Cisco BLF (Busy Lamp Field)

Contents

Introduction

How do I use the BLF function (Busy Lamp Field), Speed Dial, and Call Pickup in combination with the SPA962, SPA942, or SPA504G? In this article, we discuss the setup for our platform, and the information is often also applicable for Asterisk, trixbox, or freePBX. With BLF, you can see on your device if a certain extension is busy. The same buttons can also be used for Call Pickup (answering a call that is ringing for your colleague) and Speed Dial, to call this colleague with a single button press.

Configuration

Devices that can use BLF

Cisco SPA 942
Cisco SPA 303
Cisco SPA 5xxG + Cisco SPA 500s (attendant console)
Cisco SPA 962 + Cisco SPA 932 (attendant console)

Setting up BLF, SD, and CP on the SPA 962 or 504G with attendant console

Go to your device's IP address in your browser and click on admin in the top right, then click on advanced.
Go to the SPA932 / attendant console tab
Enter RFC3265_4235 for the Server Type value
For the SPA932 / attendant console Call Pickup Code, enter the value *8. This value is the same as the Asterisk General Call Pickup code configured in Asterisk. With FreePBX, this is set under Feature Codes.

Line key codes

Now you can enter the extensions to monitor under the different buttons (Key x:). The standard format is fnc=blf+cp+sd;sub=account_id@serverdomain;nme=name;vid=1

fnc=blf+cp+sd;sub=account_id@$PROXY;nme=naam;vid=1

The different values of the string explained:

fnc: stands for function. BLF = "Busy Lamp Field", SD = "Speed Dial" and CP stands for "Call Pickup".
sub: stands for the account you want to monitor. For example 123400038@$PROXY
vid: stands for the line to use. This is only applicable if you have multiple VoIP accounts in one device.
nme: stands for name and is only applicable with 500s or similar consoles.

The settings now look like this:

fnc=blf+cp+sd;sub=123400007@$PROXY;nme=Erwin;vid=1

Setting up BLF on the SPA 504, 303 & 942

Make sure your device has the latest firmware version. You can find this in the portal; go to VoIP accounts, and click on Provisioning, enter the IP address here and select the appropriate device.

Find out the IP address of the phone: you can find the IP address of the device by pressing the button under the envelope icon and then selecting option 9. The IP address will now be displayed on the screen.

Als het toestel up-to-date is, doe dan het volgende:

Ga met je browser naar het IP adres en klik rechts bovenin op admin en daarna op advanced.
Ga naar het tabblad Phone
Zet de waarde van Extension op Disabled.
Vul bij Short Name de naam weer die zal worden meegegeven in het display van het scherm.
Zet de Share Call Appearance op Shared.
Bij Extended Function kun je nu de Line key codes ingeven (zie de paragraaf Line key codes hierboven
Selecteer bij Server Type de waarde RFC3265_4235 en bij Call Pickup Code de waarde *8

Gefeliciteerd: BLF staat ingesteld.

The settings now look like this:

Onder Ext-1 in het toestel kan je de volgende instellingen gebruiken

The attendant console

The attendant console is very suitable for people who handle a lot of traffic for the organization and frequently transfer calls. Examples include secretaries or receptionists. You can connect up to two attendant consoles to one device.

2 companies 1 BLF console

If you have one receptionist who answers the phone for two companies, it's necessary to put a VoIP account in your device for each company. BLF works by default only for account 1. If you want to use BLF for other accounts, you need to indicate this using the following line:

fnc=blf+cp+sd;sub=123400007@$PROXY;vid=2

Here, vid=2 is the number of the extension where the VoIP account is configured.

Speed Dial

Do you want to set up an external number under a button of your BLF (speed dial)? Use the following line:

fnc=sd;ext=0501234567;nme=Extern

Line key as Speed Dial

It's also possible to use a line key as a speed dial button. To do this, log in to the web interface of the device. Then click on 'admin login' in the top right and then on 'advanced'. Next, go to the 'Phone' tab and choose which line key you want to adjust. Then change the following:

Change Extension to "disabled"
Share Call Appearance: "shared"
Extended function: Fill in the configuration rules as described above.

Finally, click on 'submit all changes'