Request a fax number

Faxart lets a user request a fax number (DID) for themselves or a shared mailbox. Provisioning a number is an Active Directory write, which crosses the read-only boundary the rest of the system uses, so it runs through a separate, audited path. This guide covers both the user and admin sides.

The Fax numbers tab: provision directly, the approval queue, and declaring claimable ranges

How it works

A number a user can claim comes from an admin-declared range. Availability is computed live: the range minus what AD already has minus any in-flight requests. AD stays the source of truth; the range is policy, not a second copy of the data.

flowchart LR
  U[User claims a number] --> O{Range open<br/>for self-serve?}
  O -- yes --> P[Provision now<br/>audited AD write]
  O -- no --> Q[Queue PENDING]
  Q --> A[Admin approves] --> P
  P --> D[ad.fax_directory resolves it]

For a user

Open the Fax numbers tab (visible to everyone, since self-service is the point).
Browse Available numbers and Claim one, or search for the recipient mailbox if you are requesting on behalf of a shared box.
If the range is open for self-service, the number is provisioned immediately. Otherwise it goes to My requests as pending until an admin approves it.

For an admin

Declare ranges: define the claimable blocks. These are policy only.
Provision directly: assign a number to a recipient without the queue.
Approval queue: approve (fires the audited write), reject, or release a number.

The boundary crossing

The read-only directory account cannot write. Provisioning uses a separate, narrowly-scoped writer that touches only the fax attributes: it sets the primary fax number when empty and appends additional numbers (the multi-DID model). It is idempotent, refuses an ambiguous or missing match, and no-ops entirely until the write account is configured. Every assign and release is audited as a PROVISION or RELEASE event with the target.