Creating Your First Call Policy

This guide walks you through creating a Call Policy from scratch. You'll learn how policies, rules, and triggers work together to control call routing on Cisco Callmanager.

Prerequisites

Before you start:

• Call Telemetry installed and connected to Cisco CUCM
• CURRI configured with an External Call Control Profile
• Admin access to Call Telemetry

What is a Call Policy?

A Call Policy is a collection of rules applied to calls. In Cisco terms, it maps to an External Call Control Profile. When a call matches a pattern attached to this profile, Call Telemetry evaluates your rules and returns an action.

Policies can:

• Permit or Block calls based on caller/destination
• Modify Caller ID name or number in real-time
• Trigger Alerts to SMS, Email, or Teams
• Query APIs for CRM lookups, location data, reputation scores
• Play Greetings before connecting calls

Understanding the Call Flow

Here's what happens when a call hits Call Telemetry:

1. CUCM sends call data to Call Telemetry via CURRI
2. Call Telemetry checks the Global Block List
3. Rules are evaluated - most specific match wins
4. Action is returned (permit, block, modify)
5. Alerts and Apps execute asynchronously

tip

CURRI fails "open" - if Call Telemetry is unavailable, calls route normally. There's no single point of failure.

Step 1 - Create a New Policy

Navigate to Policies and click Add.

Configure:

• Name: Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Inbound PSTN", "Sales DID")
• Default Action: What happens if no rules match (Permit or Block)
• Global Block List: Toggle on to enforce your global block list

Click Save.

Step 2 - Add Your First Rule

Click Add Rule on your policy.

Configure the Rule Trigger

Rules match based on calling and called number patterns using regex:

Pattern	Matches
.*	Everything
1234	Exact number 1234
512.*	Numbers starting with 512
.*5551234	Numbers ending with 5551234

Configure:

• Name: Descriptive name (e.g., "Block Known Scammer")
• Called Number: Pattern for destination (or .* for any)
• Calling Number: Pattern for caller (e.g., 5551234567)
• Action: Permit or Block

Step 3 - Add Call Modifiers (Optional)

Modifiers change the call before it connects. Similar to Callmanager Translation Rules.

Common uses:

• Rename Caller ID to show CRM contact name
• Prepend "SPAM:" to suspicious callers
• Redirect calls to a different destination

Step 4 - Add Alerts (Optional)

Get notified when rules match. Click the Alerts tab.

Available channels:

• SMS - Text to a phone number
• Email - Send to any address
• Webex Teams - Post to a Teams space

Build your template using variables like:

• {{event.calling_number}} - Caller's number
• {{event.called_number}} - Destination number
• {{phone.description}} - Phone description from CUCM

Step 5 - Add Apps (Optional)

Apps integrate with external systems during call processing.

Popular Apps:

• TrueSpam - Reputation-based spam filtering
• Webhook - Send data to any API
• Phone Discovery - Get real-time phone location
• Webex Teams - Post to Teams spaces

Apps can also modify the call based on API responses - like setting Caller ID from a CRM lookup.

Step 6 - Copy the Policy Link

After saving, copy the policy link to configure in CUCM.

Step 7 - Attach to CUCM Route Pattern

In Cisco Callmanager:

1. Navigate to Device > External Call Control Profile
2. Create or edit a profile pointing to your Call Telemetry server
3. Navigate to Call Routing > Route Pattern (or Translation Pattern)
4. Assign your External Call Control Profile to the pattern

Step 8 - Test Your Policy

Make a test call that matches your pattern. Then verify:

1. Call Logs - Check that Call Telemetry received the call
2. Rule Match - Verify the correct rule was applied
3. Alerts - Confirm notifications fired (if configured)

Check policy health to verify CURRI connectivity:

Rule Processing Order

Rules are processed in this order:

1. Global Block List - Checked first if enabled on the policy
2. Block Rules - Evaluated before permit rules
3. Permit Rules - Most specific match wins

The most specific pattern match is applied. 5551234567 beats 555.* beats .*.

Example: Block a Specific Caller

Scenario: Block calls from 555-123-4567 to your main line.

1. Create rule named "Block Scammer"
2. Called Number: .* (or your main line pattern)
3. Calling Number: 5551234567
4. Action: Block

Example: Alert on VIP Caller

Scenario: Notify reception when the CEO calls.

1. Create rule named "VIP - CEO"
2. Calling Number: 5559876543 (CEO's number)
3. Action: Permit
4. Add Email alert: "VIP Call: CEO calling {{event.called_number}}"

Example: CRM Caller ID Lookup

Scenario: Show CRM contact name on Cisco phone display.

1. Create rule with Calling Number: .*
2. Add Webhook App pointing to your CRM API
3. Configure modifier to set Calling Name from API response
4. Calls now show "John Smith - Acme Corp" instead of just the number

Next Steps

Now that you've created your first policy, explore advanced features:

Feature	What it does
Rule Triggers	Advanced pattern matching
Call Modifiers	Rename, redirect, transform
Call Alerts	Build rich notification templates
Call Apps	Integrate with external APIs
Greetings	Play announcements before connecting

Troubleshooting

Policy not receiving calls?

• Verify External Call Control Profile is assigned to your pattern
• Check policy health shows "Connected"
• Confirm CURRI URL is correct in CUCM

Rules not matching?

• Check regex patterns - .* matches everything
• Remember: most specific rule wins
• Review call logs to see what pattern was received

Need help? Contact Call Telemetry Support.