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Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Introduction

1.2 About the AG-T1 and AG-E1

: 1.2.1 DSP Resources
: 1.2.2 ISA Bus and Trunk Connectivity
: 1.2.3 MVIP Connectivity
: 1.2.4 Daughterboard Interface
: 1.2.5 Hardware Variations

1.3 Software Components

: 1.3.1 About Trunk Control Programs (TCPs)
: 1.3.2 About CT Access
: 1.3.3 About MVIP Switching Software
: 1.3.4 About agmon and the AG Configuration File
: 1.3.5 About Runfiles

1.4 Installation Summary

1.1 Introduction

This chapter: Describes the AG-T1 and AG-E1 boards Lists and describes the software components you require to build an application using AG-T1 and AG-E1 boards Summarizes the installation procedure

1.2 About the AG-T1 and AG-E1

An Alliance Generation AG-T1 board interfaces one T1 carrier of 24 channels with a PC. An AG-E1 board interfaces one E1 carrier of 30 channels with a PC. You can use these boards as the basis for powerful applications which place and receive calls and perform voice processing functions.
Figure 1. Figure 1: AG-T1 Board
Figure 2. Figure 2: AG-E1 Board (75 ohm version shown)

1.2.1 DSP Resources

In addition to the trunk interface, each board includes six high-performance digital signal processors (DSPs). Additional DSPs can be added with daughterboards. Each DSP supports one or more tasks for each of several telephone connections. For example: Voice recording and playback DTMF recognition and generation Call progress analysis Fax Modem Text-to-speech (requires DSP daughterboard - see Section 1.2.4) Speech recognition (requires DSP daughterboard - see Section 1.2.4)
By default, DSP management is transparent to the application developer. The AG driver software and runfile allocate appropriate processing resources as needed.

1.2.2 ISA Bus and Trunk Connectivity

Each board is designed to reside in a single 16-bit ISA bus slot, for communication with the PC. Included with each board are one or more cables to connect the board to the telephone network, or to connect the board's transmit channels to its receive channels for loopback testing.
The AG-T1 is designed for a standard DSX-1 interface (see Chapter 5). The AG-E1 comes in two versions, for 75 ohm or 120 ohm CEPT E1 trunk interface configurations.

1.2.3 MVIP Connectivity

The AG-T1 and AG-E1 can connect to other boards via the MVIP bus. The MVIP bus is a high-speed, time-division multiplexed digital telephony "highway" between AG boards, which allows the boards to share digital voice, data, and signaling information via a 40-conductor ribbon cable strung between them. For example, you can connect two or more AG-T1 or AG-E1 boards for applications that perform trunk-to-trunk switching. You can add additional DSP resources, or analog station interfaces, or loop start line interfaces using other AG boards or board sets. You can also use MVIP-compatible products from other manufacturers with the AG-T1 or AG-E1 board.

1.2.4 Daughterboard Interface

Optionally, for additional DSP power, you can order an AG-T1 or AG-E1 with a Diva I, an AG-RT, or an AG-RT/2 daughterboard attached. With a daughterboard, your AG board can support processing-intensive tasks such as speech recognition or speech synthesis. To learn more about these boards, contact NMS.

1.2.5 Hardware Variations

NMS produces the following AG-T1 and AG-E1 boards: AG-T1 AG-T1 with Diva II daughterboard AG-E1/120 ohm AG-E1/120 ohm with Diva II daughterboard AG-E1/75 ohm AG-E1/75 ohm with Diva II daughterboard AG-T1 v2 AG-T1 v2 with Diva II daughterboard AG-E1/120 ohm v2 AG-E1/120 ohm v2 with Diva II daughterboard AG-E1/75 ohm v2 AG-E1/75 ohm v2 with Diva II daughterboard
The v2 variants have 100 MHz DSPs, and do not support: Diva I daughterboards Ally daughterboards AG-RT daughterboards
The v2 variants require CT Access 1.1 or greater.

1.3 Software Components

To build an AG application based on AG-T1s or AG-E1s, you will need the following software components: An NMS telephony API: CT Access. One or more trunk control programs (TCPs). These programs allow your application to communicate with the network using the signaling schemes (protocols) used on the trunk. An AG configuration file, describing how agmon configures your boards.
Natural Media extensions are also available from NMS to support various telephony tasks: NaturalFax, NaturalRecognition, NaturalText. For more information, contact NMS.

1.3.1 About Trunk Control Programs (TCPs)

AG-T1 and AG-E1 boards are compatible with a variety of signaling schemes (called protocols). To program an AG-T1 or AG-E1 for a specific protocol, a trunk control program (TCP) is loaded on the board. The TCP performs all of the signaling tasks (sequences) to interface a CT Access application with the protocol used on the trunk.
Several different protocol standards are in use throughout the world. These "standards" tend to differ considerably from country to country. For these reasons, different TCPs are supplied by NMS for various protocols and country-specific variations. Some TCPs come with CT Access software; others are supplied as separate software packages. To learn how to install protocol software and interface it with CT Access, refer to the AG CAS Installation and Developer's Manual.
More than one TCP can be loaded at a time, for applications that must support multiple protocols and variations simultaneously. The TCPs to use are specified in the AG configuration file. They are downloaded to the board by the agmon board configuration and monitoring utility. TCPs run on the board, relieving your host computer from the task of processing the protocol directly.

1.3.2 About CT Access

Your application controls the TCP using function calls from the Natural MicroSystems CT Access application programming interfaces (APIs) for AG board control. These products communicate with all TCPs in the same way, making applications protocol-independent. NMS recommends using CT Access for new applications. CT Access is a complete development environment for telephony applications. It provides a standard set of telephony functions grouped into logical services, each having a standard API. CT Access services include call control functions, tone and DTMF generation/detection, voice playing/recording, etc. A powerful MVIP switching service is also provided (see Section 1.3.3).
For general information about installing and using CT Access, see your CT Access documentation. For information about building an AG-T1 or AG-E1 application using either of these APIs, see the appropriate developer's reference manual describing your protocol software.

1.3.3 About MVIP Switching Software

CT Access includes a service which controls switching on MVIP-compliant devices. You can use this service to make or break connections, send patterns, sample data, etc. This service supports both MVIP-95 and MVIP-90 standards. (For details, see your CT Access documentation.)
CT Access includes a standalone utility called swish, which you can use to control switching. It can operate interactively, allowing you to enter commands one by one on its command line. Alternatively, it can operate in batch mode, reading commands from a script. Batch mode operation makes swish quite useful for system initialization. To learn more about swish, see the Switching Service Developer's Reference Manual.

1.3.4 About agmon and the AG Configuration File

When you set up your system, you specify configuration information for all boards in the system in an AG configuration file. In this file, you specify whether a board performs MVIP switching, which board is the MVIP clock master, what software modules to transfer to the board's memory on startup (including which TCPs to load), and so on. Chapter 3 describes how to create an AG configuration file for your setup.
To configure your boards based on the information in the AG configuration file, run the agmon utility. agmon transfers to each board all software modules specified in the file, and performs any other configuration activities needed. It then monitors the boards for errors and other events.
Whenever you make a change to your AG configuration file, you must launch agmon again to make your changes effective.

1.3.5 About Runfiles

The runfile is the basic low-level software which an AG board requires to operate. When agmon runs, the runfile is transferred from the host into on-board memory, and the board boots.
Several runfiles are installed with your CT Access software. You specify the file to use in the AG configuration file. (To learn how to do this, see Chapter 3.)

1.4 Installation Summary

The following table summarizes the procedure for installing AG-T1 and AG-E1 software components, and verifying that the installation is operational. Step Description For details, see 1 Make sure the board's I/O address space does not conflict with that of any other device in the system. Change the I/O address if necessary. Section 2.3 of this manual. 2 Insert the board into one of your computer's ISA slots. Section 2.6.1 of this manual. 3 Connect the MVIP bus connector, if necessary. Section 2.6.1 of this manual. 4 Install CT Access. The CT Access Installation Manual. 5 Install any other country-specific protocol software you require. The developer's reference manual that came with your protocol software. 6 Read the readme file that came with the software. The manual that came with your protocol software. 7 Create an AG configuration file describing your setup so agmon will configure your board properly when it runs. Chapter 3 of this manual, the AG Runtime Configuration and Developer's Manual, and the developer's reference manual that came with your protocol software. 8 Run agmon to make your configuration specifications effective. The CT Access Installation Manual. 9 Verify that your installation is operational. Chapter 4 of this manual. 10 If application development is complete, connect the board to the E1 or T1 network. Section 2.8 of this manual. 11 Run your application.

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