What are Dial Peer Wildcards?

Writing calling plans in Cisco Cube can be one of the most tedious tasks ever. Who wants to sit down and type out 5,000 different numbers in different policies all day long? There’s an easier way: You could use wildcards instead. Let’s explain how.
If you want a more thorough Cisco Cube configuration tutorial, check out Lalo Nunez’s course. Lalo is an industry veteran who makes learning everything about Cisco easy.
An Overview of Dial Peer Wildcards
In this video, CBT Nuggets trainer Lalo Nunez covers wildcards that enable flexibility in a dial plan. Wildcards are highly efficient ways of creating routing rules or configurations that devices implement without you needing to write each route.
What Are Dial Peer Wildcards in Cisco Cube?
Dial peer wildcards in Cisco Cube are like regular shorthand expressions representing various digits in a dial plan number. For example, instead of adding each phone number individually to your dial plan that starts with the area code 555, you could enter 555T. That’s a lot easier, isn’t it?
Cisco Cube dial peers accept variations of wildcards, each with different capabilities. We’ll discuss each below.
Dot Notation
The dot notation is the easiest wildcard to configure in Cisco Cube. A dot, or period, represents a single integer number from 0-9 in a specific number slot.
Example: 20..
Each period represents a single number after 20, and each dot can represent numbers 0-9. So, 20.. equals all numbers between 2000 through 2099.
Here’s another example: 2.55
In that example, 2.55 can equal another between 2055 through 2955.
Plus Notation
The plus notation is similar to the dot notation, but the plus sign can equate to a series of numbers instead of representing a single digit only.
Example: 5+23
The example above can equate to 5523, 55523, and 5555555523. The plus notation will equate to numbers up to 32 digits in total. The maximum length a number is capable of being is 32 digits. So, the example above could also equal 555555555555555555555555555555523 too.
Bracket Notation: Hyphens, Commas, and Carrots
The bracket notation may look like different array semantics in various programming languages. It also looks like a regular expression.
Example: [1-3]22
Each bracket notation represents a single digit, much like the dot notation. The bracket notation allows for more granular control, though. Unlike the period notation, where the dot can represent 0-9, the bracket notation can limit which digits are possible for the wildcard. Think of the bracket notation like a wildcard with an ACL built in.
Example: [1-3]22
Both digits after the bracket notation are static numbers, and the bracket wildcard in Cisco Cube itself represents the numbers 1 through 3 in the example above. So, the example above could equal 122, 222, or 322.
The bracket notation offers more granularity, too. Instead of representing a range of values, the bracket notation can also represent specific numbers.
Example: [14-6]22
The eagle-eyed among you might have found the flaw in that example. Dial pads don’t have a number 14 on them. Remember that each number in the wildcard represents a specific digit. In this case, that wildcard is notating both the numbers 1 and 4. Insert a comma between numbers in your head. It makes the bracket notation easier to read.
So, the wildcard example above could match the numbers 1, 4, 5, or 6. The example could equal 122, 422, 522, or 622.
How to Create Wildcards in Cisco Cube That Exclude Numbers?
One of the powerful ways bracket notation can be used to create wildcards in Cisco Cube is by excluding numbers.
Example: [^0-7]22
To exclude numbers in a wildcard in Cisco Cube using the bracket notation, add a carrot (^) before the numbers. The example above excludes all numbers between 0 through 7. So, that example could equal 822 or 922.
T Notation
Wildcards with the T notation are unique. If a wildcard has the T notation, the voice gateway will route calls based on the numbers the caller enters in the dial pad on their phone after the last digit is pressed. Here’s an example: 011T
That’s a common wildcard configuration for international calling.
The T notation has some caveats, however. It requires waiting for the inter-digit timeout to trigger before executing the dial plan. This could be confusing for callers depending on how the inter-digit timeout setting is configured. The default configuration is 10 seconds. That can feel like a long time to a caller waiting for something to happen on the phone.
What is the Inter-Digit Timeout Setting in Cisco Cube?
The inter-digit timeout setting in Cisco Cube tells the voice gateway how long to wait after someone presses the last number on the keypad in their phone before the voice gateway responds.
Can Wildcards be Combined in Cisco Cube?
Wildcards can be combined in Cisco Cube by simply placing them in the same dial plan together.
Example: [1-3]..
The example above states that the first digit of the number can be 1, 2, or 3, and the last two digits can equal anything from 0 through 9. So, that example could equal 139, 263, or 390.
Train on Cisco Cube Today
Cisco Cube can be a monster of an app, but CBT Nuggets trainer Lalo Nunez makes it easy to understand. Lalo is an industry veteran who breaks down complex dial plans and atypical voice gateway configurations in a way that makes sense.
His Cisco Cube Configuration tutorials will have you up and running by the end of the weekend.
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