This document is intended as an aid to moving 8MS Routing Sets from one 8MS platform to another. It also discusses renaming them and updating the non-routing-affecting data in an 8MS Routing Set.

Prior to any discussion on using 8MS Routing Sets, it is helpful to explain what comprises an 8MS Routing Set and how it is created. From an SMS/800 perspective, an 8MS Routing Set is composed of a CAD and, optionally, a LAD and CPR. From an 8MS perspective, an 8MS Routing Set is composed of routing-affecting data and non-routing affecting data. All possible fields of an 8MS Routing Set may be seen on the Record Management: SMS CAD screen. The routing-affecting data includes the InterLATA Carrier, IntraLATA Carrier, Service Area, and, if specified, the POTS Termination, LAD (labels defined in EditPlan) and CPR (routing plan defined in EditPlan). All other fields on the Record Management: SMS CAD screen (with the exception of End Intercept Date, Due Date and Referral Option which are not stored in an 8MS Routing Set) are non-routing-affecting data. These fields do not affect how a call is routed to a carrier, but the fields are stored in an 8MS Routing Set and copied into new toll-free number records when an 8MS Routing Set is used as the source of the copy.

When an 8MS Routing Set is created it is given a unique name composed of the | (pipe) symbol followed by a sequence of numbers. For 8MS Routing Sets that are commonly used, a user-defined name may be assigned to an 8MS Routing Set.

Some customers use non-routing-affecting fields to manage their toll-free numbers, while others do not. It is up to each individual company on an 8MS platform to determine how their numbers will be managed. For example, some companies track and manage their numbers based upon the Contact Name, Contact Phone and Notes. Thus, it may be critical for some companies to ensure that commonly used 8MS Routing Sets contain the correct non-routing-affecting data.

8MS provides a Company/User Preference that affects the order in which 8MS Routing Sets appear in all 8MS Routing Set drop-down lists. Setting the preference MyRoutingSets to a semi-colon separated lists of 8MS Routing Set names causes these 8MS Routing Sets to appear at the top of the drop-down list. By setting this as a Company Preference, all users will see these 8MS Routing Sets first. As with all preferences in 8MS, setting the User Preference overrides the Company Preference.

If an 8MS Routing Set will be used regularly as a source in the Copy Record and Record Management: SMS CAD screens, it is suggested that the 8MS Routing Set be renamed. An 8MS Routing Set may be renamed by going to the 8MS Routing Set Management screen.

By default only the most recently used 8MS Routing Sets will be shown in the Select 8MS Routing Set drop-down list; these are shown in recently used order. Select the blue image to the right of the list to populate the drop-down with all of your 8MS Routing Sets. The list will now be shown in alpha-numeric order. Select your 8MS Routing Set, enter the new 8MS Routing Set name in the Rename selected 8MS Routing Set to field and select the Save button.

As discussed in the section 8MS Routing Set Creation, the first time a unique set of routing is brought into 8MS (by sending a toll-free number record to SMS/800 or by retrieving a toll-free number from SMS/800), a new 8MS Routing Set is created. The non-routing-affecting data stored in the 8MS Routing Set is the set of data in that toll-free number's record. There are times when it is beneficial to modify this non-routing-affecting data (as discussed in the section Using an 8MS Routing Set). The 8MS Routing Set Management screen, the same one used to renamed an 8MS Routing Set, also allows you to modify the non-routing-affecting data. This data is not updated directly by editing the 8MS Routing Set. Instead, you enter a toll-free number in the Update CAD Info from Toll Free Number field and select the Save button. This updates all non-routing-affecting fields in this 8MS Routing Set with the data in the current Active record of the specified toll-free number. If there is no Active record for this toll-free number the save action will fail. Note that the specified toll-free number must be in this 8MS Routing Set.

When a company is moved to a different 8MS platform or merged with another company on a different 8MS platform it is common to want the named 8MS Routing Sets (along with other data) to exist on the new 8MS platform. As described above, 8MS Routing Sets are created on-the-fly when toll-free numbers are retrieved. Thus, simply executing a retrieve of all your numbers will cause the Routing Sets to be also be created. However, since a Routing Set is an 8MS concept and structure it does not exist on the SMS/800 system. As a result of this, Routing Set names cannot be downloaded from SMS/800. Instead, a manual process is required to sync up the 8MS Routing Set names between two 8MS platforms. The process is not difficult to do but it requires each named 8MS Routing Set to be handled individually.

The process for moving a company to a new 8MS platform requires all toll-free numbers on the old platform to be retrieved onto the new platform. A number list is created on the new platform that contains all numbers on the old 8MS platform but not on the new 8MS platform. A batch retrieve request is run for the number list. When it is complete, all numbers and 8MS Routing Sets will exist on the new platform. However, the 8MS Routing Sets will contain system-generated names consisting of the | (pipe) symbol followed by a sequence of numbers. What remains for the company to do is to name the 8MS Routing Sets and set the non-routing-affecting data if the company feels this is necessary. Below are the steps required to do this.

1. On the old 8MS platform, go to the 8MS Routing Set Management screen and select the named 8MS Routing Set. Note the toll-free number shown in the Update CAD Info from Toll Free Number field.
2. On the old 8MS platform, go to the Search Local Numbers screen. Select the named 8MS Routing Set in the 8MS Routing Set drop-down list. (It may be necessary to select the blue image to the right of the list to populate the drop-down with all of your 8MS Routing Sets.) This will give you all numbers that currently route using this named 8MS Routing Set. Note one of these toll-free numbers.
3. On the new 8MS platform go to the Search Local Records screen. Enter the toll-free number found in step 2 above into the Toll Free Number field. Select the Active checkbox in the Status area. Select the Retrieve button. This will show the 8MS Routing Set for this Active record. The 8MS Routing Set will contain a system-generated name. Note the 8MS Routing Set name.
4. On the new 8MS platform go to the 8MS Routing Set Management screen. Select the system-generated 8MS Routing Set name from the Select 8MS Routing Set drop-down list. (It may be necessary to select the blue image to the right of the list to populate the drop-down with all of your 8MS Routing Sets.) Enter the "new" 8MS Routing Set name (the original name on the old 8MS platform) into the Rename selected 8MS Routing Set to field. Enter the toll-free number found in step 1 above into the Update CAD Info from Toll Free Number field. Select the Save button.

These steps should be performed for each 8MS Routing Set you wish to rename. Note that in the case of a merge of data from two 8MS platforms there may be 8MS Routing Sets that already have a non-system-generated name (i.e. both companies had the same Routing Set and each had assigned a name to that Routing Set). The two companies merging their data will need to decide how to handle this since it is not possible for an 8MS Routing Set to have two names.