CENCEN Documentation
Community setup guide · Customer guide
Connection options
Every network answers “which of your PBXs has this number?” in one of two ways. Choose in manage.cenpbx.com → your network → Routing. You can switch later.
| CEN-hosted | Your own Routing API | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Networks that want CEN to keep their branch list | Networks that already run their own routing |
| Who knows your blocks | CEN: you list branches at manage.cenpbx.com | You: your Routing API answers per call |
| What you run | Your PBXs | Your PBXs and an HTTPS Routing API |
| Your Routing API URL | https://api.cenpbx.com/v1/networks/AAA/route (CEN runs it) | Your own HTTPS URL |
| Setup | CEN-hosted setup → | Own Routing API setup → |
Either way, each PBX follows the same PBX setup: three config files pasted in the FreePBX web interface.
How a call flows
- A user at 916-315-1001 dials
88 214 400 1234. The PBX strips 88 and postsnum=2144001234with its CEN_KEY tohttps://api.cenpbx.com/v1/dial. - CEN checks the caller may place calls and that area 214 is active. If 214 is CEN-hosted, CEN finds branch 400 in its list. If 214 runs its own Routing API, CEN asks that API for
4001234. - CEN answers with a dial string for the destination PBX:
IAX2/from-cen:[email protected]:4569/2144001234. - The calling PBX dials it. The call and its audio go directly between the two PBXs, and the receiving PBX rings extension 1234.
CEN only answers lookups. It never carries calls. Each receiving PBX’s IAX password travels in the dial string, so the receiving side only lets from-cen callers ring extensions. If a lookup fails, the call ends instead of falling back to PSTN.