Administering Outbound Fax

How Outbound Fax Services Work

Prerequisites

Administering Outbound Fax Services:

Engineering Considerations

Administering Fax Administrator Accounts

Adding a Fax Administrator

Modifying a Fax Administrator Account

Deleting a Fax Administrator Account

Administering the FaxPrint Application Agent

Administering the Schedule Table for FaxPrint

Administering Outbound Fax

When a subscriber accesses a fax or e-mail message on the telephone, the subscriber has the option to send that fax or e-mail message to a fax machine to be printed. The e-mail messages are printed using a Text-to-Fax feature and are handled by the uOne Outbound Fax feature just like faxes.

Note The tasks presented in this section are required only if you implement Outbound Fax Services.

How Outbound Fax Services Work

When a subscriber accesses a fax or an e-mail message on the telephone and redirects that fax or e-mail message to be printed, uOne sends the fax or e-mail message to a special mailbox called a Fax Administrator Account. This mailbox acts as a queue for those messages. Each Fax Administrator Account that is set up on the system has a FaxPrint application agent instance associated with it.

Each FaxPrint application agent instance constantly monitors its designated mailbox and looks for fax messages. If there is a message, FaxPrint extracts the target fax machine telephone number from the message header and searches (via DialMap) for the proper Gateway for this fax machine number. It then sends the fax message to the Gateway using SMTP. The Gateway processes and delivers the message to the appropriate fax machine. Messages are processed on a first-in first-out basis. Any fax messages that are not delivered successfully on the first try will be moved to a Fax retry folder.

When faxes are moved to the Fax retry folder, they are given a timestamp. All timestamps are based on the local Gateserver time. After the number of retries designated by the FAXNumberofRetries parameter, the fax message is returned to the subscriber's mailbox as an undeliverable message. This message is inventoried as a fax message and is identified as an undeliverable Fax in the subject.

Since there is only one FaxPrint application agent instance for each Fax Administrator mailbox, the FaxPrint application agent instance delivers faxes for both the inbox and the Fax retry folder. When FaxPrint initializes, the Fax retry folder is scanned for any messages that have expired. (A message has expired when the fax retry message timestamp plus the fax retry timeout period [FAXRetryTimeout parameter] has surpassed the current time.) If there are expired messages, FaxPrint processes all expired messages, starting with the oldest message first. After a message has been sent from the inbox, FaxPrint again checks whether any retry messages have expired.

If there are no faxes to process (inbox or retries), the cycle processing time is adjusted to either the configured sleep time (FAXSleepTime parameter) or the amount of time until the next retry, whichever is smaller.

Prerequisites

Before you start administering Outbound Fax Services, ensure that the following tasks have been completed.

The DialMap.ini file is configured for handling outbound faxes.
The Gateway is configured properly for off ramp faxing.
The messaging server must have a Postmaster account administered. This Postmaster account can receive faxes that fail to reach the Fax Administrator account.
uOne Administration must be installed and configured.
A uOne Administration login account is set up.
The Text-to-Speech feature must be installed and configured for the Text-to Fax feature to work.
E-mail and Fax Services must be enabled in uOne Administration for Text-to-Fax feature to work.

Administering Outbound Fax Services :

You perform the following tasks to administer Outbound Fax Services.

Add a Fax Administrator Account in uOne Administration

Administer the FaxPrint application
Administer the Schedule table for FaxPrint

Engineering Considerations

You can have multiple FaxPrint application agents available on the same Gateserver. However, you must assign each FaxPrint application agent instance that resides on the same Gateserver to a different Fax Administrator account.
Each subscriber is assigned to a specific Fax Administrator Account in the subscriber's profile on the directory server. If you have a distributed system, you might consider assigning the subscriber to the FaxPrint application agent nearest the fax machine to which the subscriber will be sending most faxes.
To improve performance, you should assign no more than 1000 subscribers to each Fax Administrator Account.
To improve performance through load balancing, you might consider configuring multiple FaxPrint applications on multiple Gateservers and assigning subscribers appropriately.
Each FaxPrint application agent uses a local CMA agent for Dial Map resolution of a fax phone number to an off ramp gateway.

Administering Fax Administrator Accounts

Adding a Fax Administrator

Use the following steps to add a Fax Administrator Account. This account is the special Fax mailbox that is used as a queue to hold subscribers' faxes that are waiting to be printed.

Note When you name a Fax Administrator Account, make it descriptive (e.g., include the server name or some indicator of the location of the FaxPrint application agent). When you add subscribers in uOne Administration, a descriptive name will help you choose the appropriate Fax Administrator Account.

Step 1 Access uOne Administration.

Step 2 Click on the Global Configuration button.

Step 3 Click on Add an Administrator.

Step 4 Enter the appropriate data in the input fields (Table 10-1).

Step 5 Click on Submit.

Step 6 To add another administrative account, repeat steps 3 through 5.

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Table 10-1: Add Fax Administrator Fields

Field Description Valid Values

Directory Server

The current directory server. System-generated entry.

This field cannot be modified.

Entry DN

Indicates where in the LDAP database this entry resides. The entry distinguished name (dn) of the administrator account entry.

Select a dn from the drop-down menu.

Full Name

A name for this administrator account. Should indicate what is unique about this account (e.g area code, city, gateserver name, etc.)

Up to 60 characters. Should not use spaces.

Given Name

Any name. Consider using the Full Name for consistency. This field is required for the LIP entry.

Up to 60 characters. Should not use spaces.

Last Name

Any name. Consider using the Full Name for consistency. This field is required for the LIP entry.

Up to 60 characters. Should not use spaces.

Telephone Number

A fictitious unique telephone number. This field is required because it is typically used as a key when searching for a mailbox.

4 - 15 digit number.

E-mail Address

An e-mail address for this administrator. This is the mailbox that holds faxes that are queued for printing.

This information is required when setting up the following parameter in the FaxPrint.ini file: FAXUser=<user id>.

The format is: <user id>@<domain name>.

E-mail Password

A password. This information is required when setting up the following parameter in the FaxPrint.ini file:
FAXPassword=<E-mail Password>.

Note The minimum and maximum length of this password is determined by the Class of Service (COS) assigned to this administrator.

The default password = abcd

Mail Server

Identifies the messaging server that contains this Fax Administrator mailbox. This information is required when you set up the following parameter in FaxPrint.ini: FaxHost=<MailServer>.

Select the appropriate the messaging server from the drop-down list box.

Title

Identifies the type of special administrator account.

Select Fax Administrator from the drop-down list box.

Mail Quota

Enter the maximum amount of disk space in bytes that will be available for this administrative account. This amount depends on the volume of mail handled and the amount of free disk space that is available on the messaging server.

Default=0 (unlimited disk space)

Class of Service DN

Identifies the Class of Service and distinguished name (dn) for the class of service to which this account belongs.

Select the appropriate COS DN from the drop-down menu.

Modifying a Fax Administrator Account

Step 1 Access uOne Administration.

Step 2 Click on the Global Configuration button.

Step 3 Click on Modify an Administrator.

Step 4 Select a search option from the drop-down list box. The options correspond to attributes in LDAP entries.

Step 5 Enter the data in the input field.

Step 6 Click on Search.

Step 7 Click on the appropriate Fax Administrator account, if necessary.

Step 8 Enter the appropriate data in the input fields (Table 10-1).

Step 9 Click on Submit.

Step 10 To modify another administrative account, repeat steps 3 through 9.

Deleting a Fax Administrator Account

Note You cannot delete a Fax Administrator that has subscribers assigned to it. Before you delete the Fax Administrator, you must delete the subscribers first. Then, you can create new subscriber entries and reassign those subscribers to another Fax Administrator, if necessary.

Step 1 Access uOne Administration.

Step 2 Click on the Global Configuration button.

Step 3 Click on Delete an Administrator.

Step 4 Select a search option from the drop-down list box. The options correspond to attributes in LDAP entries.

Step 5 Enter the data in the input field.

Step 6 Click on Search.

Step 7 Click on the appropriate Fax Administrator account, if necessary.

Step 8 Click on Delete.

Step 9 To delete another administrative account, repeat steps 3 through 8.

Administering the FaxPrint Application Agent

The FaxPrint application agent monitors a specific Fax Administrator mailbox for fax messages, and delivers those faxes to the appropriate fax machines. During initial system configuration, the Quick Configuration tool configures a single FaxPrint application agent. Use the following procedure to administer additional FaxPrint application agents.

Step 1 Go to the Gateserver to which you want to add the FaxPrint application agent.

Step 2 Type: cd $PARMLIB/apps/UM

Step 3 Create a new FaxPrint.ini file based on an existing file created via the Quick Configuration tool. Change the parameters as desired, most particularly the FaxUser, since each FaxPrint instance must operate against a dedicated Fax Administrator account (Table 10-2, Table 10-3, Table 10-4,Table 10-5):

Table 10-2: Phrase Variables Section Parameters

Parameter Description Valid Values

TmpPhraseDirectory

Phrase directory.

Valid phrase directory to store the temporary files created by the application. Set this parameter to the same directory as defined for the TmpPhraseDirectory parameter in UM.ini file.

Default =/home2/spmaster/r410/TNT/containers/scratch

Parameter	Description	Valid Values
TmpPhraseDirectory	Phrase directory.	Valid phrase directory to store the temporary files created by the application. Set this parameter to the same directory as defined for the TmpPhraseDirectory parameter in UM.ini file. Default =/home2/spmaster/r410/TNT/containers/scratch

Table 10-3: UMConfig Variables Section Parameters

Parameter Description Valid Values

AppRunMode

Application agent's running mode.

Static or Dynamic

Default = Dynamic

AudioSubType

Audio type. This parameter is used in creation of a VPIM message. The only value currently supported is wav, but when G726.1 encoding format is available on DSP cards, the applicable values will be extended.

Wav

Default = wav

InformationalLogging

Indicates whether event logging occurs, other than billing information. Information such as IMAP, LDAP, DTMF symbols will be logged. You can use this information to recreate user input to troubleshoot problems.

On or Off

Default = Off

MailProtocolDebug

IMAP and SMTP APIs debug information at the protocol level.

On or Off

Default = On

MailProtocolTimeout

Controls timeout for IMAP and SMTP responses. If MailProtocolTimeout is undefined or is set to 0, the timeout for such responses would be infinite.

Any reasonable number.

Unit is seconds.

Default=20

MailServer

This parameter is used to fine tune the application based upon the backend server characteristics. Currently, only two values are allowed.

Netscape or swc_mx51

Default = Netscape

Postmaster

Destination e-mail address for certain non-deliverable messages.

E-mail address of postmaster.

Default = N/A

SNAMode

Indicates whether or not Personal Access is enabled.

This parameter is not used for outbound fax service.

Enabled or Disabled.

Default = Enabled

TableDefinition

The table that defines the rest of the table in the application. This parameter should not be changed without consulting TAC.

Valid and existing table name. For example, Menus_define.tab.

Default = Menus_define.tab

TableInstance

The table that defines the instances of the tables specified in the TableDefinition. This parameter should not be changed without consulting TAC.

Valid and existing table name. For example, Menus_inst.tab.

Default = Menus_inst.tab

TimeOutValue

Application's time out value.

0 - 30

Default = 5

Parameter	Description	Valid Values
AppRunMode	Application agent's running mode.	Static or Dynamic Default = Dynamic
AudioSubType	Audio type. This parameter is used in creation of a VPIM message. The only value currently supported is wav, but when G726.1 encoding format is available on DSP cards, the applicable values will be extended.	Wav Default = wav
InformationalLogging	Indicates whether event logging occurs, other than billing information. Information such as IMAP, LDAP, DTMF symbols will be logged. You can use this information to recreate user input to troubleshoot problems.	On or Off Default = Off
MailProtocolDebug	IMAP and SMTP APIs debug information at the protocol level.	On or Off Default = On
MailProtocolTimeout	Controls timeout for IMAP and SMTP responses. If MailProtocolTimeout is undefined or is set to 0, the timeout for such responses would be infinite.	Any reasonable number. Unit is seconds. Default=20
MailServer	This parameter is used to fine tune the application based upon the backend server characteristics. Currently, only two values are allowed.	Netscape or swc_mx51 Default = Netscape
Postmaster	Destination e-mail address for certain non-deliverable messages.	E-mail address of postmaster. Default = N/A
SNAMode	Indicates whether or not Personal Access is enabled. This parameter is not used for outbound fax service.	Enabled or Disabled. Default = Enabled
TableDefinition	The table that defines the rest of the table in the application. This parameter should not be changed without consulting TAC.	Valid and existing table name. For example, Menus_define.tab. Default = Menus_define.tab
TableInstance	The table that defines the instances of the tables specified in the TableDefinition. This parameter should not be changed without consulting TAC.	Valid and existing table name. For example, Menus_inst.tab. Default = Menus_inst.tab
TimeOutValue	Application's time out value.	0 - 30 Default = 5

Table 10-4: LDAPConfig Variables Section Parameters

Parameter Description Valid Values

LDAPBindDn

The dn of the authority to bind to the directory, and to have sufficient privilege to perform all the operations that FaxPrint requests.

Default = cn=Directory Manager

LDAPDnPassword

The e-mail password (in other words, the IMAP password) of the above authority.

The password of LDAPBindDn

Default = N/A

LDAPhost

The name of the centralized directory server that the uOne system uses.

Valid machine name

Default = N/A

LDAPport

The port on which slapd (LDAP daemon) is running on the centralized server.

Valid port number, for example, 389.

Default = 389

LDAPsearchbase

Entry DN below which all entries that will be accessed reside. Use this parameter to restrict and/or partition the directory server from the prospective FaxPrint. In a large-scale directory setting, an appropriate search base will improve performance.

Top of the directory

Default =

o=Organization

LDAPTimeout

Controls timeout for LDAP calls. If LDAPTimeout is undefined or is set to 0, the timeout for LDAP calls would be infinite.

Any reasonable number. Should be set to a high value to avoid FaxPrint failure.

Unit is seconds.

Default=10

Parameter	Description	Valid Values
LDAPBindDn	The dn of the authority to bind to the directory, and to have sufficient privilege to perform all the operations that FaxPrint requests.	Default = cn=Directory Manager
LDAPDnPassword	The e-mail password (in other words, the IMAP password) of the above authority.	The password of LDAPBindDn Default = N/A
LDAPhost	The name of the centralized directory server that the uOne system uses.	Valid machine name Default = N/A
LDAPport	The port on which slapd (LDAP daemon) is running on the centralized server.	Valid port number, for example, 389. Default = 389
LDAPsearchbase	Entry DN below which all entries that will be accessed reside. Use this parameter to restrict and/or partition the directory server from the prospective FaxPrint. In a large-scale directory setting, an appropriate search base will improve performance.	Top of the directory Default = o=Organization
LDAPTimeout	Controls timeout for LDAP calls. If LDAPTimeout is undefined or is set to 0, the timeout for LDAP calls would be infinite.	Any reasonable number. Should be set to a high value to avoid FaxPrint failure. Unit is seconds. Default=10

Table 10-5: Fax Section Parameters

Parameter Description Valid Values

FAXConfigFile

Filename for FAXFile, which is reserved for future use.

Valid filename existing in $PARMLIB/apps/UM directory. For example, FAXFile.

Default = FAXFile

FAXHost

IMAP host name used by this FaxPrint instance. uOne does not use this parameter, but FaxPrint needs it.

IMAP host name for FaxPrint application.

Default = N/A

FAXInactivityTimeout

InactivityTimeout value passed to CMA before receiving a fax.

0 - 30000
0 indicates no timeout

Default = 0

FAXNumberOfRetries

Number of failed attempts for each fax. Used by FaxPrint only.

1 - 10

Default = 3

FAXPassword

Password for faxadmin user used by the FaxPrint application agent. UM does not use this parameter, only FaxPrint does.

Password for faxadmin user.

Default = N/A

FAXRetryFolder

Name of the folder within the Fax Administrator account where failed faxes are sent. Used by FaxPrint only.

Valid IMAP folder name.

Default = faxretry

FAXRetryMode

Indicates whether FaxPrint should attempt retries. Used by FaxPrint only.

Enabled or Disabled

Default = Enabled

FAXRetryTimeout

Number of seconds between retries of failed faxes.

1-10000

Default=300

FAXRunMode

Indicates whether FaxPrint runs in static or dynamic mode.

Used by FaxPrint only. Currently only supports Static.

Static

Default = Static

FAXSendperPageTimeout

This parameter is used to calculate the SMTP send timeout only for sending faxes via the off ramp gateway. It will be calculated in FaxPrint based on the size of the fax/e-mail message.

Default=120

Unit is seconds.

FAXSleepTime

Number of seconds between FaxPrint processing cycles.

1-10000

Default=30

FaxSubType

File type for fax files. This parameter is used to create VPIM messages and should not be changed without consulting TAC.

tif

Default = tif

FAXUser

User ID for the Fax Administrator used by this FaxPrint instance.

A valid User ID.

Default = N/A

ModemCard

Indicates the type of modem card in the Gateway. The type of card affects status code processing.

Microcom

MICA

Default=N/A

SMTPHostSection

Provides the off ramp gateway to use for a given fax number.

Valid section label from the DialMap.ini file.

Default=GWHOSTS

EnvelopeFrom

Used to set the From field when sending a fax to a fax machine.

billing_number

email

Default=billing_number

Parameter	Description	Valid Values
FAXConfigFile	Filename for FAXFile, which is reserved for future use.	Valid filename existing in $PARMLIB/apps/UM directory. For example, FAXFile. Default = FAXFile
FAXHost	IMAP host name used by this FaxPrint instance. uOne does not use this parameter, but FaxPrint needs it.	IMAP host name for FaxPrint application. Default = N/A
FAXInactivityTimeout	InactivityTimeout value passed to CMA before receiving a fax.	0 - 30000 0 indicates no timeout Default = 0
FAXNumberOfRetries	Number of failed attempts for each fax. Used by FaxPrint only.	1 - 10 Default = 3
FAXPassword	Password for faxadmin user used by the FaxPrint application agent. UM does not use this parameter, only FaxPrint does.	Password for faxadmin user. Default = N/A
FAXRetryFolder	Name of the folder within the Fax Administrator account where failed faxes are sent. Used by FaxPrint only.	Valid IMAP folder name. Default = faxretry
FAXRetryMode	Indicates whether FaxPrint should attempt retries. Used by FaxPrint only.	Enabled or Disabled Default = Enabled
FAXRetryTimeout	Number of seconds between retries of failed faxes.	1-10000 Default=300
FAXRunMode	Indicates whether FaxPrint runs in static or dynamic mode. Used by FaxPrint only. Currently only supports Static.	Static Default = Static
FAXSendperPageTimeout	This parameter is used to calculate the SMTP send timeout only for sending faxes via the off ramp gateway. It will be calculated in FaxPrint based on the size of the fax/e-mail message.	Default=120 Unit is seconds.
FAXSleepTime	Number of seconds between FaxPrint processing cycles.	1-10000 Default=30
FaxSubType	File type for fax files. This parameter is used to create VPIM messages and should not be changed without consulting TAC.	tif Default = tif
FAXUser	User ID for the Fax Administrator used by this FaxPrint instance.	A valid User ID. Default = N/A
ModemCard	Indicates the type of modem card in the Gateway. The type of card affects status code processing.	Microcom MICA Default=N/A
SMTPHostSection	Provides the off ramp gateway to use for a given fax number.	Valid section label from the DialMap.ini file. Default=GWHOSTS
EnvelopeFrom	Used to set the From field when sending a fax to a fax machine.	billing_number email Default=billing_number

Administering the Schedule Table for FaxPrint

A single FaxPrint application agent entry is added to the Schedule.<hostname> file during the initial configuration of your system. The following procedure shows how to manually set up additional FaxPrint application agent entries in the Schedule file.

Step 1 Go to the Gateserver where the FaxPrint application agent instance should reside and type:

cd $PARMLIB/parms/APP

Step 2 Add the following information to the Schedule.<hostname> file:

STATIC_NOWAIT 100 1 1 1 * * FaxPrint UM/FaxPrint <FaxPrint>.ini
where <FaxPrint> is the unique name of an ini file for this instance only

Step 3 If the system is operational and you are reloading changes to an existing FaxPrint instance, you must stop the application first.

Type: kill <PID>
where <PID> is the process ID of the FaxPrint application instance that you want to stop

Step 4 Reload the schedule table. Type:

umcli
reload sched all

Table of Contents

Administering Outbound Fax