Building a Scalable Numbering Plan

Scalable Numbering Plan

This topic describes the need for a scalable numbering plan in a VoIP network.

Dial Plans

Dial plans contain specific dialing patterns for a user who

wants to reach a particular telephone number.

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Although most people are not acquainted with dial plans by name, they use them daily.

Example: Dial Plan Implementations

The North American telephone network is designed around a 10-digit dial plan that consists of
3-digit area codes and 7-digit telephone numbers. For telephone numbers that are located
within an area code, the PSTN uses a 7-digit dial plan. Features within a CO-based PBX, such
as Centrex, allow the use of a custom 5-digit dial plan for customers who subscribe to that
service. PBXs are more flexible and allow for variable-length dial plans containing 3 to 11
digits.
Dial plans contain specific dialing patterns for a user who wants to reach a particular telephone
number. Dial plans also contain access codes, area codes, specialized codes, and combinations
of the numbers of digits dialed.
Dial plans require knowledge of the customer network topology, current telephone number
dialing patterns, proposed router and gateway locations, and traffic-routing requirements. If the
dial plans are for a private internal voice network that is not accessed by the outside voice
network, the telephone numbers can be any number of digits.
Typically, companies that implement VoIP networks carry voice traffic within the least
expensive systems and paths. Implementing this type of system involves routing calls through
IP networks, private trunks, PBXs, key systems, and the PSTN. The numbering plan to support

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 the system is scalable, easily understood by the user, and transportable between all of the
system components. The use of alternate path components reduces instances of call failure.
Finally, the numbering plan conforms to all applicable standards and formats for all of the
systems involved.

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 Need for a Scalable Numbering Plan

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This figure illustrates a complex voice network that consists of the components discussed in
this topic. A comprehensive and scalable numbering plan must be well-planned and well-
implemented on networks such as this. The Centrex service requires 7-digit dialing between
itself and site D; the IP network requires 7-digit dialing toward sites A, B, and C; and each of
the PBXs requires 3-digit dialing.

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 Scalable Numbering Plan Attributes
This topic describes the attributes of a scalable numbering plan.

Attributes of a Scalable Numbering Plan

• Logic distribution
• Hierarchical design
• Simplicity in provisioning
• Reduction in postdial delay
• Availability and fault tolerance

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When designing a large-scale numbering plan, you must adhere to the following attributes:
„ Logic distribution: Good dial plan architecture relies on the effective distribution of the
dial plan logic among the various components. Devices that are isolated to a specific
portion of the dial plan reduce the complexity of the configuration. Each component
focuses on a specific task accomplishment. Generally, the local switch or gateway handles
details that are specific to the local point of presence (POP). Higher-level routing decisions
are passed along to the gatekeepers and PBXs. A well-designed network places the
majority of the dial plan logic at the gatekeeper devices.
„ Hierarchical design (scalability): You must strive to keep the majority of the dial plan
logic (routing decisions and failover) at the highest-component level. Maintaining a
hierarchical design makes the addition and deletion of number groups more manageable.
Scaling the overall network is much easier when configuration changes are made to a single
component.
„ Simplicity in provisioning: Keep the dial plan simple and symmetrical when designing a
network. Try to keep consistent dial plans on the network by using translation rules to
manipulate the local digit dialing patterns. These number patterns are normalized into a
standard format or pattern before the digits enter the VoIP core. Putting digits into a
standard format simplifies provisioning and dial-peer management.

Copyright © 2005, Cisco Systems, Inc Voice Dial Plans, Configuring Voice Interfaces and Dial Peers > Building a Scaable 4-53
 „ Reduction in postdial delay: Consider the effects of postdial delay in the network when
you design a large-scale dial plan. Postdial delay is the time between the last digit dialed
and the moment the phone rings at the receiving location. In the PSTN, people expect a
short postdial delay and to hear ringback within seconds. The more translations and
lookups that take place, the longer the postdial delay becomes. Overall network design,
translation rules, and alternate pathing affect postdial delay. You must strive to use these
tools most efficiently to reduce postdial delay.
„ Availability and fault tolerance: Consider overall network availability and call success
rate when you design a dial plan. Fault tolerance and redundancy within VoIP networks are
most important at the gatekeeper level. By using an alternate path you help provide
redundancy and fault tolerance in the network.

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 Hierarchical Numbering Plans
This topic describes the advantages and attributes of hierarchical numbering plans.

Hierarchical Numbering Plans

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Scalable telephony networks require telephone-numbering plans that are hierarchical. A

hierarchical design has the following advantages:
„ Simplified provisioning: Provides the ability to easily add new groups and modify existing
groups
„ Simplified routing: Keeps local calls local and uses a specialized number key, such as an
area code, for long-distance calls
„ Summarization: Establishes groups of numbers in a specific geographical area or
functional group
„ Scalability: Adds scalability to the number plan by adding additional high-level number
groups
„ Management: Controls number groups from a single point in the overall network

It is not easy to design a hierarchical numbering plan. Existing numbering plans in the network
(such as proprietary PBXs, key systems, and telephony services such as Centrex), and the
necessity to conform to the PSTN at gateways, all contribute to the complexity of the design.
Translation between these systems is a difficult task. If possible, avoid retraining system users.
The goal is to design a numbering plan that has the following attributes:
„ Minimal impact on existing systems
„ Minimal impact on users of the system
„ Minimal translation configuration
„ Consideration of anticipated growth

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 „ Conformance to public standards, where applicable

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 Internal Numbering and Public Numbering Plan
Integration
This topic describes the challenges associated with integrating internal numbering with the
public numbering plan.

Challenges Associated with Integration

• Varying number lengths

• Specialized services
• Voice mail
• Necessity of prefixes or area codes
• International dialing consideration

IP Telephony © 2005 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Cisco Public 35

Numbering plans vary greatly throughout the world. Different countries use different number
lengths and hierarchical plans within their borders. Telephony equipment manufacturers and
service providers use nonstandard numbering. In an attempt to standardize numbering plans,
the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) developed the E.164 worldwide prefix
scheme.

Number plan integration from an internal system such as a VoIP and PBX system to the PSTN
requires careful planning. The hierarchical structure of the number plan and the problems
associated with varying number lengths in different systems make number plan integration
complex.

The challenges that you face with number plan integration include the following:
„ Varying number lengths: Within the IP network, consideration is given to varying
number lengths that exist outside the IP network. Local, long-distance, key system, and
Centrex dialing from within the IP network may require digit manipulation.
„ Specialized services: Services such as Centrex and their equivalents typically have 4- or
5-digit numbers. Dialing from the PSTN into a private VoIP network and then out to a
Centrex extension can also require extensive digit manipulation.
„ Voice mail: When a called party cannot be reached, the network may have to redirect the
call to voice mail. Since the voice-mail system can require a completely different number
plan than the endpoint telephones, translation is necessary.

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 „ Necessity of prefixes or area codes: It can be necessary to strip or add area codes, or
prepend or replace prefixes. Rerouting calls from the IP network to the PSTN for failure
recovery can require extra digits.
„ International dialing consideration: Country codes and number plans vary in length
within countries. Dialing through an IP network to another country requires careful
consideration.

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 Integrating Internal and Public
Numbering Plans

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This figure shows a call from the PSTN destined for 1-703-555-0123. The gateway must realize
the true destination. All endpoints end with the correct digit sequence, but which is the correct
endpoint? Should the gateway append or prepend digits to the dialed number? Should it strip
and omit digits?

Different PBXs support variable-length dial plans that contain 3 to 11 digits. The length
variations present challenges when private plans merge with public number plans. Issues also
arise when no one answers a number and the call is forwarded to a voice-mail system.

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 Enhancing and Extending an Existing Plan to
Accommodate VoIP
This topic describes methods for integrating existing number plans into a VoIP network.

Number Normalization

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There are many ways that you can enhance and extend an existing number plan to
accommodate the VoIP network; all of them require careful planning and consideration. This
lesson will discuss two of these ways: number normalization and technology prefixes.

Example: Number Normalization

When site E (703555….) dials 7275550199, the full 10-digit dialed string is passed through the
Centrex to the router at site D. Router D matches the destination pattern 7275550199 and
forwards the 10-digit dial string to router A. Router A matches the destination pattern
727555…., strips off the matching 727555, and forwards the remaining 4-digit dial string to the
PBX. The PBX matches the correct station and completes the call to the proper extension.

Calls in the reverse direction are handled similarly. However, because the Centrex service
requires the full 10-digit dial string to complete calls, the POTS dial peer at router D is
configured with digit stripping disabled. An alternate solution involves enabling digit stripping
and configuring the dial peer with a 6-digit prefix (in this case 703555), which results in
forwarding the full dial string to the Centrex service.

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 Router Digit Stripping Comparison

Router A Router D

dial-peer voice 1 pots dial-peer voice 4 pots

destination-pattern 727555…. destination-pattern 703555….

port 1/0:1 no digit-strip

! port 1/0:1

dial-peer voice 4 voip !

destination-pattern 703555…. dial-peer voice 5 pots

session target ipv4:10.10.10.2 destination-pattern 202555….

! no digit-strip

dial-peer voice 5 voip port 1/0:1

destination-pattern 202555…. !

session target ipv4:10.10.10.3 dial-peer voice 1 voip

! destination-pattern 727555….

session target ipv4:10.10.10.1

Another method, called “technology prefixes,” allows you to include special characters in the
called number. These special characters (most commonly designated as 1#, 2#, 3#, etc.) are
prepended to the called number on the outgoing VoIP dial peer. The gatekeeper then checks its
gateway technology prefix table for gateways that are registered with that particular technology
prefix. Technology prefixes also identify a type, class, or pool of gateways.

Example: Technology Prefixes Applied

Voice gateways can register with technology prefix 1#; H.320 gateways with technology
prefix 2#; and voice-mail gateways with technology prefix 3#. Multiple gateways can register
with the same type prefix. When this happens, the gatekeeper makes a random selection among
gateways of the same type.

If the callers know the type of device that they are trying to reach, they can include the
technology prefix in the destination address to indicate the type of gateway to use to get to the
destination. For example, if a caller knows that address 7275550111 belongs to a regular
telephone, the caller can use the destination address of 1#7275550111, where 1# indicates that
the address should be resolved by a voice gateway. When the voice gateway receives the call
for 1#7275550111, it strips off the technology prefix and routes the next leg of the call to the
telephone at 7275550111.

You can enter technology prefix commands on gateways and gatekeepers in two places,
depending on how you want to design the technology prefix decision intelligence: the gateway
VoIP interface or the gateway dial peer.

You can implement this type of digit manipulation and management of dialed numbers in
various ways, depending on the infrastructure of the network. All of the components, including

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 the gatekeepers, gateways, Cisco CallManagers, PBXs, key systems, and other systems, may
need to be included in the process.

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