to this conference room without any further interaction.
   Please be aware that at all times, conference numbers are unique, so only one conference '1' can be hosted at a time, so please choose this solution only if the others are not an option for whatever reason.
   

• Q: Who's paying for all of this? Are you making money out of it?
  No, we're not making any money out of it - on the contrary ;)
  The Hardware was paid by the CSG group, and the number block as well as the connectivity was provided by university. This also implies that the phone bills go to University as usual and are accounted for in the same fashion as for the regular phone system.
  
• Q: I'd like to run several VoIP clients on different machines simultaneously, because I'm switching devices quite frequently. Do I need register a second account for this?
  No, you don't.
  As you may have noticed, you were issued nine 'secondary' usernames, which have been issued exactly for this purpose. (e.g., if you're registered for the VoIP extension 50890, the secondary usernames 508901, 508902, 508903,... have been issued to you)
  So you simply need to
• • configure your clients with the different 'secondary' usernames (e.g., 508901) instead of your primary one (e.g., 50890) , and
  • configure your diversions to ring on the used 'secondary' extensions, by adding an according entry (e.g., to ring on SIP 508901 with the same priority and timeout as the ringing on SIP 50890) (please consult the 'How to use the web-based configuration interface' section for instructions on how to achieve this)
• Q: I'm an assistant at IFI and I would like to register for a VoIP account. What do I have to do?
  VoIP accounts are managed by the institute secretary (at the time of writing: Andreas Corti). Please contact the secretary and request your account information.
  
• Q: I have got a student who urgently needs to use the VoIP system - can I create an account for him?
  Sure - your research group has a number block assigned that is your's to distribute and use. The VoIP system is not originally intended for students, so the account should be deleted after his respective work for your research group has been finished, but if you see the need:
  
  1. Agree with your professor on the creation of the account and possibly a free number to be assigned to him (In case you're a professor yourself, you should please try to agree with yourself ;) )
  2. Ask the responsible person in the Direktionssekretariat (Andreas Corti, at the time of writing) to create the respective account.
  3. Pass there again (or email) for the deletion of the account after the student left your group.