Table Of Contents

Integrating a Fax Server with Cisco Unity

Overview: Fax Server Integration

Fax Server Integration

Fax Server Administration

Task List: Integrating a Fax Server

How Subscribers Manage Fax Messages

Integrating a Fax Server with Cisco Unity

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Overview: Fax Server Integration

Cisco Unity supports fax servers that have dedicated fax lines set up to the fax ports on the fax server. See the following sections for more information on fax server integrations:

•Fax Server Integration—This section describes how Cisco Unity and the fax server communicate, and how the fax server routes inbound and outbound fax messages.

•Task List: Integrating a Fax Server—This section outlines the setup steps for integrating a fax server with Cisco Unity.

•How Subscribers Manage Fax Messages—This section summarizes the tools that subscribers can use to manage fax messages, and describes how the fax server integration affects the ways in which subscribers send, receive, and view fax messages from their workstations.

Fax Server Integration

Cisco Unity supports fax servers that can install a Lotus Domino/Notes gateway and have dedicated fax lines set up to the fax ports on the fax server. A list of officially supported fax servers that you can use with Cisco Unity can be found in Cisco Unity System Requirements, and Supported Hardware and Software, available at http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/voice/c_unity/sysreq/40_sysrq.htm.

Cisco Unity communicates with Lotus Domino to access and send fax messages, and never interacts directly with the fax server. Lotus Domino and the fax gateway, if used by the fax server, provide the means for Cisco Unity and the fax server to communicate. If utilized, a fax gateway is registered with Lotus Domino to handle any message that includes "FAX" at the beginning of the message address. The gateway transfers outgoing fax messages from Lotus Domino to the fax server and converts the messages to a format that the fax server recognizes. Similarly, the gateway transfers and converts incoming fax messages.

Cisco Unity recognizes faxes in a subscriber mailbox by the origin or destination domain name. All fax servers that support Lotus Domino use a special domain name to which all faxes are routed, for example, Name@Company@FaxDomain. You identify the domain name that you want Cisco Unity to recognize during setup.

When a subscriber who has called and logged on to Cisco Unity wants a fax or e-mail message delivered to a fax machine, Cisco Unity sends the message to Lotus Domino by using the domain address defined during setup, for example, Name@FaxDomain. The fax gateway (if present) then forwards the message to the fax server. The fax server faxes the message through a fax port.

If attachments are included with a fax or an e-mail message that is sent to a fax machine, Cisco Unity sends only the attachments that match the list of file name extensions that were selected during setup. Most fax products support .dcx, .tif, and .txt files, and you can add other file extensions as needed that are supported by your fax gateway and fax server. If an attachment cannot be sent to the fax machine, the file name is printed at the bottom of the message.

Fax Server Administration

The fax server, not Cisco Unity, is responsible for routing inbound fax messages to a subscriber mailbox, and for managing and logging inbound and outbound fax messages. Additional functionality such as generating reports, and providing cover pages and least-cost routing, are controlled by the fax server, not Cisco Unity. The Cisco Unity Administrator is not used in any way to administer the fax server or the services provided by the fax server.

Task List: Integrating a Fax Server

If you already have a fax server installed and set up, skip the tasks below that do not apply.

1. Install the fax server by using the fax server manufacturer documentation.

The fax server software, fax cards (if used), and fax lines must be installed on the fax server, not on the Cisco Unity server.

2. Set up inbound fax routing. See the "To Set Up Inbound Fax Routing" procedure.

3. In the Cisco Unity Administrator, enter restriction table settings.

Modify the Default Fax Restriction Table, or create a new one, as needed. See the "Creating and Modifying Restriction Tables" section on page 25-3 for more information.

4. In the Cisco Unity Administrator, give subscribers proper COS rights to use FaxMail (as applicable).

Set FaxMail for those subscribers who access fax messages by phone.

Set both FaxMail and Text to Speech e-mail for those subscribers who want e-mail messages delivered to a fax machine. Also specify the restriction table used to control the phone numbers subscribers can use for fax delivery. Depending on how Cisco Unity subscriber accounts are set up, you may want to create a COS with one or both of these features, then reassign subscribers to the COS as applicable. See the "Class of Service Features Settings" section on page 14-10 for more information.

5. As needed, install a fax image viewer program on the subscriber workstation.

6. Test inbound fax routing to a subscriber.

Send a fax from a fax machine to the fax server and confirm that the fax message is routed to the mailbox of the intended recipient.

To Set Up Inbound Fax Routing

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Step 1 On the Cisco Unity desktop, double-click the Cisco Unity Tools Depot icon.

Step 2 In the left pane of the Tools Depot window, under Administrative Tools, double-click Third Party Fax Administration.

Step 3 Enter your fax domain, and confirm the file extensions allowed. Add other file extensions supported by the fax gateway, if applicable.

Step 4 Click Apply.

Step 5 Restart the Cisco Unity server for the changes to take effect.

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How Subscribers Manage Fax Messages

Integrating a fax server with Cisco Unity allows to subscribers to manage their fax messages by using the Cisco Unity tools (as applicable) listed in the following table. Note that in order for subscribers to manage fax messages over the phone, subscribers must be assigned to a class of service (COS) that has FaxMail enabled. All unified messaging subscribers, regardless of COS, can manage fax messages in their e-mail Inboxes.

Cisco Unity Phone Menus	Subscribers can hear new fax messages announced with other messages when they log on to Cisco Unity by phone. For fax messages, Cisco Unity plays only the message properties (for example, the sender, date, and time) and any voice annotation but not the contents of the fax message. Subscribers can forward a fax message to another subscriber (assuming the message is not marked private), or reply to a fax with a voice message if the fax message is from another subscriber. When subscribers also have COS rights to use Text to Speech, subscribers can have their fax messages delivered to a fax machine when they check messages by phone. If there are attachments to a fax message, Cisco Unity renders only those attachments with the file extensions specified during setup. Other types of attachments are removed, and Cisco Unity lists the file names at the end of the fax message.
Cisco Unity Assistant	Subscribers can receive notification of new fax messages by phone or pager. Although subscribers can enable a notification device by phone, they must use the Cisco Unity Assistant to do the following: •Set up Cisco Unity to notify them when a fax arrives. •Set up a notification schedule for the notification device that they choose.
Lotus Notes	Unified messaging subscribers can manage fax messages from their Lotus Notes Inboxes. The way in which subscribers view the contents of fax messages from their Lotus Notes Inboxes depends on the fax server that is integrated with Cisco Unity and the fax viewer program installed on the client workstation. For example, special icons may distinguish fax messages from other messages in the Lotus Notes Inbox. Subscribers may view the contents of a fax by using the fax viewer program provided with the fax server software, or when no viewer is provided, fax messages may appear as messages with attached .tif files that subscribers can open in a TIF viewer. The way in which subscribers address fax messages that they send from Lotus Notes also depends on the fax server. For example, some provide a form that subscribers can use to enter the recipient name and fax phone number. Subscribers can forward a fax message to another subscriber, or reply with a voice message if the fax message is from another subscriber, with the following limitation: Note When subscribers record an introduction or add any attachments to the body of a forwarded fax message, the Lotus Domino server resets the message type to e-mail. This causes Cisco Unity to be unable to recognize the forwarded message as a fax. Therefore, when the message is sent to another Cisco Unity subscriber, the forwarded message is not included in the fax message count when the recipient checks messages by phone, Cisco Unity phone menus do not present the recipient with the option to forward the message to a fax machine, and if set up, fax message notification does not work for the recipient. Subscribers can view fax messages only from their Lotus Notes Inboxes when the messages have been forwarded with attachments and/or with voice introductions.