Inter-Tel Axxess
Issued:
March 4, 2002
Table of Contents
Inter-Tel
Corporate Philosophy and Product Direction of the Axxess page 2 & 3
Inter-Tel Axxess
Capacity and Application Overview page 4
Inter-Tel Axxess
Cards
page 5
Inter-Tel
Axxess Applications
page 6, 7 & 8
Inter-Tel
Phone Description
page 9 & 10
Inter-Tel
Axxess IP Telephony
page 11, 12, & 13
Inter-Tel
Axxess Comparison with NEAX IPS and NEAX IPX page 14 & 15
Inter-Tel Axxess
Limitations
page 16
Inter-Tel
Axxess Blocking Sequence and Inter-Tel PAL’s page 17 & 18
Inter-Tel Direction and
Philosophy
What Inter-Tel Considers Its Strengths in the
Axxess Platform
Commitment to emerging technology: Inter-Tel is committed to exploring new ways of enhancing the
communications model. As new
technology emerges, Inter- Tel embraces that which has business potential.
The technology is then evaluated to determine if it provides real value to
customers. If it proves to be truly
valuable, Inter- Tel will adopt it, nurture it, and then implement it. Although all emerging technology is
evaluated, Inter-Tel will not implement for the sake of technology. Customers are assured that all emerging
technology gets its chance while only valuable technology gets implemented. Unified Messaging
Inter- Tel is also working to introduce advanced features such as
text-to-speech and Find Me / Follow Me capabilities, tightly integrated
within the feature-rich PBX architecture. |
|
·
The digital keysets
utilize an ISDN BRI-type signaling format and Inter-Tel also supports an ISDN
Primary Rate Interface (PRI) to the public network and ISDN BRI hardware. ·
With Release
5.1 or higher, up to 63 AXXESS Systems (over 20,000 stations) can be
networked with feature transparency. ·
Inter-Tel
offers an IP Telephony solution that can route voice and fax calls over IP
networks (such as the Internet or an intranet); this can reduce long
distance voice and fax expenses. Please note that NEC and the IP market place have
evolved from the long distance argument to IP applications and customer
solutions. ·
AXXESS also supports
an IP Ethernet telephone that compresses and packetizes
voice traffic for transmission over a corporate LAN. Note, this statement is a sure indication
that Inter-Tel has not developed IP peer to peer, which would meant the
addition of TDM pad cards and IP pad cards, an additional customer
expenditure. ·
The Executive display
digital phone is equipped with a full duplex speakerphone
that provides transmission in two directions simultaneously (most
speakerphones are half duplex and only transmit in one direction at one
time). As of this writing, the only
known full duplex speaker phone in the industry is marketed by Siemens under
their Optiset product family. |
|
Inter-Tel claims that DSP
technology allows for more changes to be developed through software. The system is based on Digital Signal
Processing (DSP) technology, which replaces hardwired functionality with
software, resulting in higher reliability and flexibility (as well as
possible lower costs). Also, the system
uses programmable DSPs making it possible to change their function. This can reduce the requirement for
additional DSPs, should a system configuration change. Please see note from Gartner on Axxess
limitations: DSP Options Cards also
require extra engineering at extra cost to the customer. For dealers of
Inter-Tel AXXESS and Eclipse systems, Inter-Tel offers a two year
hardware-only warranty for system hardware converted by most
dealers to a one year Standard Maintenance Agreement, including on-site
coverage for major outage repairs and parts replacement, 2-4 hour on-site
response, and 24x7 helpdesk technical support. Most dealers do not offer remote monitoring and only offer
limited remote repair capabilities. No
warranty is offered for software. The AXXESS is a
universal card slot system in which the number of stations and trunks depends
on the cards and stations installed.
The following processor cards are available: CPU-64 card; CPU-128
card; CPU-256/PCM card; CPU-512/PCM card; or NT CPU (512). Note that PAL’s are a big customer issue
here. The customer may find they have
an underpowered system or a system that needs re-engineered. Inter-Tel
Recent Software Releases
With the Axxess latest
software release, Inter-Tel boasts about the following system attributes: For dealers of Inter-Tel AXXESS and Eclipse
systems, Inter-Tel offers a two year hardware-only warranty for system
hardware converted by most dealers to a one year Standard Maintenance
Agreement, including on-site coverage for major outage repairs and parts
replacement, 2-4 hour on-site response, and 24x7 helpdesk technical
support. Note, Most dealers do not
offer remote monitoring. With Release 5.1 or higher, up to 64 AXXESS
Systems (over 20,000 stations) can be networked with feature transparency. The Axxess system is based on Digital
Signal Processing (DSP) technology which replaces hardwired functionality
with software, resulting in higher reliability and flexibility (as well as
possible lower costs). Also, the
system uses programmable DSPs making it possible to change their
function. This can reduce the
requirement for additional DSPs, should a system configuration change. The Executive display digital phone is
equipped with a full duplex speakerphone that provides transmission in two
directions simultaneously (most speakerphones are half duplex and only
transmit in one direction at one time). Inter-Tel offers an IP
Telephony solution that can route voice and fax calls over IP networks
(such as the Internet or an intranet) this can reduce long distance voice and
fax expenses. Axxess also supports an IP Ethernet
telephone that compresses and packetizes voice traffic for transmission over
a corporate LAN. The AXXESS is a universal card slot system in
which the number of stations and trunks depends on the cards and stations
installed. The following processor cards are available: CPU-64 card; CPU-128
card; CPU-256/PCM card; CPU-512/PCM card, or NT CPU (512). For end users
who purchase Inter-Tel AXXESS systems, Inter-Tel offers a five year Full
Service Warranty for system hardware and software, including 24x7 Remote
Monitoring/Diagnostics/Repair, on-site coverage for major outage repairs, 3
hour on-site response, and 24x7 helpdesk technical support. Inter- Tel also offers a two-year
hardware-only warranty that includes advance replacement of defective
equipment and downloadable software fixes (not upgrades) from the Internet;
the warranty does not include on-site support. Only offer limited remote repair capabilities. No warranty is offered for software. System Administration
Notes: With Release 5.1 or higher software, the Windows-NT CPU version allows
multiple AXXESS sites to be managed from a single location via a corporate
WAN or the Internet (system alarm messages, call record data, maintenance,
etc.) Otherwise, customers must provide an external modem on the system,
along with a PC (and modem), for remote programming access; system
programming is in an MS-Windows format. SNMP is supported on NT CPU models. |
Inter-Tel Axxess Capacity and Application
Overview
|
Characteristic
|
Description
|
Product type
|
Digital
hybrid business communications system/private branch exchange (PBX). The Axxess system can be configured as a key, hybrid, or
PBX. Note:
Station Shipment reporting numbers accumulate in KTS buckets Which
makes Inter-Tel appear larger in KTS than they really are. |
|
|
Date
introduced |
1993
|
|
|
Target
markets |
Small-
to medium-size businesses |
|
|
Main
processor |
Motorola
68020 |
|
|
Axxess
Version |
5.3 |
|
|
Architecture
|
Digital/Time-division
multiplexing (TDM) switch; open application interfaces (OAI); object-oriented software
platform |
|
|
Call
processing redundancy |
Optional,
available only if call processing is outboard |
|
|
Maximum
configuration |
Up
to 512 ports (trunks and stations); up to 448 stations; up to 472 T1-based trunks; up to 208 trunk groups |
|
|
Telephony
interfaces |
T1,
E1, loop start, ground start, data loop start, data ground start, direct
inward dialing (DID), Integrated Services Digital Network Primary
Rate Interface (ISDN PRI), tie trunks (E&M) |
|
|
Incoming
call information |
Automatic
Number Identification (ANI), Caller ID, DID, Dialed
number identification service (DNIS) |
|
|
Digital
phones |
Basic,
Standard, Executive |
|
|
Desktop
call management |
Inter-Tel
Telephony Application Programming Interface (TAPI) Service Provider
|
|
|
PC-based
attendant console |
Axxess
Attendant Console |
|
|
Voice
mail |
Axxess
Voice Processing Unit |
|
|
Unified
messaging |
Unified
Messaging Software |
|
|
Automatic
call distribution |
Up
to 75 agent groups, expandable to 300 agent groups; no limit on number
of agents per group |
|
|
Call
center |
Axxess
Call Center Suite |
|
|
Computer
telephony integration |
Axxess
Call Center Suite; OAISYS server developer's toolkit |
|
|
IP
telephony |
Axxess
IP PhonePlus Telephones, InterPrise Gateways |
|
|
Networking
|
63
Axxess systems, up to 20,000 ports; centralized attendant service is available |
|
|
Standards
support |
TAPI |
|
|
|
TSAPI
(telephony server application programming interface) |
|
|
|
ASAI
(adjunct-switch application interface) |
|
|
|
MVIP
(multivendor interface protocol) |
|
|
|
CSTA
(computer-supported telephony applications) |
|
|
|
DDE
(dynamic data exchange) |
|
|
|
SNMP
(simple network management protocol) |
|
|
List
Price Range (US$) |
$350
to $800 per station |
|
Cards
The Axxess
system cabinets employ universal card slots.
Single
Cabinet--In addition to fixed slots for the CPU card and power supply,
seven (7) universal slots are available in the main cabinet for cards that
interface to trunks and stations.
Expanded
Cabinet--The expanded cabinet provides 14, 21, or 28 universal card slots. Intercabinet connections--A fiber optic link
connects Axxess cabinets in large system configurations.
CPU
Card--The CPU card designations (CPU-64, CPU-128, CPU-256/PCM, CPU-512/PCM)
identify the number of ports supported according to purchased capacity. In addition to the main processor (Motorola
68EC020), the card has one DSP, three RS-232 ports, and a PCM link. The CPU-512/PCM card has a fiber optic
connection. The Axxess advertises the
Pentium chipset as its “flagship”, but in reality, the dated Motorola chips are
still the chip of choice for Inter-Tel.
The
NT CPU (512), which resides in an optional external call processing server, has
the same number and type of resources as the CPU-512 PCM card plus two Ethernet
10Base-T ports and a fiber optic connection.
Options Card
(OPC)--The options card provides a PCM link, an RS-232 port, and one to four
DSP chips per card. The number of DSPs
varies according to the number and type of service circuits a particular system
requires. The types of service circuits
the DSPs implement are programmable as:
- Dual-tone
multifrequency (DTMF) receivers (6 per DSP)
- Caller ID
receivers (8 per DSP)
- Four-party
conference circuits (16 per DSP)
-
Combination four-party conference circuits/DTMF receivers (12/4 per DSP)
- Standard
speakerphones (8 per DSP)
-
Full-duplex speakerphones (4 per DSP)
Digital
Keyset Card (DKSC)--Eight or 16 circuits per card support digital terminals
(but not IP phones)
Analog Keyset
Card--Eight circuits per card for two-wire phones
Single-line
card (SLC) with lamp options--Eight or 16 per card for two-wire phones with
lamps
Trunk cards
(LSC, LGSC, and DLGC)--Individual cards (four circuits per card) for loop start
trunks, loop/ground start trunks, and data loop/ground start trunks.
Daughter
cards (LSC-D, LGSC-D, and DLGC-D)--Individual daughter cards (four circuits per
daughter card) for loop start trunks, loop/ground start trunks, and data
loop/ground start trunks. Daughter cards
mount on main cards; this provides a maximum capacity of eight circuits per
main/daughter card combination, which occupies a single card slot.
T1 card--The
T1 card supports T1 (24 trunks) or E1 (30 trunks).
ISDN PRI
card--When used as an ISDN PRI interface, the card supports T1 (23B+D) or E1
(30B+D).
Embedded
voice mail card (EVMC)--The embedded voice mail card implements a four-or
eight-port voice mail subsystem in a single slot without the need for an
external server.
Audio
interface card (AIC)--The audio interface card occupies a slot in an Axxess
Voice Processing Unit or Unified Messaging Software server.
Voice
card--In conjunction with the AIC card, four-, eight-, or 16-port voice cards
reside in the external server.
Internet
protocol card (IPC)--The Internet protocol card supports packet networks and IP
phones.
Power supply
card--The power supply card occupies a double-width slot in the cabinet (all
other cards use single-width slots).
External Servers and Applications
Accelerated
call processing and certain optional applications of Axxess require external
resources per the following:
Call
processing normally occurs in the Axxess cabinet CPU card. Alternatively, a Windows NT-based server can
move call processing off of Axxess, increasing speed by three or four
times. The result is a substantial
performance improvement in large systems; in high busy-hour call volume/short
hold-time applications; or when applications demand fast operation, such as screen-pops. The architecture supports an optional
redundant call processing server (a redundant NT CPU) that picks up
automatically if the primary server goes down for some reason.
For voice
mail configurations of eight to 32 ports, voice mail must execute in an
external server rather than the Axxess cabinet. At four ports, the voice mail application can execute in Axxess.
For any
size-unified messaging configuration (four to 32 ports), the unified messaging
application executes in an external server.
Using the
CTI toolkit, Inter-Tel and third parties write OAI applications such as Axxess
Attendant Console, Inter-Tel TAPI Service Provider, intelligent ACD call
routing, Caller ID translation, screen-pop/PC call control, and Interactive
Voice Response (IVR). Axxess and CTI
server cooperate on behalf of call processing using the CSTA industry standard
(or TAPI 3.0). A group within Inter-Tel
is available to customize or develop CTI applications that do not already
exist.
Typical Configuration of Optional Servers
|
If PC Server(s) Are
Customer-Supplied (Minimum) |
If PC Server(s) Are Supplied by
Inter-Tel
|
|
Pentium 64MB |
Pentium III |
At the customer's request, Inter-Tel
will supply towers or 19-inch rack-mount units. RAID Level 1 is optional.
Desktop Call
Management
Inter-Tel
TAPI Service Provider software links the features and call processing
capability of Axxess to the user's PC, allowing the user to work in a Microsoft
Windows 95, 98, 2000, or NT environment to make and receive calls without
lifting the telephone handset. Calls are made using the PC mouse or keyboard
number pad to click buttons on-screen, or to click feature icons. The physical
link between Axxess and the PC uses an Axxess Standard or Executive Display Phone
as intermediary. Station cable connects Axxess to the digital terminal, which
relays control and status information to the PC via the phone's PC data port
module and an RS-232 cable. The arrangement eliminates the requirement that the
PC connect to the local area network for call control purposes. (The PC can
still connect to the LAN for access to network resources such as file, printer,
or fax servers.) The desktop interface (DTI) protocol is based on the
industry-standard Hayes modem protocol.
Inter-Tel TAPI Service Provider is TAPI and DDE compliant, enabling it
to integrate with applications based on these standards.
Attendant Console
Axxess
Attendant Console runs as a CTI-based (OAI) Windows (95, 98, 2000, or NT)
application that combines Axxess software with the user's PC. Axxess Attendant Console can be minimized on
the attendant's desktop, enabling personnel to work on other projects in
addition to routing incoming calls. The
main screen provides a toolbar and fields for mouse-driven call handling;
access to the company directory; and setting of volume. Graphical tabs provide access to page,
conference, feature, message, and call log functions.
Axxess Voice Processing Unit
Axxess
supports three voice mail platforms:
· EVMC
· Windows-NT
voice mail server
· OS/2 voice
mail server
The EVMC, a
single-card implementation of Axxess Voice Processing Unit, supports four or
eight voice ports. Larger channel
capacities, up to 32 ports, require an external voice mail server (NT or OS/2)
that eliminates the EVMC card from the Axxess cabinet. Features and capabilities across the
platforms include:
· Four
(EVMC) to 32 (NT or OS/2) voice ports in four-port increments
· Choice of
32, 64, or 200 mailboxes (EVMC) or up to 3,000 mailboxes (NT or OS/2)
· At least
165 hours of voice storage
· Recordings
for ACD/UCD announcements
· Retention
of Caller ID information
·
Programmable routing (to phone or to voice mail) based on day, day of week, and
holiday criteria
· Fax on
demand
· Automated
attendant
· Integrated
menus on Executive Display Phone LCDs, which provide message send/listen
options and running time counter.
The OS/2
version--a lower-cost alternative to the NT version--has the same functions,
features, and LCD integration as the NT version except; the OS/2 version is
limited to 165 hours of voice storage, while the NT version can grow to 720
hours when using an 8.4GB disk drive.· Unified messaging is not available on
the OS/2 version. Backup to a network
resource is not supported by the OS/2 version.
The NT
version supports database backups if a network interface card is present.
Unified Messaging
Axxess Unified Messaging Software is designed to run on a separate
Windows NT server, providing the same features as Axxess Voice Processing Unit,
but integrating all message types--voice mail, fax, and e-mail--so that users
can access them from Microsoft Outlook.
Unified Messaging Software also supports outbound faxing from Microsoft
Office applications such as Word and Excel.
As an implementation option, Unified Messaging Software can integrate
with an external Microsoft Exchange Server; or, alternatively, can incorporate
the role of Exchange Server. In either
case, capacities are the same as listed above for voice mail. Note:Traditional UM systems for TDM environments required digital signal
processors and special integration cards called emulations cards. With an IP system, because the switches are
more standards-based, you no longer need DSP cards. You no longer need digital integration cards, and essentially all
you really need is a PC server in the network.
The reason for this
comment is Inter-Tel proclaims the technological value of DSPs and something
called PALs, which are mentioned in greater detail in this document.
ACD
Axxess
software provides the following ACD routing algorithms: longest idle agent,
balanced call count, distributive, and linear. In conjunction with Axxess Voice
Processing Unit, Axxess can provide place-in-queue and wait-time information to
callers. The call center server
(optional) is required for data collection and report generation, or to support
complex routing algorithms.
Call Center
Axxess Call
Center Suite runs on an external server to enhance Axxess's basic ACD
functionality. Axxess Server is the
main point of call monitoring and reporting.
Up to 75 agent groups are supported, with no limit on the number of
agents per group. An agent can be a
member of multiple groups. Algorithms
include those supplied with the system (ACD) plus optional time-of-day,
day-of-week, holiday, skills-based, and event routing to name a few. A key technique, event routing refers to
complex situations such as routing to an alternate agent group if the number of
calls in que reaches a preset limit and the projected number of operators are
insufficient to answer the call within a configurable wait time. In conjunction with the NT CPU option, the
call center can expand to 300 agent groups and up to 3,000 agent IDs in one
location. In networked arrangements, the
following is available:
· Axxess
Call Center Suite overflows to other nodes.
· Axxess
CallViewerClient displays customer data on agent and supervisory terminals in
the form of screen pops.
· Axxess
Reporter Basic produces historical reports on call and user
activity. The user can create custom
reports. The Reporter package provides analysis of traffic
patterns. The Reporter Pro module
provides team information. Reporter obtains raw data from the Axxess Server and
stores finished reports there.
· Axxess
RealViewer displays real-time performance statistics to individual users or
team leaders on their computer screens.