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Hi and welcome to our series of VoipNow server configuration tutorials. In this video, you will learn how to set up a SIP channel.

1. Before we start, let's cover some useful info; SIP, ENUM or IAX channels can be created from the Channel Management page.
2. PRI channels can also be added from here, but only if an E1/T1 Asterisk-supported card is installed on the server.
3. Costs can be added on any channel; on SIP, IAX and PRI channels you can also add public phone numbers and DIDs.
4. Don't forget that you can use more than one provider; this will give you service redundancy as well as allow you to route your calls using the best cost option, also known as least cost routing.
5. To create and configure a SIP channel, you will need a SIP account from a SIP provider; channels can be configured either manually or using settings for a provider approved by 4PSA.
6. In our example, we will set up a new channel manually; start by adding the IP address from your provider.
7. If the provider uses credentials-based authentication, then also fill in the username and password.
8. Authentication can also be done based on your server IP, in which case you will not need a username and password.
9. If your server IP is on your provider’s whitelist, then check the “do not register” checkbox.
10. Set the number of concurrent calls supported by the channel and the charging plan type; the charging plan you assign on the channel can be either paid or free.
11. If you decide for a paid channel, you must also assign costs on that channel.
12. Finally, select the codecs used by your Sip provider, usually g711 and ulaw or g729.
13. If the setup was done correctly, the SIP channel will show the “registered” status in the list of SIP channels; this means the channel can now be used for public calls.
14. The "registered" status will only be displayed on channels assigned to a provider. Channels with IP-based authentication will not be "registered" in the channel list.
15. If your provider has given you DID numbers, you can add them from the Add Phone Numbers section.
16. You can add DID numbers one by one or, if you want to load a batch of DIDs, you can load them from a file.
17. Then you can set your number, DID format, location, and monthly cost to provider.
18. In special cases, you can also allocate an incoming call cost (for example, sharing costs phone services or toll free services such as 0800).
19. If your SIP channel is paid, you need to load the costs based on the dialed area code.
20. If your SIP provider is an A to Z provider, which means that it offers termination all around the world, then there could be more than 20,000 area codes. So it’s better to load a .csv file.
21. Remember that you will not be able to place calls to destinations without configured costs. In this example, we’ll be adding three channel costs.
22. For Germany all, 49 code, 0.002 USD per 6 second.
23. Then add other area codes - 4915, 4916 and 4917 for Germany mobile.
24. Finally, add area code 402 for Romania landline and 407 for Romania mobile.
25. What you could also do is prepare a .csv file and load it into the system.
26. Once all this is set, in the Routing Rules area, you can manage how outgoing calls are routed outside the VoipNow system using the channels available.

To learn how to do this, watch the video tutorial in the Setting the Routing Rules page.