Multicast paging is a powerful feature for unified communication within an organization. By leveraging the Hosted PBX platform with Grandstream phones, you can configure site-specific or multi-site paging, ensuring streamlined and isolated communication that does not affect the entire domain. This guide provides detailed instructions for setting up and managing multicast paging effectively.

Overview

Multicast paging allows devices to broadcast messages within a network. It ensures that only the intended phones on a site or group receive the message. By assigning unique multicast ports and maintaining appropriate configurations, you can create site-specific and multi-site paging groups.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Setting Up Site-Specific Paging

To enable a site-specific "Page All" feature:

Log in to the Hosted PBX portal.

Navigate to Users → Sites and select the specific site.

In the site's Device Defaults section, add the following Grandstream override parameters: - P1365="23": Assigns a programmable key as Multicast Paging. - P1366="0": Sets the key position or index (dependent on the phone model). - P1467=" Page All": Labels the key with "Page All". - P1468="224.0.2.60:50002": Configures the multicast IP and port. Why use port 50002? In the example below, Port 50001 is typically the default for multicast paging across domains, so setting a unique port (such as 50002) restricts paging to devices configured with this specific port.

Save the settings and apply.

Resync or reboot the phones in the site to pull the updated defaults and activate the configuration.

2. Configuring Multi-Site Paging

To set up separate "Page All" groups for multiple sites, you can assign unique multicast ports for different sites while maintaining the same multicast IP:

Follow the above steps for "Site-Specific Paging" but modify the multicast port for each site: - Example for Site A: P1468="224.0.2.60:50002" - Example for Site B: P1468="224.0.2.60:50003"

In each site's Device Defaults, include the Grandstream overrides with the unique port values: - P1365="23 - `P1366="0" - `P1467=" Page All" - P1468 set to that site's port (e.g., 50002, 50003, etc.).

Save the settings, apply, and resync or reboot the phones in each site.

Result: Phones in a specific site only listen and transmit on their assigned unique port, ensuring isolated paging communications for each site.

3. Applying the Configuration to a Specific Site

To limit the multicast paging configuration to a single site:

Paste the override codes into the Device Defaults section of the desired site.

Navigate to Users → Sites → Select Site → Device Defaults.

Save the changes and resync/reboot the phones.

This ensures that only devices within that specific site receive the configuration changes.

Notes and Troubleshooting

Subnet Requirements: Multicast paging works effectively within a local network. Ensure all devices are on the same subnet and permitted to receive multicast traffic.

Device Overrides: Other sites and devices outside this configuration remain unaffected unless the same multicast address and port are applied.

Testing Configurations: After setup, conduct paging tests to confirm that only the intended phones receive the page.