Cisco IP SoftPhone Administrator Guide (1.3)
Configuring Settings for Cisco IP SoftPhone
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Table of Contents

Configuring Settings for Cisco IP SoftPhone
 Setting Call Control Options
 Configuring Directory Settings
 Configuring Dialing Rules
 Setting Audio Options
 Configuring Network Audio Settings
 Configuring Advanced Settings
 Configuring Audio Quality Features

Configuring Settings for Cisco IP SoftPhone

The SoftPhone Administrator should configure the settings described in this section:

Setting Call Control Options

Use the Call Control tab to specify how you want Cisco IP SoftPhone to answer calls.

Procedure
Step 1  
Click the Settings toolbar icon.

This opens the Call Control tab.

Step 2   Choose the appropriate call control settings as described in Table 3-1.

Step 3   Click OK.

Table 3-1   Call Control Settings

Setting Description

Voicemail Destination

The number for your voice mail system.

Call Answer Options

Specify whether you want to answer calls yourself, forward all calls to your voice mailbox, or have Cisco IP SoftPhone automatically answer your calls after a specified number of rings.

Ring File

Specifies the wave file that plays the desired type of ring.

Enable automatic greeting

Specifies the wave file that plays the greeting for incoming calls.




Configuring Directory Settings

Use the Directories tab in the Settings dialog window to specify the location of the LDAP directories you want Cisco IP SoftPhone to use when doing name completion lookups.

These procedures help you configure directory settings:

Adding a Directory

Procedure
Step 1  
Click the Settings toolbar icon.

Step 2   Choose the Directories tab.

Step 3   Choose Add...

The Directory Service dialog window opens.

Step 4   Configure directory settings as described in Table 3-2.

If you need help, see your directory administrator.

For details about LDAP directory settings, refer to the Cisco CallManager System Guide.

Table 3-2   Configuring Directory Settings

Setting Description

Display Name

Enter a name for the LDAP directory.

For example, SoftPhone-CM

Server Name

Enter the name for the LDAP server.

For example, ldap.company.com

Port Number

Enter the port number used by the directory.

For example, 8404

Account name

Enter the directory administrator distinguished name (DN).

For example, cn=directory manager, o=company.com

Password

Enter the directory administrator password.

Search Base

Enter the base—or root—of the directory service in which to search for names.

For example, ou=users, o=company.com

Step 5   Click OK.

The Directories tab will redisplay showing the directory name you just added.




Related Topics

Removing a Directory

Procedure
Step 1  
Click the Settings toolbar icon.

Step 2   Choose the Directories tab.

Step 3   Click on the directory you want to remove.

Step 4   Click Remove.

The directory will be removed from the list of directories.

Caution   You will not be prompted before the directory is removed from the list.



Related Topics

Editing a Directory

Procedure
Step 1  
Click the Settings toolbar icon.

Step 2   Choose the Directories tab.

Step 3   Double-click on the directory you want to edit or choose the directory and click the Edit button.

Step 4   Make the desired changes to the information in the directory service dialog window.

Step 5   Click OK to make these changes take effect. Otherwise, click Cancel.




Related Topics

Configuring Dialing Rules

Use the Dialing Rules tab in the Settings dialog window to set up dialing rules for Cisco IP SoftPhone. Dialing rules tell Cisco IP SoftPhone how to prefix the phone numbers so the Cisco CallManager can properly route calls. The dialing rules apply only when using Cisco IP SoftPhone to initiate a call; they do not apply to numbers dialed on the Cisco IP Phone.

Caution   Only the system administrator should set dialing rules.
Note   If there are no dialing rules, users must enter phone numbers in the dialing box exactly as they need to be dialed out. The dialing rules also affect any numbers that are obtained from LDAP directories using Ctrl-K.

The dialing rules list is maintained in the order in which you created the rules. The system searches dialing rules from the top of the dialing rules list to the bottom of the list. When the search finds a match, that dialing rule gets used.

Tip Create dialing rules in the order in which you want them to be used.
Procedure
Step 1  
Click the Settings toolbar icon.

Step 2   Choose the Dialing Rules tab.

Step 3   Click Add...

The Dialing Rule dialog window opens.

Step 4   Configure a dialing rule as described in Table 3-3.

Step 5   Review the dialing rule description displayed in the text box to ensure the settings are as you intended.

Step 6   Click OK.

Step 7   Repeat Steps 3 through 6 to set additional dialing rules as necessary.

Table 3-3   Setting Dialing Rules

Setting Description

Rule Name

Enter a name for the rule.

For example, Rule 1

Starting Digits

Enter the starting digits to which the rule applies.

For example, 525

Total number of digits

Enter the number of digits to which the rule applies.

For example, 7

Number of digits to remove from front

Enter the number of digits this rule will remove from the beginning of all phone numbers you dial.

For example, 2

Add prefix

Enter a prefix this rule will add to the beginning of all phone numbers you dial.

For example, 7

Examples

1. To place local calls outside of your company without first dialing 9, use the dialing rule settings shown in Figure 3-1.


Figure 3-1   Sample Dialing Rule for Outside Local Calls


2. To place long-distance calls outside your company without first dialing 9 and 1, use the dialing rule settings shown in Figure 3-2.


Figure 3-2   Sample Dialing Rule for Outside, Long-Distance Calls


3. To place calls inside your company by only dialing the last five digits of the telephone number, use the dialing rule shown in Figure 3-3.


Figure 3-3   Sample Dialing Rule for Internal Calls





Setting Audio Options

Use the Audio tab to change settings that control the audio reception for Cisco IP SoftPhone.

Procedure
Step 1  
Click the Settings toolbar icon.

Step 2   Click the Audio tab.

Step 3   Enable the check box next to Always use low bandwidth codec if your line is configured to operate in a high bandwidth region (such as LAN) but you are temporarily connected using a low bandwidth connection (such as dial-up modem).

Step 4   Click the Volume Settings button to access the volume controls for the speaker, microphone, ring, and wave file.

Use your mouse to drag the volume bars up and down to set the desired volume.

Step 5   If you have more than one device configured on your PC, use the Playback drop-down list to choose which device SoftPhone uses for audio reception of your phone calls.

Step 6   If you have more than one device configured on your PC, use the Transmit drop-down list to choose which device SoftPhone uses for audio transmission of your phone calls.

Step 7   Used the Advanced Voice Settings option to adjust the sound quality of your Cisco IP SoftPhone and to adjust the frequency processing to sharpen the audio and improve the sound quality of your phone calls. Refer to the Cisco IP SoftPhone User Guide for detailed information.

Step 8   For information on Ringer Settings, refer to the Cisco IP SoftPhone User Guide.

Step 9   For information on Network Audio Settings, see the "Configuring Network Audio Settings" section.

Step 10   Click OK.




Related Topic

Configuring Network Audio Settings

The Cisco IP SoftPhone may obtain the wrong IP address for your computer in the following cases:

  • You are running Cisco IP SoftPhone over a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to connect to the corporate network.
  • You are using multiple Network Interface Cards (NICs) on the PC.
  • You disconnect and reconnect to the network (such as undocking and docking a laptop).
  • You are using a proxy server and configure it incorrectly.

To ensure Cisco IP SoftPhone always detects the proper IP address for your computer, configure network audio settings as follows:

Procedure
Step 1   Click the Settings toolbar icon.

Step 2   Click the Audio tab.

Step 3   Click the Network Audio Settings button to open the Network Audio Settings screen.

Step 4   Configure Network Audio Settings as described in Table 3-4.




Table 3-4   Configuring Network Audio Settings

IP Address Setting Description
  • Automatic Selection
 Tip Cisco highly recommends this setting.

Choose this primary setting to run Cisco IP SoftPhone over a VPN or to use multiple NICs on the PC. The web page name getIP.asp, on the web server, should appear in the URL Address field. This setting allows Cisco IP SoftPhone to obtain the correct IP address from this web page. The page must be up while SoftPhone is installed and running. This page gets installed as part of Web Administrator installation.
 Automatic Selection is the default setting for web installation.
  • Select Address

Choose this setting under the following conditions:

  • Your web server does not support the active server pages or these pages are inaccessible to the user.
  • You install Cisco IP SoftPhone with a CD-ROM

Select a random address from the drop-down list box. You may need to randomly choose a different address from the drop-down list box until you are able to establish two-way audio.
Select Address is the default setting for CD installation.
  • Specify Address

Users should not use this setting when you customize the Cisco IP SoftPhone Web Administrator utility.
Users should specify the IP address of their VPN software when they are unable to use the Automatic Selection setting.
Audio UDP Port
  • Automatic Setting

Choose this setting if you want Cisco IP SoftPhone to automatically choose the local UDP port from which it will receive incoming audio streams.
Automatic Setting is the default Setting.
  • Specify Port

Choose this setting if you are using security software that requires users to specify the UDP port for audio reception. For port number information, see your network administrator.
Audio Output Port
  • Automatic Setting

Choose this setting if you want Cisco IP SoftPhone to automatically choose the local UDP port from which it will send outgoing audio streams.
Automatic Setting is the default setting.
  • Specify Port

Choose this setting if you are using security software that requires users to specify the UDP port for audio transmission. For port number information, see your network administrator.

Configuring Advanced Settings

Use the Advanced tab in the Settings dialog window to choose the lines you want to control and change the collaboration setting for Cisco IP SoftPhone.

Procedure
Step 1  
Click the Settings toolbar icon.

Step 2   Choose the Advanced tab.

Step 3   For the Collaboration setting, enable the Virtual Conference Room option to use the Virtual Conference Room features of Cisco IP SoftPhone. Enable the NetMeeting option to use the video collaboration features of Microsoft NetMeeting. You must restart Cisco IP SoftPhone to make these changes take effect.

Note   NetMeeting does not support VPN.

For collaboration to work, SoftPhone needs the IP addresses of all the SoftPhone participants in the conference call. You must be using SoftPhone version 1.2(3) or later. Also, the associated PC field gets automatically updated only if you configure the Cisco CallManager DC directory and no duplicate entries are present in your personal directory.

Step 4   For the other settings, refer to the Cisco IP SoftPhone User Guide.

Step 5   Click OK.




Configuring Audio Quality Features

The Cisco IP SoftPhone administrator can configure several settings in the registry in the following categories:

Volume Limiting

You can limit the volume of an incoming audio stream in case it is too loud. The Volume Limiter is controlled by using the following registry keys in the location hkey_current_user\software\cisco systems\ccnmediaterm\1.0:

  • LimitVolume—Performs volume limiting if this key is true (default); otherwise all other volume-limiting parameters are ignored and no limiting occurs. Make this key false to turn off volume limiting. Turning off volume limiting will save a limited amount of CPU cycles.
  • LimiterThreshold—Defines the threshold of loudness for incoming audio. The audio gets softer as you make this setting lower. The default is -8.0. If you reduce it to -25.0, the audio will sound very soft, and if you lower it to -50.0 you will not hear anything.
  • LimiterLossIncrement—Defines how fast volume gets reduced when a loud incoming signal is detected.
  • LimiterLossDecrement—Defines how fast the volume or signal loss in the limiter is reduced.

Voice Activity Detection

If the VAD Voice Activity Detection (VAD) key is enabled, Cisco IP SoftPhone detects when the user is silent during a call, and does not transmit any audio packets in order to save network bandwidth. If VAD is on, the person on the other end of the call hears nothing and may think that the call has been disconnected.

The following information applies to the VAD key:

  • If VAD is turned off, Cisco IP SoftPhone keeps transmitting audio packets throughout the duration of a call.
  • When a call is set up, Cisco CallManager notifies Cisco IP SoftPhone to either turn VAD on or off for that call.
  • The VAD registry key is called ForceVADOff and is located at:

hkey_current_user\software\cisco systems\ccnmediaterm\1.0

  • The value true means to always turn VAD off in Cisco IP SoftPhone and to ignore the Cisco Call Manager recommendation.

The value false means to turn VAD on or off depending on what Cisco CallManager requests per call.

  • The default value is false.