Switchvox SMB 4.0 Overview - Starnet Data Design, Inc

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2659 Townsgate Rd, #227 

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Phone: 805.371-0585 

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PHOENIX –AZ 

11022 N. 28 th Dr, # 205 

Phoenix, AZ 85029 

Phone: 480.421-9217 

AZ Toll Free: 866.477.4450 

DIGIUM ANNOUNCES SWITCHVOX 

RELEASE 4.0 

New Features Overview 

Digium’s push for the 4.0 release is unifying communications. Towards this 

goal, a number of new, major capabilities have been introduced into 

Switchvox. These major capabilities center upon fax, chat, presence, and 

making Switchvox web-aware. By web aware, we mean that your Switchvox 

PBX can be integrated with web applications – custom Switchboard panels 

send caller data to web applications and show you the results before you 

even pick up the call, IVR tools let you pass data and sound files back and 

forth to web applications, and an API allows interaction with Switchvox 

without interfacing with its GUI. 

The following sections will provide a brief overview of each of the new 

feature areas of Switchvox SMB 4.0. 

Fax Support: 

If everyone else says fax is dead, why is it still so critical to your business? 

Switchvox SMB has always been great at handling your voice 

communication, now SMB 4.0 is great and handling your fax communication. 

Switchvox SMB 4.0 supports the termination of PSTN fax using Digium 

telephony boards and T.38 fax from T.38-capable endpoints or service 

providers. Fax calls received by Switchvox work like any other incoming call 

with normal call rules. When Switchvox detects that your call contains a 

Fax, it is turned into an image file and deposited in a personal IMAP mailbox. 

From there, you can easily retrieve your faxes with Outlook or any other 

IMAP client. 

When you want to send a fax, just click “print” from any application. 

Switchvox provides a generic printer driver that allows you to print your file 

to Switchvox in preparation for faxing. When you are ready to send the fax, 

log into your User portal and tell Switchvox where to send the fax. Simple. 

Every copy of Switchvox SMB 4.0 comes with one included channel of Fax. 

This means that Switchvox can receive or send one PSTN or one T.38 fax at 

a time. Most users who primarily send faxes will only need this one channel 

– because Switchvox can queue up outbound faxes. For users that need 

more capacity, additional channels of fax capacity can be purchased. 

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Video Calling: 

Would your customers rather see you when they are talking to you? Would your chief executive like to 

see a prototype of the Super Widget 3000 instead of just hearing about it? Is video the future of your 

communications? If it is, then Switchvox SMB 4.0 is your answer. 

With the 4.0 release, Switchvox SMB now supports video calling. Using one of our supported video 

hard phones or video soft phones, you can make point-to-point video calls across your data network. 

Switchvox SMB 4.0 supports video calling in the H.264 and H.263 codecs and works with a number of 

video clients including the Grandstream GXV 3000 desk phone, and the Counterpath Bria and 

eyeBeam soft clients. 

Chat Support: 

Sometimes, talking is overrated. When it is, Switchvox 4.0 can help. New in Switchvox 4.0 is support 

for instant message chatting. Users of Switchvox now have the option to connect their XMPPcompatible 

chat clients directly to Switchvox. When they do, those users will be able to chat directly 

with other users of the phone system and see their presence information. 

Users without their own XMPP clients can also take advantage of Switchvox Chat. Switchvox 

Switchboard now comes with a new chat panel that allows users to carry on IM conversations with 

other users, without having to install any additional software on their computers, and without creating 

additional hassle for the IT department. 

One of your sales people is in the middle of a tricky sales call and needs your help. With Switchvox 

4.0’s integrated chat feature, the sales person checks your presence: “At my desk and ready to 

assist;” sends you a message: “Are the new widgets Cerulean blue or Egyptian blue;” and you respond 

with: “Egyptian.” Case closed. 

Peered Presence: 

You have Sales staff in London, Miami, Vancouver and Auckland and you have no idea who is on the 

phone and why no one is answering. To assist, Switchvox SMB 4.0 allows you to see what your 

employees are doing when they are in a different office. To accomplish this, SMB 4.0 introduces 

Peered Presence. 

Peered Presence allows you, on your Switchvox system, to see the presence information and the oncall 

status of any other user on any other peered Switchvox system. Adding remote users is easy. 

Just add remote extensions to your Switchboard Phonebook or as Buddies in your XMPP chat client. 

Peering one Switchvox with another Switchvox to share presence information requires only a few 

mouse clicks on each of the systems. Do you, Switchvox in Miami, take Switchvox in Sydney to 

lawfully peer and receive your presence? We now pronounce your Presence Peered. 


Web Aware: 

Since its inception, Switchvox has been designed with the idea that a phone system needs to do more 

than talk to your phones – it needs to talk to the rest of your network, too. To make Switchvox SMB 

4.0 the world’s only web-aware phone system, SMB 4.0 introduces Switchvox Extend, an XML-based 

API, and a suite of IVR tools. 

Older releases of Switchvox SMB have included a call creation API that allows web services to remotely 

initiate calls. Switchvox SMB 4.0’s XML-based Extend API now gives you the ability to remotely 

interact with other areas of Switchvox. With Extend, you can access and retrieve call logs (including 

the full call path history of the call details field); call reports, and extensions lists in a simple XML 

format. Switchvox Extend also allows you to create new users and modify existing users 

programmatically, without using a web GUI. In future releases of Switchvox SMB 4.0, you can expect 

additional possibilities with Switchvox Extend that will make Switchvox even easier to manage and 

friendlier with your XML applications. 

One of the most powerful applications in Switchvox has been its easy to use IVR editor, and its ability 

to pass information, via XML, to remote web services. Now, Switchvox SMB 4.0 provides a new suite 

of advanced, web-aware IVR tools that enhance its capabilities and allow for more flexible call routing. 

New capabilities in the SMB 4.0 IVR tools are the abilities to: upload a sound to, or playback a sound 

retrieved from a remote web service; send a recorded sound directly to a voicemail Inbox; store a 

sound directly in the Sound Manager; merge multiple sounds into one sound; check a user’s password, 

perform math on variables, and concatenate variables. 

Tools that allow for more flexible call routing include the ability to: set global IVR variables that are 

persistent between calls, get an extension’s idle, ringing, and unavailable status, get an extension’s 

type (SIP, call queue, IVR menu, etc.); retrieve the internal extension that a caller last talked to; or 

cascade a call from an IVR (just as you would from the User portal). 

Switchboard: 

Switchboard is a web-based real-time call-control, portal, and web-services integrated user 

application. Switchvox SMB 4.0 introduces two new Switchboard panels and offers many 

improvements to the existing panels. 

Switchboard’s new directory panel makes life easier for anyone who works in a company that has 

more extensions then you can remember. With the new directory panel, you can simply start typing 

the name of the person you’d like to find, and a sorted list will narrow itself as you type. The directory 

panel makes it easy to find and call any contacts that are not already in your phonebook panel. 

Switchboard’s new chat panel allows IM-based communication with any user on your local Switchvox 

or any peered Switchvox. You have a customer on the phone with a question you cannot answer? 

Just send a quick chat message to the person who can answer. Want to ask someone if they have 

time for a phone call? Now you can do so without actually calling them. Switchvox chat panel means 

that you do not need a separate chat server on your network, nor do you need to put your private 

company chat messages on a public chat network. 


Users in larger companies found a single phonebook panel inconvenient. Adding too many users made 

the panel large and hard to navigate and there was no good way to sort users of different types. 

Switchvox SMB 4.0 now allows for the creation of multiple phonebook panels. Make one for Sales, one 

for Support, and one for your office in Dubai. Save space on your monitor by collapsing the panels 

that you are not using but still get quick access to everyone you need. 

Have a contact with multiple numbers? Prior to Switchvox SMB 4.0, you had to create multiple 

phonebook entries for each number. Now, you can tell Switchvox about your mobile, home, vacation, 

or your secretary’s number; you can choose to whom you want to expose those additional contact 

numbers; and you can even use those additional numbers as drop targets for drag-and-drop call 

transfers. Additional numbers are easily accessible from a drop-down button displayed for each 

contact in your phonebook panel. 

The phonebook panel in Switchvox SMB 4.0 also provides additional buttons for barge and whisper. 

Prior to SMB 4.0, the only way to toggle between barge and whisper mode when monitoring a call was 

with the DTMF keys on your phone. Now, Switchvox SMB 4.0 allows you one-click control over barge 

and whisper, direct from the phonebook panel. 

Also new in the Switchboard is an updated Queues panel. The new Queues panel allows users to login 

or logout of individual Queues with the click of a mouse – rather than the SMB 3.5 behavior that 

required users to dial-in to login or logout and acted globally on all Queues of which a user was a 

member. Further, users may now pause and unpause themselves inside a Queue, to momentarily 

stop receiving calls without logging out; and, users may provide a reason for their pause state (Out to 

lunch, Running an Errand, etc.). 

Voicemail Enhancements: 

Switchvox SMB 4.0 offers new voicemail enhancements – for administrators and for users – as well as 

an integrated IMAP server. For administrators, two enhancements are provided. The first 

enhancement allows for the setting of mailbox (voicemail and fax) quotas at the user and group level. 

The administrator can define the amount of disk space allocated to a user or group in order to prevent 

someone from consuming too much space. The second enhancement is an administrative view into 

the actual consumption (in megabytes) that your users are using for their voicemails and faxes. 

For users, a number of enhancements are available. Users may now set multiple voicemail greetings 

for when they are unavailable or busy. Previously, with Switchvox SMB 3.5, a user could only set one 

greeting for each. Now, with Switchvox SMB 4.0, a user can create any number of greetings (In a 

Meeting, Out of the Office, On Vacation) and simply choose the one they want callers to hear. Users 

may also customize multiple e-mail notifications: new support for HTML-based e-mail for normal 

clients, and setup short e-mails for notifications sent to mobile devices. 

New to Switchvox SMB 4.0 is also an integrated IMAP mail server. Each Switchvox user now has their 

own IMAP mailbox integrated directly with Switchvox. Voicemail notifications and incoming faxes are 

routed directly to the mailbox. Now, when users read their e-mail notifications of voicemail, the 

message waiting indicator lights on their phones will turn off – no more having to also log into the 

Voicemail application to turn off the indicator. 


Queues: 

In addition to the updated Switchboard Queues panel allowing one-click login, logout for individual 

queues and the queue pause with reason capability, Switchvox SMB 4.0 also has new URL Manager 

events for queue login, logout, and pause. With these new event hooks, it is easy to build an external 

web application to notify you when your agents are spending too much time on pause. 

Switchvox Notifier: 

New in Switchvox SMB 4.0 is the Switchvox Notifier, a Windows desktop client for Switchvox. The 

Switchvox Notifier provides screen pop-ups on incoming calls, displays call history, and interacts with 

your Outlook contacts. The Switchvox Notifier allows easy forwarding of inbound calls to voicemail 

and also provides access to Switchboard, without having to load up a web browser, right from your 

Windows system tray. 

Bulk Extension Management: 

Prior to Switchvox SMB 4.0, adding large numbers of new extensions or modifying them in bulk was a 

time consuming task. Now, with Switchvox SMB 4.0, you will be able to save time and headache with 

the Bulk Extension Management tool. With this utility, you can create new or modify existing 

extensions just by uploading a comma separated value (CSV) file containing all of your extensions. 

Administrators, even those with no programming experience, can easily build a CSV of extensions and 

setup all of their users in a snap. 

Snom Phones: 

Switchvox 4.0 now supports Snom. Beginning with the 3.5 release of SMB, Switchvox supported the 

automated provisioning of Polycom brand VoIP telephones. New in Switchvox 4.0 is the additional 

capability of automated provisioning for Snom brand VoIP telephones. 

Switchvox makes provisioning of VoIP phones a simple process with its web based phone setup utility. 

Switchvox automatically discovers VoIP phones on the network and allows them to be configured and 

provisioned with just a few clicks of the mouse. Additionally, Polycom and Snom phones that are 

provisioned using Switchvox also have their directories automatically synchronized with the user’s 

phonebook to enable easy dialing of numbers directly from the phone. 

Switchvox 4.0 supports automated provisioning of Snom 3XX series and Polycom 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7- 

series SIP-compatible VoIP telephones. 

BRI Support: 

Switchvox 4.0 now supports BRI! In addition to its current support for analog FXS and FXO, Primary 

Rate E1 and T1, and SIP and IAX VoIP providers, the 4.0 release of Switchvox also provides support 

for Basic Rate ISDN. Switchvox 4.0 supports standard 4-wire S/T EuroISDN 2B+D Basic Rate 

Interface for TE (Point-to-Point and Point-to-Multi-Point) and NT (Point-to-Point). 


This support is accomplished with Digium’s B410P four-port BRI telephony card. The B410P, like other 

Digium interface cards, is automatically detected by Switchvox and is easily configured using the 

hardware setup page in the administrator web utility. Customers may use up to two B410P cards, 

providing up to 8 BRI circuits, in the Switchvox AA60 appliance or up to three B410P cards, providing 

up to 12 BRI circuits, in the Switchvox AA300 and AA350 appliances. 

6-Digit Extensions 

As customers of Switchvox grow larger, the need for additional digits in extensions becomes greater. 

Switchvox SMB 3.5 supported 3, 4, and 5 digit extensions. Now, in Switchvox SMB 4.0, 6-digit 

extensions are supported, too. 

Scheduled Reports 

Switchvox SMB 4.0 now includes the ability to run scheduled reports. Before, all reports had to be 

generated manually, whenever a user logged into the Switchvox admin utility and told Switchvox what 

report to run. Now, Switchvox can be configured to run reports based on a schedule that you provide; 

with the data that you want; output in HTML, XML, or Chart format; and e-mailed straight to your 

Inbox. No more remembering to log into Switchvox every day to see your agents productivity, now 

you can get an e-mail report whenever you want. 

Advanced Debugging: 

In order to provide customers with better tools for debugging problems that could not previously be 

diagnosed by customers, Switchvox SMB 4.0 now provides the ability to output SIP pcap logs, PRI 

debug messages and a viewer into the Asterisk console. 

Extras: 

Switchvox 4.0 also has a number of extras, not necessarily worth of their own category including: 

Reports based on inbound DIDs 

Security enhancements to help you create a more secure PBX 

Support for G.722 (HD Voice) 

Conference support for recording and playing back the names of the participants 

And a support expiration notification system, to let you know when your Switchvox system lapses its 

software updates and user support. 


Product Frequently Asked Questions / F.A.Q. 

Q: Switchvox 4.0 now supports automated provisioning for Polycom and Snom VoIP phones. Can 

any other brands of VoIP phones be used with Switchvox? 

A: Yes. Switchvox supports the SIP protocol and will generally work with any SIP-compatible VoIP phone; 

however, Digium does not conduct compatibility testing against Switchvox for phone brands other than 

Polycom or Snom. Digium does maintain partnerships with other phone vendors, as listed on Digium’s 

website in the Partners Directory. These vendor’s phones are tested against Asterisk and Asterisk Business 

Edition software and are very likely to work without fault when used with Switchvox. Phone vendors other 

than those listed here or on Digium’s Partners Directory have not been specifically tested by Digium. 

Phones other than Polycom or Snom phones cannot be automatically provisioned by the Switchvox Phone 

Setup tool. Customers using other phones must configure them according to the manufacturer of the phone. 

Switchvox only supports SIP endpoints – telephones or ATAs. Switchvox is not compatible with IAX, H.323, 

MGCP, SCCP, or Unistim endpoints. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 support new Polycom SoundPoint IP VoIP phones made available 

since SMB 3.5 was released? 

A: Yes. Switchvox SMB 4.0 supports all Polycom SoundPoint IP VoIP phones that have been released after 

the release of SMB 3.5 last year. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0’s automated phone provisioning support the Electronic Hookswitch 

capability of Polycom firmware 3.x? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0’s automated phone provisioning does not support the Electronic Hookswitch 

capability of newer Polycom firmware. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 allow customization of the logo displayed on phones that are 

configured using the automated phone provisioning utility? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0’s automated phone provisioning pushes Digium’s Switchvox logo to Polycom 

phones. It does not provide any logo to Snom phones. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0’s automated phone provisioning support provisioning different 

languages or time formats to phones? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0’s automated phone provisioning does not provide the capability to change the 

language or time format provisioned to the phone. 

Q: With Switchvox SMB 4.0, can I use the presence settings available via my Polycom VoIP phone 

to set my presence on Switchvox? 


A: No. Changing the preference settings directly on a VoIP phone does not publish those settings back to 

Switchvox. Switchvox is unable to use them or act based upon their setting. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 support different languages for its web interface? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 only provides its web interface in English. 

Q: Can I upgrade my Switchvox SMB 3.5 system to Switchvox SMB 4.0? 

A: Yes. If you maintain active User and Software Maintenance Subscriptions for your system, you can 

retrieve the update to 4.0 from the “Updates” page in the “Machine Admin” section of the Switchvox web 

interface. Access to the update requires connection to the Internet. Customers who do not maintain active 

User and Software Maintenance Subscriptions may purchase entitlements from their Reseller. 

Updating from SMB 3.5 to 4.0 requires that your Switchvox system be rebooted to finish the process. 

Rebooting your system will drop all active calls and completely restart the hardware. Digium recommends 

that customers perform the update during a maintenance window, not when calls are active. 

Q: Can I upgrade a Switchvox SMB system prior to 3.5 to Switchvox SMB 4.0? 

A: Yes. Switchvox systems beginning with release 3.0 may be upgraded directly to SMB 4.0 with a singleclick. 

Switchvox SMB systems prior to 3.0 must be upgraded to 3.0 first. 

Q: Will upgrading to SMB 4.0 modify any of my existing configurations such as my IVRs, Queuing, 

or other Call Routing? 

A: No. Upgrading to SMB 4.0 will not modify any of your existing call flow logic for IVRs, Queuing, or other 

call routing. Your system should function just as it did before the upgrade. 

Q: Will there be new versions of Switchvox SOHO and Switchvox Free? 

A: Digium has plans to introduce updated versions of both Switchvox SOHO and Switchvox Free in the 

future. 

Q: SMB 4.0 now supports Fax and includes one free Fax channel. How can I purchase more? 

A: Digium believes that for most customers, a single channel of Fax support will be sufficient. Switchvox 

SMB 4.0 includes one free channel of simultaneous V.17 Fax support. For general outbound faxing use, this 

will not be an issue because Switchvox can queue up outbound faxes and send them one at a time. 

Customers requiring multiple simultaneous inbound faxes should purchase additional Fax For Asterisk channel 

licenses. These licenses are available from your Digium reseller and function in much the same way as 

licenses of G.729 or HPEC. Switchvox does not support Free Fax For Asterisk channel licenses. 

In earlier releases of Switchvox SMB, G.729 key management was performed on the “Updates” page of the 

“Machine Admin” section of the Administration web tool in a section called “G729 Support.” New to Switchvox 


SMB 4.0 is a dedicated page called “Digium Add-on Products,” also in the “Machine Admin” section. This page 

is a container for registration of all Digium Add-on Products including G.729, HPEC, and Fax products. 

Q: Now that Switchvox supports Fax, I would like to use it as a Fax server for high volume Fax 

applications. Is this a good idea? 

A: No, Switchvox was not designed as a high volume Fax server. Switchvox is an advanced, easy to use 

phone system that provides support for Faxes in a way that we think is useful for most businesses, not in a 

way that is useful for a high volume Fax server. Further, terminating Fax calls is very resource intensive and 

running even moderate numbers of Fax calls simultaneously can seriously impact the performance of the 

hardware running Switchvox. If you need a high volume Fax server, there are a number of companies that 

sell such products. 

Q: Can I use a separate DID number for Fax calls? 

A: Yes. You can use a separate DID number for Fax calls. In order to receive those Fax calls, you will need 

to direct that DID number to a Switchvox extension (real, or virtual). 

Q: Is the Fax support in Switchvox SMB 4.0 T.38 compatible? 

A: The Fax support in Switchvox SMB 4.0 is for T.30 faxing. It supports non-relay V.17 speed fax to TDM 

and to T.38 endpoints. It does not support T.38 relay. It is not possible to receive a T.38 fax from a VoIP 

provider and relay it to the PSTN via TDM. 

Q: Can I use an external Hard Drive for additional storage for faxes, voicemails, or other? 

A: No. Received fax images and voicemails are stored locally on your Switchvox installation. 

Q: Using Switchvox SMB 4.0’s fax capability, can I send an e-mail with an attachment that 

Switchvox will then fax to a destination? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 allows users to print a document, using a generic printer driver, directly to 

Switchvox – as though it was any other printer on your network. Once the document it printed to Switchvox, 

the user then logs into the Switchvox User portal and tells Switchvox where to send the Fax. 

Q: What operating systems can print faxes to Switchvox from the desktop? 

A: Switchvox presents itself as a network print server and can be printed to from Windows, Mac OS X, or 

Linux. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 allow me to use the same DID for a person so that they can receive 

voice and fax calls? 


A: Yes. Switchvox SMB 4.0 allows you to use one DID for a person. If they receive a voice call, their phone 

will ring. If they receive a fax call, they will receive the fax in their Switchvox IMAP mailbox. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 have a Switchboard panel for faxes? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not have a panel in Switchboard that provides information about or control 

over faxes. Incoming faxes are deposited directly in your Switchvox IMAP mailbox. Outgoing faxes are 

controlled via the Switchvox user portal web interface. 

Q: Switchvox SMB 4.0 has a built-in IMAP server. Can I bypass that and instead have Switchvox 

send my e-mail notifications to an SMTP relay instead? 

A: Yes. You can use the IMAP server, send the e-mails to an SMTP relay, or use both. Note that when you 

send notifications to an SMTP relay that Switchvox will not know when you check your e-mail in your e-mail 

client. Switchvox cannot control your message-waiting indicator unless you read e-mail messages directly 

from its IMAP server. 

Q: Can I connect IMAP clients other than Outlook to Switchvox SMB 4.0? 

A: Yes. Any regular IMAP client should connect to Switchvox SMB 4.0 just fine. 

Q: Does the new Company Directory panel in SMB 4.0’s Switchboard work across different 

installations of Switchvox SMB? 

A: No. The company directory panel works only for your local instance of Switchvox. It is not able to 

retrieve directory information from a peered Switchvox. 

Q: Are the additional contact entries for Phonebook entry, such as Home, Mobile, etc. draggable 

handles? 

A: Yes. If you use the Plus key to expand a phonebook entry such that you can see their entry for Home 

Phone, Mobile Phone, etc., then one can drag an active call onto that expanded entry to transfer the call 

there. 

Q: Now that Switchvox SMB 4.0 supports multiple phonebooks, can I choose which phonebook is 

published to my VoIP phone’s directory? 

A: Yes. When creating your phonebooks, you can choose which one is published to the directory button of 

your VoIP phone. 

Q: Are Switchvox SMB 4.0 phonebooks shared across peered Switchvox systems? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not share phonebooks across peered Switchvox systems. A user on one 

system cannot use the phonebook of a user on another system as their personal phonebook. Each user on 

each system maintains their own phonebooks. Each user is capable of adding phonebook entries of users 

that are on Switchvox systems peered with their own Switchvox system. 


Q: Does the Switchvox SMB 4.0 Switchboard phonebook panel provide a video window for video 

calls? 

A: No. Switchboard does not provide a video window or panel for video calling. Video calling through 

Switchvox takes place through supported video-capable SIP clients. 

Q: Does the MeetMe conferencing application in Switchvox support video? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not support video transcoding and thus does not support the mixing of 

video calls inside of the MeetMe conferencing application. 

Q: When using the bulk creation tool for extensions, can all extension types be added? 

A: Yes. When using the bulk creation tool for extensions, all extension types that Switchvox normally 

recognizes can be added. 

Q: When using the bulk creation tool for extensions, can I download a CSV of all current 

extensions – so that I can modify it and then re-upload it? 

A: No. The bulk creation tool does not allow you to download the current extensions. Instead, if you begin 

from a CSV file, you can modify your CSV file and then upload it into the tool to affect changes to the 

extensions on the system. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 support SNMP traps and alarms? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not provide support for SNMP. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0’s support for the peering of presence across systems mean that one 

can also centrally manage multiple Switchvox installations from one interface? 

A: No. The peering capabilities of SMB 4.0 do not extend to multi-site management from a single 

administrative console.’ 

Q: When peering Switchvox, can I share a single call parking lot between two peered systems? 

A: No. A parking lot cannot be shared between two peered Switchvox systems. 

Q: Can I use Switchboard to record calls that are taking place on a peered Switchvox? 

A: No. Though you can see that one of your contacts on a peered Switchvox is on a call, the call cannot be 

recorded using Switchvox one-click Switchboard call record button. 

Q: Is there a hard limit to the number of Switchvox systems that can be peered? 

A: No. There is no hard limit to the number of Switchvox systems that can be peered. You will find that you 

can generally peer as many as you want, within reason. 


Q: I created custom Switchboard panels in SMB 3.5, will I need to make any changes when I 

upgrade to SMB 4.0? 

A: No. Custom Switchboard panels that you built in SMB 3.5 will continue to work exactly the same after 

you upgrade to SMB 4.0. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 support Digium’s TC400B VoIP transcoding card? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not support Digium’s TC400B VoIP transcoding card. All transcoding in 

Switchvox SMB 4.0 is performed in software and users desiring G.729 transcoding should purchase licenses 

for Digium’s G.729 software codec. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 support BRI for video calling? 

A: No. Switchvox supports BRI for voice calling, not for video calling. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 provide e-mail based reporting of trunk state? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not send automated e-mails when trunks change state, e.g. trunk down, 

trunk up. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 provide e-mail notifications for brute force login attempts? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not provide e-mail notifications for brute force login attempts. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 support SIP TLS? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not support SIP TLS. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 support speech recognition (speech-to-text)? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not support speech recognition. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 support synchronizing its users/extensions with an LDAP server? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not retrieve its users and extensions from an LDAP server. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 export, from Call Logs, the Call Detail field to spreadsheet format? 

A: No. However, the contents of the Call Detail field can be retrieved using the Switchvox Extend XML API. 

Q: How can I connect Switchvox SMB to a Microsoft SQL server for something like an account 

balance checker? 

A: You can use the Send Call Values to URL action in the IVR editor to send an account number to a remote 

XML-based web service (that you program) and receive back data into variables that Switchvox can use. 


Q: Can I use the new presence tools in the IVR editor to build a presence-based 

Findme/Followme? 

A: Yes. You can use the new presence tools to build a Findme/Followme; however the controls for this do 

not occur inside of the user panel, they are only in the IVR editor. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 log chat conversations? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not log chat conversations. Users wanting to log chat sessions should use an 

XMPP client capable of performing such logging at the client level. 

Q: Does the Switchvox Notifier have a chat client? 

A: Yes. The Switchvox Notifier embeds a running instance of Switchboard, from which you can use the 

standard chat panel. 

Q: Does the Switchvox Notifier perform a screen popup for calls other than those destined for the 

user running the client? 

A: No. The Notifier performs a screen popup for calls directed to the user running the client. The Notifier 

does not, for example, do a popup for a Queue call that is not being directed to an agent other than the 

person running the Notifier. 

Q: Does the Switchvox Notifier work in Linux? 

A: Currently, the Switchvox Notifier application is for Windows only. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 on an AA60, AA300 or AA350 allow access to a null modem via the 

serial port? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not provide a null modem across the serial port of the Appliance or PC on 

which it is running. 

Q: Can Switchvox SMB 4.0 be run on all of the current Switchvox Appliances – the AA60, AA300, 

and AA350? 

A: Yes. Switchvox SMB 4.0 is supported on all of the current Switchvox Appliances – the AA60, AA300, and 

AA350. Switchvox SMB will also work on older Switchvox hardware, including the Tower and the AA350NR. 

Q: What version of Asterisk is used in Switchvox SMB 4.0? 

A: The version of Asterisk used in Switchvox SMB 4.0 is derived from the 1.4 release of Asterisk. 

Q: Can multiple agents log in using the same credentials at different times and be tracked in the 

reports as different agents? 


A: No. If agents use the same login credentials, then they will be tracked as one agent in the reports. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 support IAX endpoints? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 supports SIP endpoints (VoIP phones and ATAs) as well as analog extensions 

provided by station modules on Digium analog telephony cards. IAX is supported only for VoIP trunks to 

service providers or other Switchvoxes. 

Q: Is presence maintained after a user closes their Switchboard? 

A: If a user is only connected via the Switchboard, then their presence will no longer be captured once 

Switchboard is closed. If a user is connected via an XMPP client, then their presence can be captured as long 

as the XMPP client is running on their computer. 

Q: Can I combine the video stream from a computer webcam with the voice stream from a 

desktop VoIP phone to make a video call through Switchvox? 

A: No. Making video calls through Switchvox requires that you use a VoIP client that is also capable of 

Video. Switchvox cannot interact directly with a webcam on your PC. If you are using a webcam on your PC, 

then you will need to use a VoIP client on your PC that is capable of video calls and on Digium’s supported list 

of SIP video clients. 

Q: Can I load a list of commonly dialed external numbers into the company directory? 

A: No. Switchvox company directory contains only internal company extensions on the local Switchvox. An 

individual user can load external phone numbers into their personal phonebook. 

Q: Can the Switchvox SMB 4.0 IVR initiate a call based on an event? 

A: The Switchvox SMB 4.0 IVR cannot internally initiate a call based on an event. To initiate a call based on 

an event, Switchvox can use its URL Manager to send information to an external web service that then passes 

back actions for Switchvox to perform to the Switchvox call API. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 support hot-spare failover? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not support hot-spare failover. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 offer personal IVRs? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not offer personal IVRs directly, however the user portal does allow one to 

forward calls to another internal number, that could be an IVR. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 support call accounting? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not provide call accounting functionality. Switchvox leaves that 

responsibility up to the service provider. 


Q: When will the public Switchvox demo server be upgraded to SMB 4.0? 

A: The public-facing Switchvox demonstration server will be upgraded to SMB 4.0 when Switchvox SMB 4.0 

is made generally available. 

Q: What version of Asterisk is used by Switchvox SMB 4.0? 

A: Switchvox SMB 4.0 uses a version of Asterisk derived from the 1.4 code release. 

Q: What underlying Linux distribution is used by Switchvox SMB 4.0? 

A: Switchvox SMB 4.0 uses a Fedora Core distribution of Linux. 

Q: With Switchvox SMB 4.0, can I apply permissions to allow call whisper, but not call monitor? 

A: No. Applying the call monitor permission capability to a user or a group provides monitor, barge, and 

whisper capabilities. Those capabilities are not controllable via individual permissions. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 use the AgentCallBackLogin or AddQueueMember functionality from 

Asterisk to control its agents? 

A: No. Switchvox has always used the real-time queue member capability of Asterisk instead of the 

AgentCallBackLogin or AddQueueMember functionality. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 support multiple LAN cards or VLAN tagging? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 supports the use of one LAN interface and does not provide vlan tagging 

capabilities. The placement of Switchvox on a particular VLAN should be controlled at the port-level on the 

Ethernet switch to which your Switchvox system is attached. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 offer a Spanish language sound pack? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not currently offer a Spanish language sound pack. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 support MFC/R2 for PSTN communications? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not support MFC/R2. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 require a license in order to use G.722 HD Voice? 

A: No. No license is required in Switchvox SMB 4.0 to use the G.722 audio codec, also known as “HD Voice.” 

This codec will only work though if your VoIP phone supports it. 


Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 come with a plugin to integrate with software products from 

Autotask? 

A: No. Switchvox SMB 4.0 does not include a plugin to integrate with software products from Autotask. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 provide command-line Linux access? 

A: No. As with all versions of Switchvox, SMB 4.0 does not provide direct command-line access to the 

underlying Linux operating system. 

Q: When my support expires, does the support expiration notice display to users, admins, or both, 

and can I turn off the notice? 

A: If your Switchvox support lapses, the support expiration notice will display to Admins, not to regular 

users. If you choose not to renew your support, the notification can be turned off. 

Q: How can I make Switchvox call me when I receive a voicemail? 

A: To make Switchvox call you when you receive a voicemail, you will need to use the URL manager 

capabilities of Switchvox and write an XML-based web service. Use the New Voicemail Event URL action to 

post information about the voicemail box (probably the number of the box) to a web service that you write. 

Then, have that web service determine who it should call and to what local extension on the Switchvox server 

should be directed using the call API. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 include support for Digium’s Skype For Asterisk? 

A: No. At the time of release of SMB 4.0, Skype For Asterisk is still in beta. Support for Skype inside of 

Switchvox will not occur until sometime after it has finished beta. 

Q: How can I transfer a call to a mobile phone and then get it back again to transfer it somewhere 

else? 

A: Switchvox prior to 4.0 allowed this capability inside of the user portal using the Call Cascade method. 

New in Switchvox SMB 4.0 is an IVR action for Call Cascade. Now, you can perform this capability directly 

from an IVR. 

Q: Does Switchvox SMB 4.0 provide raw CDR reports? 

A: Switchvox SMB 4.0 provides reports differently than Asterisk – they are not raw call details records as you 

know them in Asterisk. In Switchvox SMB 4.0, you can use Switchvox Extend to retrieve call reports in an 

XML format. From there, you can build an application to do any manipulation you like. 

Q: I sent a request for a new feature to features@switchvox.com and I do not see my feature in 

this new 4.0 release. Why? 


A: We use the e-mail address features@switchvox.com to collect suggestions for features and improvements 

to Switchvox from our customers. We read each and every submission. From the requests submitted, we 

attempt to make the best business decisions about what features we do add to the product. Sometimes, 

those decisions mean that we were not able to include your feature in this release, even if it was requested 

by many people. We absolutely value your opinion as our customer and we want to serve you as best we 

can. Please continue to send us suggestions, and we will continue to read and consider each and every one 

of them. 

Data Sheet: 

A product overview data sheet is embedded here: 

swvx_smb4.0_digium 

_web.pdf 

Digium Product Compatibility: 

Switchvox SMB 4.0 is compatible with the following Digium board products: 

TDM400P, Four port modular analog PCI 3.3/5.0V card (EOL, not supported in Switchvox Appliances) 

TDM410, Four port modular analog PCI 3.3/5.0V card 

AEX410, Four port modular analog PCI-Express x1 card 

TDM800, Eight port modular analog PCI 3.3/5.0V card 

AEX800, Eight port modular analog PCI-Express x1 card 

TDM2400, Twenty-four port modular analog PCI 3.3/5.0V card 

AEX2400, Twenty-four port modular analog PCI-Express x1 card 

TE110P, One span digital T1/E1/PRI PCI 3.3/5.0V card (EOL, not supported in Switchvox Appliances) 

TE120P, One span digital T1/E1/PRI PCI 3.3/5.0V card 

TE121, One span digital T1/E1/PRI PCI-Express x1 card 

TE122, One span digital T1/E1/PRI PCI 3.3/5.0V card 

TE205/TE207, Two span digital T1/E1/PRI PCI 5.0V card 

TE210/TE212, Two span digital T1/E1/PRI PCI 3.3V card 


TE220, Two span digital T1/E1/PRI PCI-Express x1 card 

TE405/TE407, Four span digital T1/E1/PRI PCI 5.0V card 

TE410/412, Two span digital T1/E1/PRI PCI 3.3V card 

TE420, Four span digital T1/E1/PRI PCI-Express x1 card 

B410P, Four span digital EuroISDN BRI PCI 3.3/5.0V card 

VPMADT032, Thirty-two channel hardware echo cancellation module 

VPMOCT064, Sixty-four channel hardware echo cancellation module 

VPMOCT128, One hundred and twenty-eight channel hardware echo cancellation module 

S110M, Single channel station (FXS) module 

S400M, Quad channel station (FXS) module 

X100M, Single channel trunk (FXO) module 

X400M, Quad channel trunk (FXO) module 

* Please note that not all Digium board products are compatible in all Switchvox Appliances. 

Please refer to information about a Switchvox Appliance to confirm compatibility with a particular 

Digium board. 

Switchvox SMB 4.0 is not compatible with the following Digium board products: 

TC400B, VoIP Transcoding PCI 3.3/5.0V card for 120 G.729a or 92 mixed channels of G.729a/G.723.1 

Switchvox SMB 4.0 is compatible with the following Switchvox Appliances: 

Switchvox SMB Tower (EOL) 

Switchvox SMB AA60 


Switchvox SMB AA350NR (EOL) 



Replaced Product and Upgrade Information: 

Switchvox SMB 3.5 has been fully replaced by Switchvox SMB 4.0. 

Once Switchvox SMB 4.0 is generally available according to the schedule outlined in this document, SMB 3.5 

will no longer be available as a new product offering. On the initial date of availability, SMB 4.0 will be 

available as a software update in the Updates section of the Administration web utility to existing customers 

of SMB 3.5 who maintain current User and Software Maintenance Subscriptions. 

Customers purchasing new Switchvox Appliances or new CD-ROM copies of Switchvox SMB at or around the 

time of the general availability of SMB 4.0 may find that their units were shipped with SMB 3.5 software. 

Customers who receive a new Switchvox Appliance or a Switchvox SMB CD-ROM loaded with SMB 3.5 

software should not return the product to Digium for update. These customers, whose User Subscriptions 

and Software Maintenance are only activated on initial setup and are thus good for 12 months, may, after 

registering their software, browse to the Updates section of the Administration web utility in order to retrieve 

the 4.0 update. 

Note that updating to 4.0, like all updates for all previous versions of Switchvox, does require Internet access 

in order to retrieve the new software. Also note that updating to 4.0 requires a system reboot to complete 

the update process. A system reboot will drop any active calls and completely restart the system. 

Updating from SMB 3.5 to SMB 4.0 is not mandatory. Digium, however, continuously works forward in its 

development and will not continue to develop the SMB 3.5 line with bug fixes or new features. Customers 

who contact Digium support with technical issues related to SMB 3.5 may be asked to update their systems to 

4.0 in order to resolve those issues. Customers who do not maintain active User and Software Maintenance 

Subscriptions will need to purchase those entitlements in order to access SMB 4.0 updates.

Switchvox SMB 4.0 Overview - Starnet Data Design, Inc

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