Howto, Meridian-1 Opt 11c and QSIG

[madfactor]

How can I tell whether or not my Meridian Boxes have the QSIG package? I have three Meridian-1 Opt 11c's w/ Rls 23 software.

Thanks in advance!


-Richard C. Pangburn, Jr.
-Senior IT Administrator
-Boland-Maloney Enterprises, Inc.

 

[dlesap]

Go LD 22
PRT
PKG

and look for packages 263 (basic QSIG), 305 (QSIG GF) and 316 (QSIG SS)

At least 263 is necessary

 

[madfactor]

On another question thread that I started

http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1268643.

I asked a question about using VoIP TIES without Meridian knowing about it. What routers are recommended to do this? And... if asterisk is an option, anyone have any ideas on how this can be done?


-Richard C. Pangburn, Jr.
-Senior IT Administrator
-Boland-Maloney Enterprises, Inc.

 

[johnpoole]

* works for a delay after the acod, not ac1 or 2.. might works with dsc's.. i need to test that for an app myself.. IF you want ip trunks into the switch you need an itg trunk card and a media gateway card as well as keycodes.. if on the other hand you want to use voip trunk between site and send them to the merridian as tmd qsig, then nortel doesn;t need or want to know.. we use cisco anytime we need network equiptment.. at the site i work we have an 81 c and use cisco voip and wireless.. i perfer nortel voip but the network guys know cisco and there budget is way past anything the site would spend on voice..

john poole
bellsouth business
columbia,sc

 

[NARSBARS]

johnpoole,
I have been told that voice doesn't need a budget "Because it always works".

NARSBARS

 

[madfactor]

Our regional vendor told us that we needed $60000 in upgrades software/voicemail/hardware in order to get this functionally to work on a system with rls 23 (because it is going end of life) This is unacceptable to us right now esp... and we really need the TIE functionality to be VoIP; if I can get it done with cisco/QSIG without any problem to the meridian side or upgrades (since I can no longer get them for my rls), then it will be very much apprecaited.


Richard C. Pangburn, Jr.
Senior IT Administrator
Boland-Maloney Enterprises, Inc.

 

[johnpoole]

you can make nortel work back to a cisco with analog interfaces but i wouldn't want to.. without qsig or voip trnuks (itg) your not going to get a clean intergration.. the best work around would be a poor excuse for a working system... 60 k is a little high.. price an upgrade to the latest rls without voip, that will include qsig.. anything past 3.0 includes the packages your needing for qsig... rls 23 and mermail is not much worse then running dos and windows 3.0... rls 23 was new before win 95 hit the market..

john poole
bellsouth business
columbia,sc

 

[madfactor]

LD 22 did show me that I have 263 (basic QSIG), 305 (QSIG GF) and 316 (QSIG SS), that dlesap explained earlier. According to LD 22 PRT PKG, I have all 263, 305, 316. Does that mean that box does support QSIGo nly with certain types of hardware... (we use NTAK09DA and NTAK09BA's.)

Richard C. Pangburn, Jr.
Senior IT Administrator
Boland-Maloney Enterprises, Inc.

 

[srmega41]

How are your sites currently connected on the WAN side?

In Rel.23, Nortel did not support true path replacement with Q.SIG. This means transferred calls to multiple sites will stay up and add bandwidth congestion as well as multiple encodings.

Q.SIG is a standard, but there are a couple different "flavors" that vendors support. You could do a Q.SIG hook into a Cisco router for VoIP trunks, but you may have to play with it to get true functionality, as well as the path replacement will still be an issue. You can check out my post on Q.SIG and the Nortel PBX here for some more info.

http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1265750&page=1

This was something I ran across a few years ago, and was only really working on Rel. 25.40. ITG was not an option until release 25, so that also would require an upgrade.

BTW, I believe that earlier in the thread you mentioned an open-source PBX

And... if asterisk is an option, anyone have any ideas on how this can be done?

I am not sure this is what the asterisk product is really meant for. It is an open-source, linux based IP-PBX, but it does not do Q.SIG (

http://www.asterisk.org/features

). If you wanted to replace your systems, maybe, but not as an intergration to the Nortel. It is interesting that they do support Cisco's Skinny protocol, SCCP).

Hope this helps,

Scott M.

 

[madfactor]

So, basically in a nutshell, with all my boxes with Rls 23... There is no why to do what I want to do. And since my vendor won't sell us an update to rls 25, then this PBX is pretty much useless in the current market environment?

-Richard C. Pangburn, Jr.
-Senior IT Administrator
-Boland-Maloney Enterprises, Inc.

 

[srmega41]

How many users do you have at each location? Are these big 11's or smaller offices? Number of trunks?

There are certainly more than one way to skin a cat, so give us a little more info and let's see what else could be done.

Scott M.

 

[madfactor]

The main location, has a rather large box, in fact, it is two boxes connected with fiber SSC cards. All voicemail is run from this box. The boxes at the remote locations are much smaller, each with about two analog and digtial cards a piece.

Here is general topology:

PRI(1) PRI(2)
| |
{P2P} |
| |
BOX 1-{FIBER}-BOX-2------{P2P}---------REMOTE #1
|
{P2P}
|
REMOTE #3--------{FIBER}---------------REMOTE #4


We operate three companies, BOX #1 and #2 are at the main location side by side. And the second company location is denoted by REMOTE #2. They are connected by a T1 P2P. Each of these locations have their own 24 channel PRI external. Dialpads reflect alt. call routes for redundancy. The second P2P goes to another remote location, which two companies operate in close proximity... their boxes are connected by fiber. REMOTE #3 and #4 do not have PRIs... they have copper lines, but there is a dail in DID from the main box to each of those locations.




Here is the card layout at the main location:

PRIMARY
SSC - connection to secondary
1 - loop to main PRI NTAK0913A
2 - loop to T1 P-2-P to remote NTAK0913A
3 - Digital Trunk Card (16 port) NT8D02GA
4 - Universal Truck Card NT8D14BB
5 - Digital Trunk Card (16 port) NT8D02GA
6 - Digital Trunk Card (16 port) NT8D02GA
7 - Digital Trunk Card (16 port) NT8D02GA
8 - loop to T1 P-2-P to remote NTAK0913A
9 - Meridian Mail
10 - Meridian Mail

SECONDARY
SSC - connection to primary
11 - Analog Trunk Card (16 port) NT8D09AL
12 - UNEQ
13 - UNEQ
14 - UNEQ
15 - Analog Trunk Card (16 port) NT8D09AL
16 - Analog Trunk Card (16 port) NT8D09AL
17 - Analog Trunk Card (16 port) NT8D09AL
18 - Analog Trunk Card (16 port) NT8D09AL


It might be better to show you the connections available, rather than count them all...

REQ: luvu
TYPE: 500
TN
CDEN
TYPE 500 TN 015 0 00 14 4D
TYPE 500 TN 015 0 00 15 4D
TYPE 500 TN 016 0 00 03 4D
TYPE 500 TN 016 0 00 04 4D
TYPE 500 TN 016 0 00 10 4D
TYPE 500 TN 016 0 00 14 4D
TYPE 500 TN 017 0 00 00 4D
TYPE 500 TN 017 0 00 03 4D
TYPE 500 TN 017 0 00 09 4D
TYPE 500 TN 018 0 00 04 4D


REQ: LUVU
TYPE: 2000
TN
8D VCE0 TN 003 0 00 14
TYPE 2000 TN 005 0 00 08 8D VCE
TYPE 2000 TN 006 0 00 02 8D VCE
TYPE 2000 TN 007 0 00 09 8D VCE
TYPE 2000 TN 010 0 00 02 8D VCE
TYPE 2000 TN 010 0 00 03 8D VCE
TYPE 2000 TN 010 0 00 04 8D VCE
TYPE 2000 TN 010 0 00 05 8D VCE
TYPE 2000 TN 010 0 00 06 8D VCE
TYPE 2000 TN 010 0 00 07 8D VCE
TYPE 2000 TN 010 0 00 10 8D VCE
TYPE 2000 TN 010 0 00 11 8D VCE
TYPE 2000 TN 010 0 00 12 8D VCE
TYPE 2000 TN 010 0 00 13 8D VCE
TYPE 2000 TN 010 0 00 14 8D VCE
TYPE 2000 TN 010 0 00 15 8D VCE



I am not setting in front the other cabinets at the remote locations and I am there rarely... The only information I can get from those boxes right now is what come out of the CLI. I do know that REMOTE #3 which is where the CPE comes in at to the CSU is a rls 24 issue 24 box. And the main BOX #1 is a rls 23 issue 55 box.

The only TIES I am looking to change, are at the P2Ps, between the main location and REMOTE #2; and main location and REMOTE #3.


Thanks for all your help!!

-Richard C. Pangburn
-Senior IT Administrator
-Boland-Maloney Enterprises, Inc.

 

[johnpoole]

if your planning on voip then yes, your vnedor can't sell you that rls anymore.. nortel will not cut the keycodes to a rls that old for an upgrade... might look at just a 1000S to replace all your opt' 11's or cisco call manager.. can't say i care for there voice mail or wireless hardware but it's not a bad system.. there wireless sets are very pricey, and have an in service life of 90 to 180 days.. this is a hospital envirement and should be easy on that type of equiptment, but we have had major hardware failure and very slow turnover on the repair side.. of course we deal with cisco direct and they are great unless it's a hardware issue.. there solution was to sell us a more expensive unit, but it has not been field tested either... works great in the lab


john poole
bellsouth business
columbia,sc

 

[madfactor]

What brand is a model 1000S??

 

[madfactor]

What version software do I need to use a NTRB21 TDMI card? Will it work in a rls 23 system??

-Richard C. Pangburn, Jr.
-Senior IT Administrator

 

[srmega41]

I think Release 23 or Release 24 was the first for the TMDI, but I am not sure. Print one of your PRI trunks out and see if you have an option near the beginning for TMDI. You can also try to add a new loop, just to see if you get the prompt. This would be the beginning of the config

 REQ chg
TYPE cequ
TDS <CR>
CONF <CR>
DLOP # ## ESF Card Slot, Number of Channels, Extended Super Frame signaling
MODE PRI 
TMDI YES Is this a TMDI card?

If your system does not ask for TMDI, it is not supported.

Hope this helps, I just cannot remember for 100% which release it was offered in first.

Scott M.

 

[madfactor]

the overlay won't let me enter in a fake card slot for testing... SCH0582 "INPUT OUT OF RANGE"... I tried to use "12", an empty card slot in our expansion cabinet. (hehe)

Well crap... the maunal doesn't have an entry in it for a TDMI response. I guess it is safe to assume rls 23 doesn't support it.


Richard C. Pangburn, Jr.
Senior IT Administrator
Boland-Maloney Enterprises, Inc.