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 an Exchange 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 Exchange to access and send fax messages, and never interacts directly with the fax server. Exchange 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 Exchange to handle any message that includes "FAX" at the beginning of the message address. The gateway transfers outgoing fax messages from Exchange 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 Exchange mailbox by the message class. Most fax servers that support Exchange use generic message classes such as IPM.FAX or IPM.Note.Fax, although some also use proprietary classes. You select the message classes that you want Cisco Unity to recognize during setup.

When a subscriber logs on to Cisco Unity by phone and wants a fax or e-mail message delivered to a fax machine, Cisco Unity sends the message to Exchange by using the address format [FAX:Name@FaxNumber]. Exchange checks all the gateways in the site for the one registered to handle faxes. 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. (Note, however, that the Cisco Unity Inbox only presents .tif files, even if you selected additional file name extensions 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. If the Cisco Unity server is the only Exchange server in the site, and your fax server uses a fax gateway, you can install the gateway 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 26-3 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 or the Cisco Unity Inbox.

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 14-11 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 Select your fax server from the drop-down list, and confirm the message classes and 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 or from the Cisco Unity Inbox, 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.
Cisco Unity Inbox	Subscribers can use the Cisco Unity Inbox to manage faxes when both of the following conditions are true: •A fax image viewer program must be installed on subscriber workstations. •The fax attachments are .tif files. To view the contents of a fax message, subscribers click the hyperlink provided, which starts the fax image viewer program installed on their workstations (the Cisco Unity Inbox does not present the content). Subscribers can forward a fax message to another subscriber (assuming the message is not marked private) in the same way that they forward voice messages, or reply to a fax with a voice message if the fax message is from another subscriber (though the fax attachment is not included in the message). Note that even with the fax option, subscribers cannot use the Cisco Unity Inbox to create and send faxes.
Microsoft Outlook	Unified Messaging subscribers can manage fax messages in their Outlook Inboxes. The way in which subscribers view the contents of fax messages from their Outlook 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 Outlook 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 Outlook 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 in the same way that they forward voice messages, or reply with a voice message if the fax message is from another subscriber. In the fax message, subscribers can use the buttons on the message toolbar to manage the message the same way that they handle e-mail messages.