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Chapter 1

About AG-8 and AG-8/80 Boards

1.1 Introduction

1.2 AG-8 and AG-8/80 Board Features

1.3 About Line Interfaces

1.4 Software Components

: 1.4.1 About CT Access
: 1.4.2 About Runtime Software
: 1.4.3 About Trunk Control Programs (TCPs)
: 1.4.4 About the AG Configuration File and agmon

1.5 Installation Summary

1.1 Introduction

This chapter describes the AG-8 and AG-8/80 boards and their capabilities. It also provides background information about the software components you will need to build an application using AG-8 and AG-8/80 boards, and summarizes the hardware installation procedure.

1.2 AG-8 and AG-8/80 Board Features

The AG-8 and AG 8/80 boards are part of the Alliance Generation (AG) family of telephony boards. They each provide eight analog line interfaces with up to 8 ports of call processing and programmable voice processing. DSP resource versions (without line interfaces) of the AG-8 and AG-8/80 boards are also available for use with a separate network interface card such as the World Trunk Interface (WTI-8) board.
NMS produces the following AG-8 and AG-8/80 boards: AG Board Line Interfaces Connectors Processing Capabilities AG-8 DSP None. None. 8 ports of voice AG-8/80 DSP None. None. 8 ports of voice and/or fax AG-8 DID/E&M 8 DID hybrids (software-configurable as E&M) 5 RJ-61X 8 ports of voice and call AG-8/80 DID/E&M 8 DID hybrids (software-configurable as E&M) 5 RJ-61X 8 ports of voice, call, and/or fax AG-8 LS 8 loop start (LS) hybrids 5 RJ-61X 8 ports of voice and call AG-8/80 LS 8 loop start (LS) hybrids 5 RJ-61X 8 ports of voice, call, and/or fax AG-8/80 ELS 8 enhanced loop start (ELS) hybrids 5 RJ-61X 8 ports of voice, call, and/or fax Figure 1. An Example AG-8 Board
AG-8 and AG 8/80 boards have the following capabilities: DSP resources Each board has two high-performance digital signal processors (DSPs) which provide resources for 8 ports of call processing and programmable voice processing. Each DSP supports one or more tasks such as voice recording and playback, DTMF detection and generation, and call progress analysis. ISA bus connectivity Each board is designed to reside in a single ISA bus slot. Daughterboard support The AG-8 board can be ordered with a Diva I daughterboard to provide speech recognition functionality. The AG-8/80 board can be ordered with an AG-RT daughterboard to provide processing of a variety of standard vocoder and echo cancellation algorithms with very low latency. Analog line connectivity With the exception of the AG-8 DSP and AG-8/80 DSP DSP-only variants, each board holds eight analog line interfaces and provides 8 ports per board. Telephony bus switching using MVIP bus connectivity The AG-8 and AG-8/80 boards provide full support of the MVIP telephony bus standard, which allows boards to share data and signaling information with other boards on the MVIP bus. Use CT Access to address streams using either the MVIP-90 or the MVIP-95 switch model. Switching for the AG-8 and AG-8/80 boards is implemented with the Flexible MVIP Interface Chip (FMIC), a single chip that offers full support for the MVIP bus architecture.

AG Board	Line Interfaces	Connectors	Processing Capabilities
AG-8 DSP	None.	None.	8 ports of voice
AG-8/80 DSP	None.	None.	8 ports of voice and/or fax
AG-8 DID/E&M	8 DID hybrids (software-configurable as E&M)	5 RJ-61X	8 ports of voice and call
AG-8/80 DID/E&M	8 DID hybrids (software-configurable as E&M)	5 RJ-61X	8 ports of voice, call, and/or fax
AG-8 LS	8 loop start (LS) hybrids	5 RJ-61X	8 ports of voice and call
AG-8/80 LS	8 loop start (LS) hybrids	5 RJ-61X	8 ports of voice, call, and/or fax
AG-8/80 ELS	8 enhanced loop start (ELS) hybrids	5 RJ-61X	8 ports of voice, call, and/or fax

1.3 About Line Interfaces

A line interface hybrid is a circuit that connects a bidirectional transmission channel to separate receive and transmit channels. AG-8 and AG-8/80 boards are available with: No line interfaces. 8 loop start (LS) hybrids. 8 enhanced loop start (ELS) hybrids (available on the AG-8/80 only). The loop start and enhanced loop start hybrids are complete audio and signaling interfaces.The ELS provides on-hook monitoring of line at normal audio levels. The ELS offers improved logging for line calls and better signal to noise detection for harsh environments than the standard LS: 8 DID line interfaces. DID line interfaces are software-configurable as E&M line interfaces. The DID/E&M hybrid is a complete audio and signaling interface for subscriber DID (Direct-Inward-Dial) or two-wire E&M (E-lead and M-lead) types Ia, Ib, and V configurations.

1.4 Software Components

Applications based on AG-8 and AG-8/80 boards are built using CT Access. CT Access is an NMS software development environment that contains: Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) which provide function libraries for call control, voice play and record, and switching. Runtime software which controls your AG board.

1.4.1 About CT Access

CT Access is a complete software development environment for telephony applications. It provides a standard set of telephony functions grouped into logical services. Each service has a standard programming interface. The ADI service includes functions for call control, DTMF generation and detection, and voice playing and recording. The Switching service controls switching on MVIP compliant devices. This service is used to make or break connections, send patterns, and to sample data. CT Access also includes a Voice Messaging service.
CT Access can use the Natural Media extensions (NaturalRecognition, NaturalFax, and NaturalText) to perform speech recognition, fax transmission and reception, and text-to-speech conversion (NaturalFax requires an AG-8/80 board). Applications that are built with Natural Media products may require additional AG boards or daughterboards.

1.4.2 About Runtime Software

The AG runtime software consists of runfiles and DSP files. The runfile is the basic low-level software which an AG board requires to operate. DSP files enable an AG board's on-board digital signal processors to perform certain tasks, such as DTMF signaling, voice recording, and playback. The basic elements of the AG runtime software are shown in Figure 2.
Several runfiles and DSP files are installed with CT Access. You specify the files to use for your configuration in the AG configuration file (ag.cfg). When agmon runs, the runfile and DSP files are transferred from the host into on-board memory. Figure 2 shows the relationship between the AG-8 and CT Access software components: Figure 2. Software Components
For more information about AG configuration files and agmon, see the AG Runtime Configuration and Developer's Manual. For more information about the DSP files shipped with CT Access, see the ADI Service Function Reference Manual.

1.4.3 About Trunk Control Programs (TCPs)

AG-8 and AG-8/80 boards are compatible with a variety of signaling schemes, called protocols. To use a specific protocol on an AG-8 board, a trunk control program (TCP) is loaded onto the board at board initialization, and is later started up from within the application. The TCP performs all of the signaling tasks to interface with the protocol used on the line.
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 for various protocols and country-specific variations. Some TCPs come with CT Access software; others are supplied as separate software packages.
More than one TCP can be loaded at a time, for applications that support multiple protocols simultaneously. TCPs are specified in the AG configuration file. They are downloaded to the board by agmon. For more information about the TCPs shipped with CT Access, see the ADI Service Function Reference Manual and the ADI Service Developer's Manual.

1.4.4 About the AG Configuration File and agmon

When you set up your system, you specify configuration information for all AG boards in the system using an AG configuration file (ag.cfg). In this file, you specify board configuration information, such as whether a specified AG board is connected to the MVIP bus, whether a specified AG board can perform dynamic MVIP switching, which AG board is the bus clock master, and which software modules to transfer to the AG board's memory on startup (including which TCPs to load). Chapter 3 describes how to create an AG configuration file for your system.
To initialize your boards based on the information in the AG configuration file, run the agmon utility. Leave it running at all times to monitor the AG board(s) for errors and other events.
Whenever you make a change to your AG configuration file, you must launch agmon again to re-initialize the AG board(s) so that your changes take effect.

1.5 Installation Summary

To install an AG-8 or AG-8/80 board and its application development environment:

Step

Description

For details, see...

1

Install CT Access, which also installs the AG-8 or AG-8/80 board driver and runtime software.

The CT Access Installation Manual.

2

Install the AG-8 or AG-8/80 board into one of your computer's ISA bus slots. Add the MVIP cable if you intend to connect the board to an MVIP bus.

Chapter 2 of this manual.

3

Edit the AG configuration file so that it describes your setup.
We recommend that you initially configure the board as a standalone that is not connected to the MVIP bus by setting EnableMVIP=No.

Chapter 3 of this manual.
For more details, see the AG Runtime Configuration and Developer's Manual.

4

Run agmon to configure your AG-8 or AG-8/80 board as specified in the AG configuration file and to verify your installation.

Chapter 4 of this manual.
For more details, see the AG Runtime Configuration and Developer's Manual.

5

Verify that the AG board is working properly.

Chapter 4 of this manual.

6

If you have other MVIP-90 boards, connect the MVIP bus connector to the AG-8 or AG-8/80 board and to the other MVIP boards in your system. Edit your AG configuration file to enable MVIP connectivity.
Make sure there is an MVIP board configured as the bus clock master, and that it is initialized before any of the clock slave boards.

Chapter 2 of this manual.
For more details, see the AG Runtime Configuration and Developer's Manual and Getting Started With MVIP Switching.

7

Verify that your installation is operational.

Chapter 4 of this manual.

Step	Description	For details, see...
1	Install CT Access, which also installs the AG-8 or AG-8/80 board driver and runtime software.	The CT Access Installation Manual.
2	Install the AG-8 or AG-8/80 board into one of your computer's ISA bus slots. Add the MVIP cable if you intend to connect the board to an MVIP bus.	Chapter 2 of this manual.
3	Edit the AG configuration file so that it describes your setup. We recommend that you initially configure the board as a standalone that is not connected to the MVIP bus by setting `EnableMVIP=No`.	Chapter 3 of this manual. For more details, see the AG Runtime Configuration and Developer's Manual.
4	Run `agmon` to configure your AG-8 or AG-8/80 board as specified in the AG configuration file and to verify your installation.	Chapter 4 of this manual. For more details, see the AG Runtime Configuration and Developer's Manual.
5	Verify that the AG board is working properly.	Chapter 4 of this manual.
6	If you have other MVIP-90 boards, connect the MVIP bus connector to the AG-8 or AG-8/80 board and to the other MVIP boards in your system. Edit your AG configuration file to enable MVIP connectivity. Make sure there is an MVIP board configured as the bus clock master, and that it is initialized before any of the clock slave boards.	Chapter 2 of this manual. For more details, see the AG Runtime Configuration and Developer's Manual and Getting Started With MVIP Switching.
7	Verify that your installation is operational.	Chapter 4 of this manual.

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