Amanda [email protected]/DOS Service manual

Administering
[e-mail]/
DOS
Version 7.xx
Administrator’s Guide Edition 7/01

ii Administering Am[email protected]oup/DOS
Copyright and Trademark Notices
Copyright 1992–2001 The Amanda Company. All Rights Reserved. This
guide and the software described herein are copyrighted with all rights
reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, stored
in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form by any
means without the prior written permission of The Amanda Company.
Amanda and Amanda@ are registered trademarks and sales trademarks of
The Amanda Company. Other brand names and product names mentioned in
this manual are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
owners.
Limited Warranty on Software
The Amanda Company warrants the media on which the software is recorded
to be free from defects in materials and faulty workmanship for a period of
90 days from the date the software is delivered. If a defect in the media
should occur during this period, you may return the media to The Amanda
Company and The Amanda Company will replace the media without charge.
THE AMANDA COMPANY MAKES NO WARRANTIES (OTHER
THAN THOSE SET FORTH ABOVE) TO ANY PERSON OR ENTITY
WITH RESPECT TO THE PRODUCT OR ANY DERIVATIVES
THEREOF OR ANY SERVICES OR LICENSES AND DISCLAIMS ALL
IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, PERFORMANCE,
NONINFRINGEMENT, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE. THE AMANDA COMPANY WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR
ANY BUG, ERROR, OMISSION, DEFECT, DEFICIENCY, OR
NONCONFORMITY IN ANY SOFTWARE. THE SOFTWARE IS
LICENSED “AS IS,” AND THE PURCHASER ASSUMES THE ENTIRE
RISK AS TO ITS QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE.
IN NO EVENT AND NOTWITHSTANDING ANY DOCUMENT,
REPRESENTATION, OR OTHERWISE, SHALL THE AMANDA
COMPANY BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL,
INCIDENTAL, CONTINGENT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES,

iii
INCLUDING DAMAGES FROM LOSS OR CORRUPTION OF DATA,
INTERRUPTED USE, LOST PROFITS, COST OF PROCURING
SUBSTITUTE GOODS, TECHNOLOGY OR SERVICES, EVEN IF THE
AMANDA COMPANY OR AN AUTHORIZED AMANDA COMPANY
DEALER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGES. YOU AGREE THAT THE AMANDA COMPANY’S
LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, WARRANTY, OR OTHER LEGAL OR EQUITABLE
THEORY SHALL NOT EXCEED ANY AMOUNTS PAID BY YOU FOR
THIS PRODUCT. Any written or oral information or advice given by
Amanda Company dealers, distributors, agents, or employees will in no way
increase the scope of this warranty, nor may you rely on such oral or written
communication. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of
implied warranties or liability for incidental or consequential damages, so
the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. This warranty gives
you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary
from state to state. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the
State of California without regard to the conflicts of laws or provisions
thereof.
Fraudulent Usage Advisory
Although the Amanda software is designed to resist fraudulent usage,
including unauthorized access to a long distance network, no product,
including the Amanda software, is able to prevent such unauthorized usage.
The Amanda software is likewise unable to prevent such uses as may
constitute an invasion of privacy or other tort. THE AMANDA COMPANY
MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY AGAINST
UNLAWFUL OR UNAUTHORIZED USE OF YOUR AMANDA
SYSTEM OR ITS CAPABILITIES AND HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL
LIABILITY ARISING FROM SUCH USE. YOU AGREE TO
INDEMNIFY, DEFEND, AND HOLD THE AMANDA COMPANY
HARMLESS FOR ANY UNAUTHORIZED OR FRAUDULENT USE OF
YOUR LICENSED AMANDA SOFTWARE.
THE AMANDA COMPANY
13765 ALTON PARKWAY, UNIT F
IRVINE, CA 92618
TELEPHONE [phone] FAX [phone]

iv Administering Am[email protected]oup/DOS
Conventions
This manual uses the following terminology and conventions:
Amanda The name by which this manual refers to
[e-mail]/DOS system
to make reading about the system easier.
Because of the name Amanda, the sys-
tem is also referred to as “she.”
caller Someone who calls into Amanda. A call-
er often obtains information, leaves a
message for someone, and/or provides
information. Because Amanda is re-
ferred to as “she,” callers and users are
referred to as “he.”
user Someonewithanextensionthat Amanda
transfers calls to and/or stores messages
for. A user can access Amanda to play,
delete, and send messages as well as set
personal options such as Do Not Disturb.
fixed-space type This guide displays information that you
musttype andmessagesfrom Amandain
fixed-space type.
Indicates that the information next to it
pertains to Amanda Voice Server or one
of its clients: Administrator or Amanda
Monitor.
Indicates that the information next to it
pertains to Amanda as a standalone sys-
tem.

Contents
Copyright and Trademark Notices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ii
Limited Warranty on Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ii
Fraudulent Usage Advisory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Chapter 1:
Introducing Amanda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
What Amanda Does. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
How to Use Amanda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
How Amanda Operates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
A Mailbox for Each User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Mailboxes that Control Call Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Mailboxes that Provide Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The Power of Mailboxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Processing Calls and Mailboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Processing a Call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Processing a Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Customer Service and Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
End User Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
System Administration Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Installation Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Application Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Chapter 2:
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Using Amanda as a Voice Server or a Standalone System . . . . . . . . . 17
Starting Amanda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Using Command-line Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Shutting Amanda Down. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

vi Administering [e-mail]/DOS
Changing the Password. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Specifying a Time Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Chapter 3:
Monitoring Amanda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Using Amanda Monitor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Logging Back On. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
System and Port Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
System Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Port Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Using the Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Using the Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Resetting Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Tracing Port Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Displaying a List of Mailboxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Resetting the Date and Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Copying Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Using the Main Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Menu Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
General Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Resetting Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Resetting the Date and Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Copying Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Chapter 4:
Recording the Greetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Calling Amanda. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Recording the Company Greeting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Sample Greetings for Mailbox 990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Sample Scheduling Records for Mailbox 990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Using Amanda Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Using the Auto Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
More Holiday Samples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Recording Caller Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Sample Instructions for Mailbox 991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Sample Scheduling Records for Mailbox 991 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Using Amanda Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Using the Auto Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Recording Employee Directory Instructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

vii
Chapter 5:
Setting Up Mailboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Using a Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Using Templates with an Amanda/Norstar System . . . . . . . . . . .69
Asking the User for Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Using Mailboxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Personal Mailboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Informational Mailboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Using Amanda Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Using the Menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Using the Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Logging Back On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Creating a Personal Mailbox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Creating a Mailbox for Someone Without a Telephone. . . . . 81
Creating Mailboxes Automatically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Creating an Informational Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Creating a Range of Mailboxes from an Existing Mailbox . . . . . 83
Modifying an Existing Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Moving from One Mailbox to Another. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
Deleting an Existing Mailbox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Finding Mailboxes that Match Certain Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Naming Groups and Greetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Mailbox Field Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Using the Users Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Creating a Personal Mailbox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Creating a Mailbox for Someone Without a Telephone. . . . 102
Creating Personal Mailboxes Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Creating an Informational Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Creating a Range of Mailboxes from an Existing Mailbox . . . .105
Modifying an Existing Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Moving from One Mailbox to Another. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Deleting an Existing Mailbox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Mailbox Field Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Chapter 6:
Notifying Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Selecting a Port for Notification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Planning Your Notification Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

viii Administering Aman[email protected]up/DOS
Managing Notification Records and
Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Using Amanda Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Creating a Notification Record and a Notification Template . . 121
Creating a Notification Record from an Existing Template . . . 126
Modifying Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Disabling a Notification Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Changing Notification Telephone Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Changing the Notification Variable by Telephone . . . . . . . 131
Using the Notify Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Creating a Notification Record and a Notification Template . . 134
Creating a Notification Record from an Existing Template . . . 137
Modifying Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Disabling a Notification Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Changing Notification Telephone Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Examples of Notification Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Controlling a Message Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Using %U and %V instead of %E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Using Voice Notification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Calling a Pager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Relaying Information to a Pager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Calling Home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Norstar Notification Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Emergency Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Chapter 7:
Automatic Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Managing Automatic Call-processing Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Using Amanda Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Creating Scheduling Records. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Modifying Scheduling Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Disabling a Scheduling Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Using the Auto Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Creating Scheduling Records. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Modifying Scheduling Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Disabling a Scheduling Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Example: Changing User’s Greetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

ix
Chapter 8:
Generating Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .173
Example Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Managing Reports and Report Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175
Using Amanda Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Creating Reports and Report Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Creating Reports from Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Printing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179
Saving Reports as Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180
Using the Reports Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Creating Reports and Report Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Creating Reports from Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Printing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186
Saving Reports as Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186
Chapter 9:
Using the Administrator Mailbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Administering Amanda by Telephone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Managing System Announcements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Changing the Busy Hold Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191
Locking and Unlocking Mailboxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191
Resetting Mailboxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Listening to System Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Creating System-wide Mailing Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Resetting the Date and Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194
Setting Up the Administrator Mailbox from the Computer. . . . . . . . 195
Chapter 10:
Using Utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199
Backing Up and Restoring Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199
Deleting Mailboxes and Mailing Lists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Deleting Mailboxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200
Deleting Personal Mailing Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200
Displaying Message Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Validating Notification Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202
Managing Text Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Searching Text Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202
Editing a Text File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203
Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

x Administering [e-mail]/DOS
JOVE Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Displaying Text Files (20 Lines at a Time) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Displaying the Last n Lines of Text Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Performing Operations at Shutdown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Reviewing Installation History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Appendix A:
Setup Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Company Greeting Example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Caller Instructions Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Mailbox with Greetings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Mailbox with Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
General Mailbox Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Mailbox Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Appendix B:
Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

Chapter 1:
Introducing Amanda
What Amanda Does
[e-mail]/DOS is an automated attendant and voice processing
system designed especially for ease of use and flexibility. As a PC-based
product, Amanda takes advantage of the technical innovations in the
personal computer market. In addition, Amanda’s standard hardware
components can be repaired or replaced by any PC service company. The
computer on which Amanda is installed must be used only for Amanda.
Depending on what lines from your PBX are connected to Amanda and
when calls are sent to Amanda to be processed, Amanda can serve you or
your customer in a variety of ways.
Configured as a primary attendant: Amanda answers all your incoming
calls on the lines you designate and allows the callers to direct their calls to a
specific person or department without being placed on indefinite hold. If a
specific person is unavailable, Amanda can take a private message for that
person without missing any details.
In this case, the telephone switching system sends all incoming calls to
Amanda.

2 Administering Amand[email protected]p/DOS
Configured as a secondary attendant: Amanda assists your regular
operator when call volume is heavy, allowing callers to direct their own calls
or hold for the operator. Some companies provide specific incoming lines for
Amanda as a backdoor attendant for calls from vendors, family members,
friends, and special clients who prefer to have Amanda process their calls.
In this case, the telephone switching system sends incoming calls to Amanda
only when the regular operator’s extension is busy or not answered.
Configured as an off-duty attendant: Amanda provides 24-hour access to
your company and its employees when an operator is unavailable.
In this case, the telephone switching system sends all incoming calls to
Amanda while the office is closed.
Configured as a voice messaging center: Amanda takes messages and
allows users to send, store, and forward messages, increasing productivity
and enhancing inter-office communication.
In this case, the telephone switching system transfers any incoming call to
Amanda if the extension being called is busy or not answering.
Configured as an information system: Amanda provides answers to your
callers’ most frequently asked questions (so you can avoid costly
interruptions and provide a higher level of customer service 24 hours a day).
Information such as your address, available hours, directions to your offices,
and so forth, might be better handled by Amanda. Amanda’s serial ports can
access databases and other information stored in other computers, allowing
Amanda to give callers information on account balances, train schedules, and
so forth.
In this case, the telephone switching system or even an operator can send
incoming calls to Amanda. Then automatically, or if selected, Amanda plays
out the requested information.

Chapter 1: Introducing Amanda 3
How to Use Amanda
[e-mail]/DOS can be run as either a voice server or as a
standalone system, switching back and forth if necessary. In either case, the
computer on which Amanda is installed must have a DOS operating system
and be dedicated solely to running Amanda.
The advantage of running Amanda as a voice server is that you can monitor
it and adjust how it processes users’ calls from your own workstation rather
than from the computer on which Amanda is running. When you use
Amanda as a standalone system, you use DOS applications to control
everything from the computer on which Amanda is installed.
[e-mail]/DOS comes with one license for the client software,
the applications that allow you to access Amanda from your workstation. To
allow other users to access Amanda via their workstations (in addition to
their telephones), you must purchase a license for each user. Besides the
usual user options (such as listening to messages and changing the setting for
Do Not Disturb), the client software allows users to dial telephone numbers
listed in Windows applications.
Voice Server The computer running Amanda as a Voice Server must
have a LAN adapter. During the installation, software
was provided that allows you to access a Microsoft
Workgroup network.
In addition to installing the Voice Server, you can install
client software which allows you to interact with Amanda
from yourworkstation.One copy ofthe client software is
supplied with this product. It containsfive Windows 3.11
applications. Two of them assist you in your role as
Amanda system administrator:
Amanda Administrator Allows you to control how
Amanda processes calls and to
create reports.
Amanda Monitor Allows you to observe what
ports are active and so on.

4 Administering Amand[email protected]p/DOS
NOTE:To set the configuration options client_activation_key and
n_clients, see Installing [e-mail]/DOS. When
n_clients is 0, you have only one client. This allows you to run
Amanda Administrator to control Amanda Voice Server.
How Amanda Operates
To users and callers, Amanda is a voice on the telephone guiding them to
people, services, and messages. However, Amanda’s entire design revolves
around the mailboxes defined by you, the system administrator. This chapter
explains what a mailbox is, how Amanda uses mailboxes to process calls,
and how Amanda processes each mailbox based on the contents of fields
associated with it.
The others allow you to process messages, place calls,
and manage your personal mailbox:
Amanda Messenger Allows users to access their
messages from their worksta-
tions as well as by telephone.
Amanda Dialer Dials telephone numbers that
appear in Microsoft Word for
Windows, Microsoft Excel,
and other Windows applica-
tions.
Amanda Fax Allowsyoutofaxanythingthat
you can print from a Windows
application. It also allows you
to convert the printable item
(document, spread sheet, and
so forth) into a fax file or a fax
message.
Standalone
System In this mode, you control Amanda from the computer on which it has been installed using DOS applications.
All users access their messages by telephone.

Chapter 1: Introducing Amanda 5
A Mailbox for Each User
Each user of the Amanda system has a mailbox. The Amanda Company
recommends using the same number as the extension number, but you don’t
have to—unless you are using digital integration (such as SMDI). Amanda
dials the extension number to reach a user who has a call. The mailbox
identifies a record in Amanda’s database. The record contains fields that
define how Amanda processes each user’s calls. The system administrator
initially (and ultimately) controls the contents of these fields, but the user
can change many of them. For example, the user can turn Do Not Disturb on
and off during a hectic day.
The user changes the contents of these fields using a telephone and a series
of menus. He can also use Amanda Messenger. The administrator changes
them from Amanda’s Users screen (if using Amanda as a standalone) or
from Amanda Administrator (if using Amanda as a voice server). The
administrator can view all the fields associated with the mailbox at the same
time and move easily from the fields for one mailbox to the fields for
another.
In addition to these fields, each mailbox has one or more recorded greetings.
For example, when a user does not answer a call, the caller hears a greeting,
such as “Hi. This is Ralph at extension 123. Please leave a message….”
A typical mailbox is configured to ring a telephone extension and record
messages from callers. Users periodically check their mailboxes for
messages, or they can be notified that a message exists in a variety of ways.
Typically, there is one user for each mailbox, even though several mailboxes
might share a single telephone extension.
Mailboxes that Control Call Processing
There are more mailboxes than there are users. This is because mailboxes
also control the flow of a call. For example, the company greeting and all the
menus are played as greetings for mailboxes. One mailbox directs the call to
another mailbox for further processing.

6 Administering Amand[email protected]p/DOS
By default, Amanda starts with mailbox 990, known as the Company
Greeting mailbox. Amanda plays a very short greeting for that mailbox,
which is something similar to “Thank you for calling The Amanda
Company.”
The Done Chain field, one of the fields associated with mailbox 990, causes
Amanda to route the call to mailbox 991, known as the Caller Instructions
mailbox—unless the caller enters the DTMF (touch tone) digits for another
mailbox, such as Ralph’s 123. The greeting Amanda plays for mailbox 991 is
a menu of choices (for example, “For sales, press 1. For customer support,
press 2….”). If the caller presses a number from the menu, Amanda routes
the call to the mailbox associated with that menu number.
The Caller Instructions mailbox (by default mailbox 991) is very important
because the caller returns to it if all else fails. It is what keeps the caller from
becoming lost in the system.
You don’t have to use mailboxes 990 and 991, but it is very important that
you use two mailboxes. The first should always provide a very short general
greeting. The second should be a very specific set of instructions or a menu
that allows the caller to reroute himself. The caller can hear it under a variety
of circumstances. The second mailbox must be the value stored in the first
mailbox’s Done Chain field.
You can use these two mailboxes for all calls coming into Amanda, or you
can use two different mailboxes per port. This allows you to have a separate
general greeting and set of instructions for each port.
Mailboxes that Provide Information
An information mailbox (such as 990 or 991) does not accept messages from
callers; instead, its greeting is played to callers to provide them with various
pieces of information, such as the company’s hours of operation, location,
and so forth. No real user or telephone extension corresponds to this kind of
mailbox.

Chapter 1: Introducing Amanda 7
The Power of Mailboxes
Amanda makes a distinction between the mailbox and the user’s extension,
although they are usually the same number. The mailbox is the number for a
record in Amanda’s database. The extension is what Amanda must dial to
transfer a call. By making this distinction, Amanda can provide powerful
features through her Token Programming Language.
All of Amanda’s mailboxes are stored in a single database, so no two users
can have the same number. For example, you can have only one mailbox 0
(usually the company operator). To use 0 more that once, Amanda provides
single-digit menus. When you define a single-digit menu, you provide a
mailbox to be processed for each number on the menu (1–9 and 0). Amanda
processes that mailbox when the user or caller selects the corresponding
menu number. For example, if a caller is in mailbox 100 and mailbox 100
maps the menu number 0 to mailbox 222, then Amanda sends callers who
press 0 to mailbox 222 rather than to the company operator designated as
mailbox 0.
When a digit is not mapped as a menu number, Amanda treats the digit as a
mailbox. For example, if 0 is not mapped, the caller who enters it reaches
mailbox 0, which is usually the operator. Similarly, if a caller enters more
than one digit, such as 123, the caller reaches mailbox 123 (if it exists).
Processing Calls and Mailboxes
To learn the basics of Amanda’s call processing capabilities, you must
understand the following concepts.
• How Amanda processes a call bygoing from one mailbox to another
• How Amanda processes an individualmailboxbased on the contents
of its fields

8 Administering Amand[email protected]p/DOS
Processing a Call
Amanda waits for incoming calls directed to her by your telephone switching
system. When a call comes to an Amanda telephone port, Amanda goes from
one mailbox to another as she processes that call. How does she know what
mailboxes to use?
• As Amanda answers a call, she starts with the mailbox defined for
use with the port that handles the call. This is usually mailbox 990,
the Company Greeting mailbox. See “Recording the Company
Greeting” on page 44 for more information about setting up this
mailbox.
• She proceeds with the mailbox she finds in the Done Chain field for
the current mailbox unless the caller enters an extension.
• Amanda translates the digits that the caller enters (whether an exten-
sion or a number from a menu) to a mailbox and continues process-
ing at that mailbox.
• Depending on the fields associated with a particular mailbox, Aman-
da uses the contents of that mailbox’s Extension field, Done Chain
field, Busy Chain field, or RNA (Ring No Answer) Chain field to de-
termine what to do next.
• Tokens from Amanda’s Token Programming Language are used in
the Extension field. The Done Chain, Busy Chain, and RNA fields
contain only mailboxes. See Installing [e-mail]/DOS
for more information about the Token Programming Language.
• Eventually, the caller talks to someone, leaves a message, and/or
hangs up.
The following diagram helps to illustrate this concept.

Chapter 1: Introducing Amanda 9
Call Processing Diagram

10 Administering [e-mail]/DOS
NOTE:If a Done Chain field is not defined, Amanda uses the Done
Chain field of the Company Greeting mailbox as a default.
While this default Done Chain can vary from port to port, it usu-
ally is the Done Chain field for mailbox 990 and is initially set
to mailbox 991 (referred to as the Caller Instructions mailbox).
Because of this feature, callers who make invalid choices return
to the Caller Instruction mailbox and hear a menu of choices.
This keeps them from getting lost in the system.
Processing a Mailbox
Every time Amanda processes a mailbox during a supervised transfer, she
follows the path shown in the following diagram. The settings for the fields
associated with the mailbox, such as the Do Not Disturb, determine what
actions Amanda does or does not take.
While Amanda processes every mailbox the same way, the dotted rectangle
around the left column of the diagram’s first page shows a typical call—
starting with Amanda dialing a user’s extension and ending with the call
being answered, busy, or not answered after a number of rings.
The right column of the first page (outside the dotted rectangle), shows the
processing for additional (in some cases, special) features. For example, it
shows how Amanda:
• Routes the call if Do Not Disturb is on
• Identifies the caller, the called party, or both
• Allows the called party to screen calls
• Knows when to go to another mailbox or process tokens from the
Token Programming Language
The second page of the diagram shows in detail what Amanda does when she
supervises the transfer of a call and finds that the extension is answered,
busy, or not answered. The third page shows when messages are recorded
and where they are stored.
NOTE:At any time, the callercan enter a number fromthe menu or
the number foranother mailbox. If the callerenters a single
digit and there are menu fields, Amanda checks for values
in those menu fields first. If the menu field for that digit is
empty or if the caller enters more than one digit, Amanda
assumes that the caller entered a mailbox.