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Token Initiated Calls


So what exactly is a token initiated call?  Well a token initiated call allows developers to initiate a call via HTTP rather then calling into an application to start it.  Like creating an outbound call by simply clicking a ‘submit’ button on a web form.  This type of ability is one of the most useful offerings on the Voxeo network.  For example, when developers wish to script a large series of outbound calls to many users at the same time. Some common uses for this time of ability include outbound notification services, such as reverse 911 or outbound emergency notification.  So how does it all work, we'll its actually a pretty simple process see below:




The Token Initiated Call


  1. 1. First off a request is sent to the token API, this is just a general HTTP request that will include some query string variables which will identify the requester.

  2. 2. The token API will reference the TokenID against our internal provisioning database and identify application it should forward the request to

  3. 3. The platform will identify the start URL for the application, in this case the application is hosted off Voxeo's network.  The platform will send off its own request to this document passing it some session information such as CallerID, CalledID, and other user submitted variables to the startURL.

  4. 4.  The webserver does it's 'thing', perhaps is needs to reference a DB perform some other ub3r cool server side trickery and renders static XML content to be executed by Voxeo's platform. 

  5. 5. This content is returned to the platform and executed at which time the call is placed, mind you up to this point has taken only a fraction of a second so we are doing good on time

  6. 6. Our internal gerbils are kicked into high gear and things start happening.  The call is sent out over on our of multiple carriers from one of our multiple data centers. 

  7. 7. Its exit point from our network is our SBC or Session Board Controller, here is where the call exits our network and begins it journey in the 'carrier cloud'

  8. 8. The call then ends up at your local CLEC or local phone company at which time it hits your device


Notes:

  1. Token initiated calls require outbound dialing rights on when using our hosted system.  To get outbound dialing rights please click this link to request one from our support team
  2. Voxeo will comply with law enforcement request, so prank calling the White House is not advised. However, prank calling your annoying neighbor is strongly encouraged. j/k
  3. Token access on our staging network only grants the ability to place outbound calls to PSTN end points in the continental in the United States.  If you do require the international access this can be arraigned by contacting our sales team or for instant gratification take a look at our World Wide Developer Package FAQ page.
  4. Developers who use the non-US datacenters are required to specify an E164-formatted dial string:

    tel:+[country code][number]
  5. Token initiated calls follow the same rules as regular <transfer> calls, in that the same conditions must be checked against in regards to call status and errors.

Should I use CCXML or VXML?


It is generally always suggested that you utilize a CCXML wrapper for all token applications.  The reason is that CCXML provides the a much more granular call control for your applications.  A great write-up on this type of deployment can be found here in our Blog.

Token API's


Session (Token) Initiation

Note: If you aren't sure which applies to you, simply contact Voxeo Support, and provide us with your Account name, and application name, and we can help!

Available Servlets (Hosted)

US Datacenters:


London Datacenters:


EU Datacenters:



Available Servlets (Premise)


Available Parameters


Token Calling a SIP destination: (hosted)

The same premise applies, however make use of the following syntax: sip:4075551212!66.77.88.99@sbc-staging-internal


For further information, token calls are detailed fully in VoiceXML Lesson 15




  ANNOTATIONS: EXISTING POSTS
SSA_NCH
8/11/2010 11:23 AM (EDT)
Is it (yet) possible to call these endpoints via POST instead of a GET?  The reason I ask is that many firewall/content scanning systems  will repeat (GET) requests for scanning/rating purposes.  (This is presumed to be kosher since GET requests technically aren't supposed to be idempotent and free of side effects.)  Since our API calls to your servers are using GET they are getting replayed (later) by our security infrastructure (Trend) and causing duplicate calls to start. 

If it were possible to call these APIs via POST requests I think that would prevent this issue.  (Previously I was told that only GET was supported but that POST might be allowed in the future)
MattHenry
8/29/2010 3:00 PM (EDT)


Hi again,


This feature IS still in our engineering queue, but is something that we have not yet roadmapped in an official capacity: So far, there really hasn't been much developer demand for it, but perhaps others who peruse our documentation can chime in and let us know if they'd like to have support for this, too. We are always happy to accomodate the wishes of our developers when there is a strong enough demand for a given feature.

=)

Regards,

~Matthew Henry


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