Least Cost Routing - Introduction
The Least Cost Routing ("LCR") module allows you to reduce the cost of sending faxes by linking two or more Zetafax Servers in different locations. Faxes can be routed at minimal cost, using email or a Wide Area Network (WAN) link, from their origin on a desktop in one location to a Zetafax Server in another location, which may be closer to the final destination of the fax.
For example, a company with offices in London and New York may choose to configure its London server to route all faxes to North American destinations via the New York server.
Transmission of the fax to its final destination over the telephone network from the New York server may give a considerable saving compared with the cost of long-distance transmission from the point of origin of the fax in London.
A number of other factors besides the destination of the fax may be important in deciding which server a fax is to be sent from. For some slower network links, the time taken for network transmission may represent an unacceptable delay for urgent faxes, so the server may be configured to send all urgent faxes directly, rather than via a distant server.
Faxes from certain users may be deemed too sensitive for transmission over the Internet, and may be sent directly.
The size and time of sending of faxes may have an effect on network and Zetafax Server traffic. The time of sending may also have additional effects on telephone call rates, so these parameters may also be reflected in the routing rules.
For example, the London server may be configured to route faxes to North American destinations via the New York server only between 08:00 and 12:00. At these times the call rate is peak in London, but the New York server is not yet busy.
Related topics
Configuring Least Cost Routing