(Page 1 of 1 in this chapter)


Chapter 1

Introduction


1.1 Introduction
1.2 About Telephone Trunks
1.2.1 Analog Trunks
1.2.2 Digital Trunks
1.3 Trunk Interface Boards
1.3.1 Trunk Interface Boards and the MVIP Bus
1.4 About CAS Protocol Software
1.4.1 Trunk Control Programs (TCPs)
1.4.2 Parameter Files
1.5 Software Requirements
1.5.1 Application Programming Interface
1.5.2 agmon and the AG Configuration File
1.5.3 Runtime Software
1.6 Protocol Software Package Contents
1.7 About Trunk Control Programs (TCPs)
1.8 About Configuration and Parameter Files
1.8.1 About AG Configuration and Parameter Files
1.8.2 Binary Parameter Category Definition Files
1.8.3 ASCII Parameter Value Definition Files
1.8.4 SLAC Files

1.1 Introduction

This chapter:

1.2 About Telephone Trunks

This section describes the types of line interface boards used to connect to telephone networks.

1.2.1 Analog Trunks

Analog trunks with loop start signaling are the most common type of telephone trunks found in residential installations. The network uses the presence or absence of current flow in the telephone circuit as signaling information when establishing and processing connections.

1.2.2 Digital Trunks

Digital trunks multiplex the signal of many different channels into one interface. Digital trunks follow two basic standards around the world:

Digital trunks use signaling bits associated with voice channels to carry signaling information. For a detailed description of T1 and E1 communications, see the appropriate board Installation and Developer's Manual.

1.3 Trunk Interface Boards

NMS provides a variety of trunk interface boards for connecting to public switched telephone networks (PSTNs). The boards discussed in this manual include:

1.3.1 Trunk Interface Boards and the MVIP Bus

NMS trunk interface boards can connect to other boards in the same chassis over the MVIP bus. The MVIP bus is a high-speed, time-division multiplexed digital telephony bus between telephone line interface boards (such as AG 2000 and AG Quad boards), that allows boards to share data, signaling, and switching information through a 40-conductor ribbon cable. You can add additional DSP resources, analog line interfaces, or loop start line interfaces, by using other AG 2000 and Quad boards or board sets.

You can also use MVIP-compatible products from other manufacturers with the AG 2000, AG-8, AG-T1/E1, AG Quad boards, or AG 4000 boards.

AG 2000 and AG-8 Boards

NMS AG 2000 and AG-8 boards provide eight analog line interfaces with up to 8 ports of call processing and programmable voice processing.

The AG-8 board carries two C51 digital signal processors (DSPs), that allow it to perform call control and voice processing on all telephony channels simultaneously. The AG-8 connects to the host PC through its ISA bus.

The AG 2000 carries one to four high-performance C549 digital signal processors (DSPs). The AG 2000 board connects with the host PC through a PCI bus slot, and fully supports the H.100 bus specification for switching.

AG-T1 and AG-E1 Boards

AG-T1/E1 and AG Quad boards connect personal computers to T1 or E1 trunks. AG-T1 and E1 boards supply 24 or 30 ports of call processing and carry six C51 DSPs, and connect with the host PC through an ISA bus.

AG Dual and Quad Boards

AG Dual and Quad E and T boards provide between two and four T1 or E1 trunk interfaces for up to 120 ports of call processing and 60 ports of programmable voice processing. These boards carry eight C51 DSPs, and connect with the host PC through a PCI bus.

AG 4000 Boards

AG 4000 E and T boards provide one, two or four T1 or E1 trunk interfaces for up to 120 ports of call processing and programmable voice processing. They carry up to 16 high-performance C549 DSPs, and connect with the host PC through a PCI bus.

For detailed information about a particular AG board, refer to the appropriate board installation and developer's manual.
WARNING:

Natural MicroSystems obtains board-level approval certificates for supported countries. Some countries require that you obtain system-level approvals before connecting a system to the public telephone network. To learn what approvals you require, contact the appropriate regulatory authority in the target country.

1.4 About CAS Protocol Software

To communicate across a trunk line, parties must signal one another. The scheme used to signal across a telephone line is called a protocol. Many different protocol standards are in use throughout the world.

The AG CAS package includes:

Most of the protocols in these families have country-specific variations. NMS provides parameter files that determine how protocols interact with telephone networks in different countries. The package for each country contains software modules you need to download in order to enable telephony boards to communicate with telephone networks in that country.

1.4.1 Trunk Control Programs (TCPs)

Each protocol software package includes a trunk control program (TCP) that you load and configure in the on-board memory of a line interface board. The TCP performs all of the signaling to connect applications with a network that uses the target country's protocol.

For applications that must simultaneously support multiple protocols and/or protocol variations, more than one TCP can be loaded to the telephony board at the same time. Each line supports one TCP at a time.

The TCPs to be loaded are specified in the AG configuration file (described in Section 1.5). When you run the agmon board configuration and monitoring utility (described in Section 1.5.2), it downloads the specified TCPs to the board.

1.4.2 Parameter Files

In addition to the basic TCP software, each protocol software package contains binary parameter files (.pf files) that configure the TCP. Each country uses its own protocol implementation, and the parameter file configures the TCP for a specific country or network variation. CT Access applications load these parameters automatically at initialization time.

In most cases, the majority of the parameters specified in TCP parameter files cannot be changed without violating national regulatory laws. However, you can change a subset of these parameters based on the needs of your application. For more information about loading parameters, refer to Chapter 5. For information about parameters for each protocol, refer to Chapters 7 - 19.

WARNING:

You may only change a subset of parameters for each CAS protocol without effecting regulatory approvals.
Chapters 7 - 19 list all parameters for each protocol and indicate which parameters may be edited. Editing other parameters may result in violations of country-specific regulations.

1.5 Software Requirements

In addition to the protocol software, you need CT Access software to build a CAS protocol application. CT Access is an NMS software development environment that contains:

1.5.1 Application Programming Interface

Applications can control TCPs by using functions from the CT Access API. The
CT Access API offers a complete development environment for telephony applications. It consists of a standard set of telephony functions grouped into logical services that perform call control, tone and DTMF generation/detection, and voice playing/recording.

CT Access communicates with TCPs in such a way that makes applications protocol-independent. Figure 2 shows how the components of a CT Access CAS protocol application relate to one another:

Figure 2. Components of a Typical CAS Protocol Application

1.5.2 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. This information includes:

Refer to Chapter 3 for more information about modifying your AG configuration file to set up your protocol software during board initialization.

Running the agmon utility configures your boards based on the information in the AG configuration file. 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, launch agmon again to make these changes effective.

1.5.3 Runtime Software

Runtime software consists of the following modules:

Software Module

Function

Core runfile

Basic low-level processing code that runs on an on-board coprocessor.

Run module

Optional runtime components that are transferred to the board by agmon to provide additional functionality to the system.

DSP program files

Programs that run AG board on-board digital signal processors and perform particular tasks, such as DTMF signaling, and voice recording and playback.

Several runtime components and DSP files are installed with CT Access. When agmon runs, the runtime software is transferred from the host into on-board memory, and the board boots. The AG configuration file specifies which files to load.

For more information about runfiles, refer to the appropriate board installation and developer's manual or AG Runtime Configuration and Developer's Manual. For information about the DSP files shipped with CT Access, refer to the ADI Service Function Reference Manual.

1.6 Protocol Software Package Contents

The software package for a given country-specific protocol includes:

Each installed protocol includes all of these components. When you install multiple protocols or install protocols for multiple countries, several versions of each component are created.

Note: CT Access includes several call control demonstration programs that can use any of the AG CAS protocols to place or receive calls. Please refer to the ADI Service Developer's Manual for more information about running these programs.

1.7 About Trunk Control Programs (TCPs)

A trunk control program (TCP) is a script that is run by the on-board processor to implement a telephony protocol. TCPs are able to receive and place calls on both one-way and two-way trunks. CAS TCPs include the following:
Protocol

File name

Loop Start

lps0.tcp, lps8.tcp, lps9.tcp,

Operator Workstation

sta0.tcp

Wink Start

wnk0.tcp, wnk1.tcp, did0.tcp, did1.tcp, ogt0.tcp, ogt1.tcp

Digital Ground Start

gst8.tcp, gst9.tcp

MFC-R2

mfc0.tcp

Pulsed E and M

eam0.tcp

European Digital CAS

euc0.tcp

International Wink Start

iwk0.tcp

Signaling System 5

ss5.tcp

System R1.5 (inbound)

r150.tcp

System R1.5 (outbound)

r151.tcp

MF-Socotel

mfs0.tcp

Australian P2

ap20.tcp

1.8 About Configuration and Parameter Files

The following sections summarizes the files that are used for board and protocol configuration, either by configuring the component to be loaded onto the board, or by defining parameter categories, or by providing a way to change the values of the protocol parameters. These files include:

This chapter uses the following parameter file naming conventions:
Abbreviation

Description

<prt>

Protocol identifier (3 characters)

<cty>

Country abbreviation (3 characters)

<pp>

Product identifier (board, 2 characters)

<ss>

Signaling type (for analog boards, 2 characters)

<i>

Line impedance (for analog boards, 1 character)

WARNING:

You may only change a subset of protocol parameters without effecting regulatory approvals. Chapter 7 - 19 list parameters for each protocol and indicate which parameters may be edited. Editing other parameters may result in violations of country-specific regulations.

1.8.1 About AG Configuration and Parameter Files

AG configuration files contain information that determines how agmon sets up AG boards. These files also contain country-specific information for different protocols.
File name

Location

Description

ag<prt>.cfg

Windows NT:
\nms\ag\cfg

UNIX:
/opt/nms/ag/cfg

The default example AG configuration file to configure one board with all the modules and settings to run the protocol <prt>. It reflects the last country installed in the system for the protocol <prt>. For AG-8, AG-T1, AG-E1, AG 2000.

ag<prt><cty>.cfg

Windows NT: \nms\ag\cfg\country

UNIX:
/opt/nms/ag/cfg/country

The example AG configuration file to configure one board with all the modules and settings to run the protocol <prt> in the country <cty>. A different file is installed for each country. For AG-8, AG-T1, AG-E1, AG 2000.

q<prt>.cfg

Windows NT:
\nms\ag\cfg

UNIX:
/opt/nms/ag/cfg

The default example AG configuration file to configure one board with all the modules and settings to run the protocol <prt>. It reflects the last country installed in the system for the protocol <prt>. For
AG Quad and Dual T1 and AG Quad and Dual E1.

q<prt><cty>.cfg

Windows NT:
\nms\ag\cfg\country

UNIX:
/opt/nms/ag/cfg/country

The example AG configuration file to configure one board with all the modules and settings to run the protocol <prt> in the country <cty>. A different file is installed for each country. For AG Quad and Dual T1 and AG Quad and Dual E1.

a4<prt>.cfg

Windows NT:
\nms\ag\cfg

UNIX:
/opt/nms/ag/cfg

The default example AG configuration file to configure one board with all the modules and settings to run the protocol <prt>. It reflects the last country installed in the system for the protocol <prt>. For
AG 4000 boards.

a4<prt><cty>.cfg

Windows NT:
\nms\ag\cfg\country

UNIX:
/opt/nms/ag/cfg/country

The example AG configuration file to configure one board with all the modules and settings to run the protocol <prt> in the country <cty>. A different file is installed for each country. For AG 4000 boards.

For more information about AG configuration files, refer to the AG Runtime Configuration and Developer's Manual. For information about configuring this file for your protocol setup, refer to Chapter 3 of this manual.

1.8.2 Binary Parameter Category Definition Files

Binary parameter files contain the complete set of country-specific parameters and default values. These files are loaded by CT Access at initialization time. There are two types of binary parameter category definition files:
File name

Location

Description

adi<prt>.pf

Windows NT:
\nms\ag\cfg

UNIX:
/opt/nms/ag/cfg

This file defines the CT Access parameter category ADI.<prt>. This category holds all protocol-specific parameters for the <prt> protocol. The parameter default values defined by this files program the TCP implementing the protocol <prt> for the last country installed. Installing another country variation of the protocol <prt> overwrites this file.

<prt><cty>.pf

Windows NT:
\nms\ag\cfg\country

UNIX:
/opt/nms/ag/cfg/country

This file is a backup of the previous one. It defines the parameters for the category ADI.<prt>, for the country <cty>. If more than one country variation is installed for the protocol <prt>, there are multiple <prt><cty>.pf files, one for each country.

For more information about editable parameters for each CAS protocol, refer to Chapters 7 - 19.

1.8.3 ASCII Parameter Value Definition Files

ASCII parameter value definition files can be used to reset the values of the country specific parameters. Some of the parameters values may be changed without affecting the regulatory approvals in the target country. There are two types of ASCII parameter value definition files:
File name

Location

Description

adi<prt>.par

Windows NT:
\nms\ctaccess\cfg

UNIX:
/opt/nms/ctaccess/cfg

This file contains the values of all the parameters of the category ADI.<prt>. The parameters are divided into two classes:

· Those that can be changed by the user to fit the applications needs

· Those that should not be changed because have regulatory relevance.

The file contains the parameter values for the last country variation installed for the protocol <prt>, and is overwritten with each new installation of <prt>.

This file can be used to set the parameters values system-wide, using the CT daemon, or it can be parsed by the application for dynamical parameter management via the relevant CT Access functions.

<prt><cty>.par

Windows NT:
\nms\ctaccess\cfg\country

UNIX:
/opt/nms/ctaccess/cfg/country

This file is a backup of the previous one. It contains the parameter values for the category ADI.<prt>, for the country <cty>. If more than one country variation is installed for the protocol <prt>, there are multiple <prt><cty>.par files, one for each country.

For more information about editable parameters for each CAS protocol, refer to Chapters 7 - 19.

1.8.4 SLAC Files

SLAC files contain information that must be loaded into the QSLAC devices of AG 2000 boards so that the board line interface is appropriate for country-specific line conditions.

For more information about the SLAC files refer to AG 2000 Installation and Developer Manual. Refer to Appendix C for the list of SLAC files available for different countries.

File name

Location

Description

<pp><cty><ss><i>.slc

Windows NT:
\nms\ag\load

UNIX:
/opt/nms/ag/load

File that programs the QSLAC devices on <pp> boards to implement the analog specifications of country <cty>, for the signaling protocol <ss> and with a line impedance <i>. Only one file per configuration is installed. SLAC files are referenced by the AG configuration files installed for the signaling protocol <ss> in country <cty>.



(Page 1 of 1 in this chapter)


tech_support@nmss.com
Copyright © 1999, Natural MicroSystems, Inc. All rights reserved.