Scalable Dial Plan Attributes

When designing a large-scale dial plan, Cisco recommends you 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 should attempt 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.

• 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. Therefore, you should efficiently use these tools to reduce postdial delay.

• Availability and fault tolerance Consider overall network availability and call success rates 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.

• Conformance to public standards Different geographical locations might impose restrictions to your dial plan. Therefore, familiarize yourself with any such limitations prior to designing your dial plan.