Frequently Asked Question

Overview

Mac Files are configuration file that are named with the mac addresses of the phones. On boot, the phones are designed to request a file of .cetis.cfg. As configuration is normally based around the extension and therefore the room structure of a hotel, doing Mac File configuration files requires making sure that the correct configuration file is linked to the correct Mac and that the phone goes to the correct room. However, if done correctly, installing the phone can be plug and play. Mac Files are also useful for phone systems that provide dynamic configuration file creation (this has to be specifically designed to work with the configuration file of Cetis phones). This solution focuses on creating Mac Files with ConfigurationGenerator.

ConfigurationGenerator

is a tool for massively creating configuration files, and can be used to create either Mac Files or ConfigID files. ConfigurationGenerator uses a base configuration file and a variable file to create many unique configuration files. The Configuration Template (also known as base configuration, and golden configuration) contains the settings that have been tested on a phone and do not change from one configuration file to the next (speed dial, time settings, etc). The variable file is a Excel spreadsheet file that contains the values that are unique to each configuration file (extension, display name, etc).

Steps to Mac File Creation

1. Scan and Reformat List of Mac Addresses
   
2. Place List of Macs into Variable File
3. Generate Mac Files
   

Scan and Reformat List of Mac Addresses

Mac

addresses can be scanned in via barcode. Mac barcodes are both on the box and on the phone. The barcode is scanned in as a capitalized string divided by colons: 00:19:F3:0F:52:8C. This must be reformatted to a format that the phone understands - lowercase with no punctuationsuch as: 0019f30f528cThe file requested by the phone will be in the form of .cetis.cfg. Ex: 0019f30f528c.cetis.cfg

This can easily be accomplished with a text editor program. The example here is with TextWrangler.

Scanned list before going through the steps:

Step 1. Remove colons:

Go to Search > Find

Enter : in the find box, and nothing in the replace box. Press Replace All.

Step 2. Make upper case text into lower case:

To to Text > Change Case > All Lower Case

Once this is done you can use these to name your configuration files.

After editing MAC address format with the steps above:

Place List of Macs into Variable File

1. Open the Variable File in Excel.
2. Copy and paste the Mac file list underneath the Filename column.

3. Make sure that the ConfigID correctly identifies the room/extension where the phone will be placed. You will need to ensure that the labeling on the box and face plate match and line up with the correct mac address, so that the phone is placed in the correct room and recieves the correct configuration.

Generate Mac Files

Now that the variable file is created. Open ConfigurationGenerator and go through the steps required to generate the configuration file.

1. Select the Configuration Template by pressing browse and finding the correct file.
2. Select the Variable File by pressing browse and finding the correct file.
3. Select the Destination Path where newly generated files can be found.
4. Press Go

Find the newly created Mac Files in the selected destination folder.

Notes/Warnings

1. Both ConfigID request and Mac file request are both enabled by default. Mac File is requested first. To keep the ConfigID request from every happening disable ConfigID request in the base configuration. Alternatively, if a configID file is desired for future adds, replacements, or configuration changes, simply input the ConfigID underneath the Filename field, generate new files, and place Mac Files and ConfigID files on the provisioning server.

2. If versioning is turned off, or ConfigID file has a higher version number than the Mac File (and has not been disabled), then the ConfigID file will overwrite the mac file. This might be useful for adds, replacements, and configuration changes, but could cause problems if not carefully thought through.

3. If the Mac File does not align with the room number that the phone is placed in, then there might be unexpected results. Ex: Room 200 configured with extension for room 100.

4. Currently Cetis' other configuration tool, CetisConfigure, does not support either 3.x configuration files or Mac files. Future support is expected, but ConfigurationGenerator is recommended for simplicity and power.

5. If phones are QC'd at Cetis Headquarters or faceplated by TOPS then it is possible for the Mac address on the box to sometimes be different than the Mac address on the phone. Appropriate testing and consideration should take this into account, so that some number of configuration errors are expected.