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System Hardware
AXXESS® ADMINISTRATOR’S GUIDE – January 2004
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
The Inter-Tel hardware houses the system power supply unit and the circuit cards. Together,
the circuit cards in the phone system’s cabinet perform the switching activities for the system,
detect incoming calls, process data-controlled features, and control the interaction of station
instruments, trunks, intercom calls, and Voice Processor applications.
The basic cabinet has slots for up to seven circuit cards. For increased port capacity, two, three,
or four basic cabinets may be connected together to form one expanded cabinet. For maximum
capacity, up to four dual-cabinet systems can be connected via an Asynchronous Transfer
Mode (ATM) Switch, creating an eight-cabinet system.
The actual number of phones and lines available depends on the number and type of cards and
stations installed on the system. For example, there could be as many as 512 outside lines, 448
Inter-Tel phones, or 512 single-line sets, depending on the circuit card configuration.
The circuitry and software in the basic cabinet combine to produce an “integrated switching
matrix” of 128 time slots (voice channels). A quad-cabinet system has 512 time slots.
With system software version 5.0 (and later), you can connect two or more systems to form a
network that provides a seamless interface between the systems. To the user, the network
appears as though it is one integrated system. With few exceptions, the user can perform all of
the functions across the network that can be performed on a single system.
Standard system hardware features include:
•A Central Processing Unit (CPU) Card for storing the system software programs, the
customer’s database, and call processing history files.
•Light-emitting diode (LED) indicators for showing main processor operation, database
error occurrences, minor system alarms, and database back-up battery connection.
•External ports for connecting a personal computer (PC) or modem to program the sys-
tem database and/or for connecting output devices for the Station Message Detail
Recording (SMDR) and programming reports. Ports are also provided for the Voice
Processor interface.
•Database back-up battery for preserving the system database in the event of a power
failure.
•Reset switch to manually reset the system during troubleshooting.
•Easily accessible voltage test points for checking the system operating voltages.
•Relays for connecting power failure transfer equipment.
•Circuitry for connecting an external music source (radio, tape player, etc.).