System information

Also note that because the user needs to be able to transfer the calls to the parking lot
extension, you should make sure you’re using the t and/or T options to the Dial()
application.
So, let’s create a simple dialplan to show off call parking:
[incoming]
include => parkedcalls
exten => 103,1,Dial(SIP/Bob,,tT)
exten => 104,1,Dial(SIP/Charlie,,tT)
To illustrate how call parking works, say that Alice calls into the system and dials
extension 103 to reach Bob. After a while, Bob transfers the call to extension 700, which
tells him that the call from Alice has been parked in position 701. Bob then dials Charlie
at extension 104, and tells him that Alice is at extension 701. Charlie then dials exten-
sion 701 and begins to talk to Alice. This is a simple and effective way of allowing callers
to be transferred between users.
Conferencing with MeetMe()
Last but not least, let’s cover setting up an audio conference bridge with the MeetMe()
application.
#
This application allows multiple callers to converse together, as if they
were all in the same physical location. Some of the main features include:
• The ability to create password-protected conferences
• Conference administration (mute conference, lock conference, kick participants)
• The option of muting all but one participant (useful for company announcements,
broadcasts, etc.)
• Static or dynamic conference creation
Let’s walk through setting up a basic conference room. The configuration options for
the MeetMe conferencing system are found in meetme.conf. Inside the configuration
file, you define conference rooms and optional numeric passwords. (If a password is
defined here, it will be required to enter all conferences using that room.) For our
example, let’s set up a conference room at extension 600. First, we’ll set up the con-
ference room in meetme.conf. We’ll call it 600, and we won’t assign a password at this
time:
[rooms]
conf => 600
Now that the configuration file is complete, we’ll need to restart Asterisk so that it can
reread the meetme.conf file. Next, we’ll add support for the conference room to our
dialplan with the MeetMe() application. MeetMe() takes three arguments: the name of
#In the world of legacy PBXs, this type of functionality is very expensive. Either you have to pay big bucks for
a dial-in service, or you have to add an expensive conferencing bridge to your proprietary PBX.
218 | Chapter 10: Deeper into the Dialplan