Setting up a BRI

[vsop345]

Is it possible to setup one or more extensions as a BRI off of our Merlin Magix PRI? We are trying to eliminate the cost of 4 BRI(s) from our LEC.

 

[merlinman]

vsop345,

What are you trying to accomplish?

I am certain you can not do EXTENSION SIDE BRI, but I have heard of creating an additional PRI (with another T1 Card) and doing some rather creative things with that set up.

 

[vsop345]

We are trying to cut cost for the 4 BRI(s) we have. They cost over $400 a month. We were hoping that we could somehow steal a channel(s) and connect to our Cisco routers for ISDN backup.

 

[merlinman]

Most vendors in this market provide MIXED services. That is, they sell you a T1 or 2 and give you Internet out of one "BOX" and Voice out of another. (All out of the same facility they bring in.)

Have you shopped around for that kind of connectivity?

Would something like that fit your needs?

 

[redphone]

You can set up extension as BRI's if you have MLX cards. As you may know, MLX sets are isdn sets. On the Magix go to >Sys Program >Data >2B Data and enter the adjuct number of the MLX port you want to assign. Connect it to your Cisco as a S/T connection. Bell provides BRIs as a U connection. Program the Cisco like it is connected to a 5ESS point to point.

If you do not have a MLX board the price of one would be paid for with about 2 months of bill savings.

 

[CinemaPhones]

Yes, as indicated by redphone. You can set up any MLX port as 2B data. The merlin treats these calls as data calls (where the voice/data/both options come into play in ARS). If you're looking to connect to another cisco outside of the merlin switch, the far end must still be connected by either PRI or BRI trunks. In other words, you can't make a digital call over a ls/gs analog line.

Until a better VPN solution was technically available, I used a cisco 7xx series routers at two locations (each connected through mlx ports) to bridge the LAN networks into a WAN. This proved very successful and reliable, bringing up channels and dropping channels as warranted. This allowed continued use of these channels for voice calls when not being used for data.

 

[vsop345]

Thanks guys...I'll ask fir the MLX card and see if we can get this done.

 

[vsop345]

we have the MLX card and I'm able to make it dial out but is it not possible to receive calls in this setup. I've taxed my knowledge...help!