Max outbound routes?

[benf]

I have a debt collection agency / law firm. They have basically one DID for every area code in the country. They are looking to see if they dial an area code they could use the trunk with the number that matches. We were looking at API options for this, or maybe just programming it one-time by creating 250 outbound 'routes' so if you dial 321xxxxxxx it will use the trunk with the 321 areacode for the CID. Since they own the numbers and its all registered it should all be legit they are highly regulated since its law and debt together.

Im just debating the capacity of making 200+ outbound routes one-time vs having someone make an API to handle it possibly.

Its a fairly large install across two offices so not sure how much resources we would have to add to process all those routes with 100 people dialing maybe at the same time.

 

[cobaltit]

It really shouldn't be resource intensive as computers are pretty good at number crunching And other than the initiall programming headache not much admin. I've never done enough outbound rules to hit a limit so I couldn't tell you if there is one but I would definitely say the outbound route is the 'safest' way as it would be immune to any potential changes in CFD or API requiring code changes.

Pinging @JohnS_3CX to see if there is a known limit on outbound rules.

 

[benf]

So I just hopped in to look at it. It looks like I would have to make an outbound trunk not an outbound route, unless maybe I can do strip/prepend into the CID from the 'route' . I thought for sure I could set it on the outbound route not trunk. Maybe back to the drawing board, any ideas appreciated.

 

[cobaltit]

Well you'd need both. A trunk to force the CID and then a route to send the calls out the trunk.

 

[benf]

Right so Id end up with 200+ siptrunks and 200+ routes to match. I guess Id have to ask the vendor if they support that many connections at once or if it even matters to them. In reality the trunks will just match the number of calls. I spoke with the vendor we normally use they called it local presence feature, so maybe they can just do it on the trunk side.

 

[cobaltit]

If you do IP authentication then they won't see it as 200 trunks

 

[benf]

Right on IP auth its only going to 'connect' when a call is initiated right?

 

[cobaltit]

Correct. Outbound calls are authorized at the provider level by IP address and inbound calls are sent by the provider to your IP address.

 

[JohnS_3CX]

No hard limit per se, should not be a problem. As long as the machine is within recommended specs and above, there should be no concern.

 

[VoIPTools]

We took a different approach. We change the extension's caller ID property using the 3CX Call Control API then place the call. No need for multiple trunks or outbound rules.

There are several different ways you could leverage this capability. We have a web page that allows the user to select the desired phone number to present as the outbound caller ID. Remember, because of number portability you can't assume that the contact's number matches where they live, so if you know where the customer lives, you can choose the right ID.

Alternatively, you could create a single-digit extension (this can be done with the API) so you simply dial "9" for example, and it transfers you to the CFD which prompts you for the desired number to call, then it makes decisions based on a CRM lookup (for example), then places the call for you.

While the above suggestions are not out-of-the-box features of 3CX, I did want to point out that there are lots of approaches you can take to control your outbound caller ID.