Configuration, Site Controller Database

CONFIGURATION

LBI-39076B

CONFIGURATION

OVERVIEW

The user configurable parameters for the ELI option reside in two locations: the Site Controller computer’s database and the GTI units’ database. The configuration of these two databases is covered in this section.

Rotary Defaults - Defines which line numbers are to be considered when hunting for an available line. This field should only list existing line numbers. Listing non-existent line numbers may delay the line assignments for radio- initiated interconnect calls. In the previous example, line numbers one through four would not exist and should not be entered in the Rotary Defaults field.

Interconnect Timing Parameters

SITE CONTROLLER DATABASE

The overall operation of the ELI option is controlled by the software in the Site Controller computer and the active configuration of the Site Controller computer’s database. This active configuration must reflect the installed telephone interconnect hardware and the desired operational characteristics. The Site Controller must use Release 5 (group 5, version 6.xx) or higher software to support ELI. However, it is highly recommended that the Site Controller use Release 7 (group 7, version 7.xx) or higher software to ensure the proper and efficient operation of the ELI system.

Operation without System Manager

If the Site Controller computer is not connected to a System Manager, the active configuration of its database will always be the default configuration contained in its Personality PROMs. Therefore, this default configuration must reflect the installed telephone interconnect hardware and the desired operational characteristics.

If the telephone interconnect hardware or the desired operational characteristics change, it will be necessary to order a new set of Site Controller computer Personality PROMs. To assure that the new PROMs will accurately reflect these changes, it is important to pay particular attention to the following two data fields used by the Site Controller personality programmer to make the new Personality PROMs. (This is because telephone lines are typically numbered differently in the ELI option than they were in the previous telephone interconnect option.)

Max Line - Defines the highest telephone line number used. For the ELI option, the standard procedure is to assign telephone line numbers to the highest equipped radio channel numbers, with the telephone line numbers corresponding to the channel numbers. Therefore, a seven- channel ELI site with three telephone lines would have telephone line numbers five through seven, and you would enter 7 in the Max Line field.

NOTE

If upgrading to Release 7 Site Controller Application Software, check these interconnect timing settings.

If the Site Controller has Release 7 or later site controller software, the interconnect timing parameters in the Site Controller personality may need to be altered. These timing parameters are designed to guide system response time to certain interconnect sequences, such as dial tone detection and DTMF digit detection. The Site Controller pre-Release 7 software added significant time to these timing parameters. As an example, the dial tone detection duration defaults to one second. Prior to this release, the site controller would in fact wait 1.6 seconds for dial tone. Another example is the DTMF digit detect duration, which defaults to 20 seconds for ELI. Prior to this release, the 20 second time-out was in reality 32 seconds. These examples indicate that rotary hunts would take longer and interconnect resource recovery would be further delayed beyond what a customer called out in the Site Controller personality. At best this causes confusion, making it more difficult to tailor an EDACS system per customer needs.

With Release 7 and later software, the interconnect timings are accurate. The accurate timings provide the benefit of reliable customization of system operation per customer needs (e.g., dial tone detection) and increased interconnect call throughput by more quickly recovering interconnect resources for use by future calls. This carries certain implications, most notable of which is dial tone detection. If a customer application reports dial tone within 1 to 1.5 seconds, for example, previous software releases would reliably process dial tone detection with a personality value of 1 second. Release 7 (or later), however, would not, resulting in either a rotary hunt or, worse, misdialing on one or more lines (see open DSR #4324). To remedy this problem, the site controller personality should be updated concurrent with the Release 7 (or later) upgrade to provide the same relative time margin for dial tone detection, namely increase the duration from 1 second to 1.6 seconds.