ATT DEFINITY Communications System Generic 3 Instructions Manual

							Glossary
Issue  3   March 1996GL-23 
network-specific facility (NSF)
An information element in an ISDN-PRI message that specifies which public-network service is 
used. NSF applies only when Call-by-Call Servic e Selection is used to access a public-network 
service.
network interface
 A common boundary b etween two systems in an interconnected group of systems.
node
A switching or control p oint for a network. Nodes are either ‘‘tandem’’ (em they receive signals 
and pass them on (em or ‘‘terminal’’ (em they originate or terminate a transmission path.
O
offered load
The traffic that would be generated by all the requests for service occurring within a monitored 
interval, usually one hour.
othersplit
The Work State that in dic ates the agent is currently active on another sp lit’s c all, or in ACW for 
another sp lit.
P
packet
A group of bits (em including a message element, which is the data, and a control information ele-
ment (IE), which is the header (em used in packet switc hin g and transmitted as a discrete unit. In 
each packet, the message element and control IE are arranged in a specified format. See also 
packet bus and packet switching.
packet bus
A wide-bandwidth bus that transmits packets.
packet switching
A data-transmission technique whereby user information is segmented and routed in discrete 
data envelopes c alled ‘‘p ackets,’’ each with its own appended control information, for routing, 
sequencing, and error checking. Packet switching allows a channel to be occupied only durin g 
the transmission of a  packet; on  completion of the transmission, the  channel is made availab le for 
the transfer of other packets. See also BX.25 and packet.
paging trunk
A telecommunications channel used to access an amplifier for loudspeaker p a gin g.
party/extension active on call
A party is on the call if it is actually connected to the call (in active talk or in held state). An origina-
tor of a call is always a party on the call. Alerting parties, busy parties, and tones are not parties 
on the c all.
PCOL
Personal Central Offic e Line. 
						

							Glossary
GL-24Issue  3   Marc h 1996 
primary extension
The main extension assoc iated with the physical station set.
principal
A station that has its primary extension bridged on one or more other stations.
personal computer (PC)
A p ersonally c ontrollab le microcomputer.
pickup group
A group of individuals authorized to answer any c all directed to an extension number within the 
group.
port
A data- or voice-transmission access point on a device that is used for communicating with other 
devices.
port carrier
A carrier in a multicarrier c ab inet or a single-carrier c a binet containing port circuit p a cks, power 
units, and service circ uits. Also called a ‘‘port cabinet’’ in a single carrier c ab inet.
port network (PN)
A cabinet containing a TDM bus and  p acket bus to which the followin g components are con-
nected: p ort circuit packs, one or two tone-clock circuit p acks, a maintenance circuit pack, ser-
vice circuit p acks, and (optionally) up to four expansion interface (EI) circuit packs in G3. Each 
PN is controlled either locally or remotely by a switch processing element (SPE). See also expan-
sion port network and processor port network.
port-network connectivity
The interc o nnection of port networks (PNs), regardless of whether the configuration uses direct or 
switc hed connectivity.
Primary Rate Interface (PRI)
A standard Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) frame format that spec ifies a p roto col used 
on digital circuits b etween two c ommunications systems.
In North America, PRI runs at 1.544 Mbps and provides 23 64 kb ps B-channels (voic e or data) 
and one 64 kb p s D-channel (signaling). In most c ountries outside of North Americ a, PRI runs at 
2.048 Mbps and provides 30 64 kbps B-channels (voice or data) and one 64 kbps D-channel 
(sig naling.) The D-channel of the interface contains multiplexed signaling information for the other 
channels.
PRI endpoint (PE)
The wid eband switc hin g capability introduces PRI Endpoints on switch line-side interfa ces. A PRI 
endpoint consists of one or more contiguous B-channels on a line-sid e T1 or E1 ISDN PRI fac ility 
and has an extension number. Endpoint a pplications have c all control capabilities over PRI end-
points.
principal (user)
A p erson to whom a telephone is assig ned and who has message c enter coverage.
private network
A network used exclusively for the telecommunications needs of a partic ular customer.
private network office code (RNX)
The first three digits of a 7-digit private network number. These  codes are numbered 220 through 
999, exclu din g any c odes that have a 0 or 1 as the second digit. 
						

							Glossary
Issue  3   March 1996GL-25 
processor carrier
A phrase used for ‘‘control carrier’’ in G3rV2. See also control carrier.
processor data module (PDM)
A device that provides an RS232C data communications equipment (DCE) interface for connect-
ing  to data terminals, applications processors (APs), and host computers and provid es a digital 
communications protocol (DCP) interfa ce for c onnection to a communications system. See also 
modular processor data module.
processor port network (PPN)
A port network (PN) controlled by a switch processing element (SPE) that is dire ctly connected to 
that PN’s time-division multiplex (TDM) bus and  local area network (LAN) bus. See also port net-
work.
processor port network (PPN) control carrier
A carrier containing the maintenance circuit pack, tone/clock circuit pack, and switch p rocessing 
element (SPE) circuit packs for a processor port network (PPN) and, optionally, port circuit packs.
Property Management System (PMS)
A stand-alone computer used  by lodging and health services organizations use for services such 
as reservations, housekeeping, and billing.
protocol
A set of conventions or rules governing the format and timing of message exchanges to c ontrol 
data movement and c orrection of errors.
public network
The network that can be openly accessed by all customers for local or long-distance calling.
pulse-code modulation (PCM)
An extension of p ulse-amplitu de modulation (PAM) in which carrier-signal pulses modulated by 
an analog signal, such as speech, are quantized and encoded to a digital, usually binary, format.
Q
quadrant
A quadrant is a group of six c ontiguous DS0s in fixed lo cations on an ISDN PRI fac ility. Note that 
this term comes from T1 terminology (one-fourth of a T1), b ut there are five quadrants on an E1 
ISDN PRI facility (30B + D).
A quadrant is considered available or idle when all six c ontiguous DS0s are idle. Otherwise, the 
quadrant is considere d c ontaminated or partially contaminated. This is a dynamic cond ition; 
quadrants b e come idle and contaminate d as calls are p laced and dropped. Note that a T1 facility 
containing the primary or backup D-c hannel (23B + D) has a maximum of three idle quadrants. 
The fourth quadrant (DS0s 19-24) never has six contiguous idle DS0s because one is always allo-
cated to the D-channel. On an E1 facility, channel 0 is reserved for framing and synchronization, 
and channel 16 contains the D-channel when present, but five  quadrants are potentially available.
queue
An ord ered sequence of calls waiting to b e processed.
queuing
The process of holding c alls in order of their arrival to await connection to an attendant, to an 
answering group, or to an idle trunk. Calls are automatically connecte d in first-in, first-out 
sequence. 
						

							Glossary
GL-26Issue  3   Marc h 1996 
R
R2-MFC signaling
MultiFrequency compelled (MFC) signaling is a form of number signaling similar to Dual-Tone 
MultiFrequency (DTMF) in that tones convey the dialed number. R2-MFC is a version of MFC 
recommended by CCITT for signaling between a CO and a PBX o ver  a nal og  or  d igital CO, DID, or 
tie trunks.
random access memory (RAM)
A storage arrangement whereby information can be retrieved at a speed independent of the loca-
tion of the stored  information.
read-only memory (ROM)
A storage arrangement primarily for information retrieval applications.
recall dial tone
Tones sig nalling that the system has completed a function (such as holding a call) and is ready to 
accept dialing.
redirection criteria
The information a dministered  for each voice terminal’s coverage path that determines when an 
incoming call is redire cted to coverage.
redirection on no answer
An optional feature that redirects an unanswered ringing ACD call after an administered number 
of rin gs. The c all is then re directed back to the agent.
remote home numbering-plan area code (RHNPA)
A foreign numbering-plan area code that is treated  as a home area code by the Automatic Route 
Selection (ARS)  f eat ure. Cal ls can be allowed or denied based on the area code and the dialed 
central office (CO) code rather than just the area code. If the c all is allowed, the ARS pattern used 
for the c all is determined b y these six digits.
reorder tone
A tone to signal that at least one of the facilities, such as a trunk or a digit transmitter, needed for 
the c all was not available at the time the c all was pla ced.
report scheduler
Software that is used in conjunction with the system printer for the purpose of s cheduling the days 
of the week and time of day that the desired reports are to be printed.
RS232C
A p hysical interfa ce specified by the EIA. RS232C transmits and receives asynchronous data at 
speeds of up to 19.2 kbps over cable distances of up to 50 feet.
ROSE
Remote Operations Service Element is a CCITT and ISO standard that defines a notation and ser-
vices that support intera ctions between the various entities that make up a distributed application. 
						

							Glossary
Issue  3   March 1996GL-27 
S
sanity and control interface (SAKI)
A custom, very-large-scale-inte gration (VLSI) microchip located on each p ort circuit pack. The 
SAKI provides address recognition, buffering, and synchronization between the angel and the 
five control time slots that make up the c ontrol channel. The SAKI also scans and collects status 
information for the angel on its port circ uit pack and, when polled, transmits this information to the 
archangel.
simplex system
A system that has no redundant hardware.
simulated bridged appearance
The same as a temporary bridged appearance, allows the station user (usually the p rincipal) the 
ability to brid ge onto a call which had been answered b y another party on its b ehalf.
single-carrier cabinet
A combined cabinet and c arrier unit that contains one carrier. See also multicarrier cabinet.
single-line voice terminal
A voice terminal served by a single-line tip and ring circ uit (models 500, 2500, 7101A, 7103A).
small computer system interface (SCSI)
An ANSI bus standard that provides a high-level command interface between host computers 
and perip heral devices.
software
A set of computer programs that perform one or more tasks.
split
A condition whereby  a caller is temporarily separated from a  connection with an attendant. A split 
condition automatically o ccurs when the attendant, active on a call, presses the start button.
split number
The split’s identity to the switch and BCMS.
split report
Provides historical traffic information for internally measured splits.
split (agent) status report
Provides the real-time status and measurement data for internally measured agents and the split 
to which they are assigned.
staffed
Ind icates an a gent position is logged-in. A staffed agent will b e functioning in one of four work 
modes: Auto-In, Manual-In, ACW, or AUX-work.
Station Message Detail Recording (SMDR)
An obsolete term now called CDR (see c all detail recording), which is a switch feature that uti-
lizes software and hardware to record call data.
standard serial interface (SSI)
A communications protocol developed by AT&T Teletype Corporation for use with the 500 busi-
ness c ommunic ations terminals (BCTs) and the 400-series printers. 
						

							Glossary
GL-28Issue  3   Marc h 1996 
status lamp
A green light that shows the status of a call appearance or a feature b utton b y the state of the light 
(lit, flashing, fluttering, broken flutter, or unlit).
stroke counts
A method used b y Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) agents to record up to nine cus-
tomer-defined events per call when the Call Management System (CMS) is active.
switch
Any kind of telephone switching system. See also communications system.
switchhook
The buttons lo cated  under the receiver on a voice terminal.
switch node (SN) carrier
A carrier containing a sin gle switch node, p ower units, and, optionally, one or two digital signal 
level-1 (DS1) converter circuit packs. An SN carrier is lo cated in a center stage switch (CSS).
switch node (SN) clock
The circ uit pack in a switch node (SN) c arrier that provides clock and maintenance alarm func-
tions and  environmental monitors for an SN.
switch node interface (SNI)
The basic building block of a switch node. An SNI circuit p ack controls the routing of circuit, 
packet, and control messages.
switch node link (SNL)
The hardware that provides a bridge between two or more switch nodes. The SNL consists of the 
two switch node interface (SNI) circuit packs residing on the switch nodes and the hardware con-
necting the SNIs. This hardware can in clu de lightwave transceivers that convert the SNI’s electri-
cal sig nals to light signals, the copper wire that connects the SNIs to the lightwave transceivers, a 
full-duplex fiber-optic cable, digital signal level-1 (DS1) c onverter circuit card s and DS1 facilities if 
a company does not have rights to lay cable, and appropriate connectors.
switch processing element (SPE)
A complex of circuit p acks (em processor, memory, disk controller, and bus-interface cards (em 
mounted in a processor-p ort-network (PPN)  control c arrier. The SPE serves as the c ontrol element 
for that PPN and, optionally, for one or more expansion port networks (EPNs).
synchronous data transmission
A method of sending data in which discrete signal elements are sent at a fixed and c ontinuous 
rate and specified times.
system administrator
The person who maintains overall customer responsibility for system administration. Generally, all 
administration functions are p erformed from the G3 Management Terminal (G3-MT). The switch 
re quires a special login, referre d to as the system administrator login, in ord er to gain access to 
the system a dministration capabilities.
system printer
An optional printer that may b e used to print scheduled reports via the report s cheduler.
system report
Provides historical traffic information for all internally measured splits.
system status report
Provide real-time status information for internally measured splits. 
						

							Glossary
Issue  3   March 1996GL-29 
system manager
A person responsible for specifying and administering features and services for a system.
system reload
A p ro cess that allows stored data to be written from a tape into the system memory (normally after 
a power outage).
T
T1
A digital transmission standard that in North America carries traffic at the digital signal level-1 
(DS1) rate of 1.544 Mbps. A T1 facility is divided into 24 channels (DS0s) of 64 k b ps information 
numbered from 1 to 24. These 24 channels, with an overall digital rate of 1.536 Mbps, and an 8 
kbps framing and synchronization c hannel make up the 1.544 Mbps transmission. When a 
D-c hannel is present, it o ccupies channel 24.
T1 fa cilities are also used in Japan and some Mid dle-Eastern countries.
TAC
Trunk Access Code.
tandem switch
A switch within an electronic tandem network (ETN) that provides the logic to d etermine the best 
route for a network c all, possibly modifies the digits outpulsed, and allows or denies certain calls 
to certain users.
tandem through
The switched connection of an incoming trunk to an outgoing trunk without human intervention.
tandem tie-trunk network
A private network that interc onnects several customer switching systems by dial-
TEG
Terminating Extension Group .
terminal
A device that sends and receives data within a system. See also administration terminal.
tie trunk
A telecommunications channel that directly c onnects two private switching systems.
time-division multiplex (TDM) bus
A bus that is time-share d regularly b y preallocatin g short time slots to each transmitter. In a PBX, 
all port circ uits are c onnected to the TDM b us, permitting any p ort to send a signal to any other 
port.
time-division multiplexing (TDM)
Multiplexing that divides a transmission channel into successive time slots. See also multiplex-
ing.
time interval
The period of time, either one hour or one-half hour, that BCMS measurements are collected for a 
report(s).
time slice
See time interval. 
						

							Glossary
GL-30Issue  3   Marc h 1996 
time slot
A time slot refers to 64 kbps of digital information structured as eig ht bits every 125 micro-sec-
onds. In the switch, a time slot refers to either a DS0 on a T1 or E1 fa cility or a 64 kbps unit on the 
TDM b us or fiber connection between port networks.
time slot sequence integrity
Time slot sequence integrity means that the ‘‘N’’ octets of a wideband call that are transmitte d in 
one T1 or E1 frame arrive at the output in the same order that they were introduced.
to control
To control means that an application can invoke Third Party Call Control capabilities using either 
an adjunct-control or a domain-c ontrol association.
to monitor
To monitor means that an application can receive 
Event_Reports on either an active-notification, 
adjunct-control, or a domain-control association.
tone ringer
A d evice with a speaker, used in electronic voice terminals to alert the user.
trunk
A d edicated telecommunications channel between two communications systems or central 
offices (COs).
trunk allocation
The manner in which trunks are selected to form wideband channels.
trunk data module
A d evice that provides the interface for connection b etween off-premises private-line trunk facili-
ties and  a G3V2 switc h. The trunk data module provid es conversion  between the RS232C and the 
Digital Communications Proto col (DCP), and c an connect to direct distance dialing (DDD) 
modems as the DCP member of a modem pool.
trunk group
Telecommunications channels assigned as a group for certain func tions that c an be used inter-
changeably between two communications systems or c entral offices (COs).
U
uniform dial plan
A feature that allows a unique 4- or 5-digit number assignment for each terminal in a multiswitch 
configuration such as a distributed communications system (DCS) or main-satellite-trib utary sys-
tem.
V
vector directory number (VDN)
An extension that provides access to the Vectoring feature on the switch. Vectoring allows a c us-
tomer to spec ify the treatment of incoming calls b ased on the dialed number. 
						

							Glossary
Issue  3   March 1996GL-31 
vector-controlled split
A hunt group or ACD split administered with the ‘‘vector’’ field enabled. A c cess to such split is 
only possible by dialing a VDN extension. Vec tor-Controlled Splits cannot be Active Notification 
Domains.
voice terminal
A single-line or multiappearance telephone.
W
wide area tele-communications service (WATS)
 A service in the USA that allows c alls to a certain area or areas for a flat-rate c harg e based on 
expected usage.
wideband
A circuit-switched call at a data rate greater than 64 kbps. A circuit-switched  call on a single T1 or 
E1 fac ility with a bandwidth between 128 and  1536 (T1) or 1984 (E1) kbps in multiples of 64 kbps. 
H0, H11, H12, and N x DS0 calls are all wid eband.
wideband access endpoint
The wideband switching capability extends A c cess Endpoints to include wideband a c cess end-
points. A wid eband access endpoint consists of one or more contiguous DS0s on a line-side T1 
or E1 facility and has an extension number. The Administere d Connections feature provid es call 
control for calls originating from wideband access endpoints.
wink-start tie trunk
A trunk with which, after making a  connection with a  distant switc hin g system for an outgoing call, 
the system waits for a momentary signal (wink) before sending the digits of the c alled number. 
Similarly, on an incomin g call, the system sends the wink sig nal when ready to receive digits.
work modes (or ACD work modes)
A work mode is one of four states (Auto-In, Manual-In, ACW, AUX-work) that an ACD agent enters 
after logging in. Immed iately upon logging in, an agent enters the AUX-work mode. To b e come 
available to receive ACD c alls, the agent enters either the Auto-In or Manual-In work modes. To 
do work associated with an ACD call, at the conclusion of the call, an agent would enter the ACW 
mode. If an agent changes work modes while handling a c all, the change b ecomes effe ctive 
when the agent finishes the call. The system does not recognize the change until the call is com-
pleted.
In order to answer an ACD call, the ACD agent must specify a Work Mode. Generally, two meth-
ods are available for indicating Work Modes: (1) by pressing the  appropriate  button on their voice 
terminal, and (2) by dialing an access code. The four work modes associated with ACD call han-
dling are Auto-In, Manual-In, ACW, and AUX-work. An a gent can c hange work modes while han-
dlin g a c all, but the system will not recognize the change until the call is  completed. It is important 
that the ACD agents always a ccurately indicate their correct work mode, otherwise the BCMS 
measurements will not be accurate.
work state
An ACD agent may be a member of up to three different splits. Each ACD a gent continuously 
exhibits a work state for every split that it is a member of. Valid work states are Avail, Unstaffed, 
AUX-work, ACW, ACD (answering  an ACD call), ExtIn, ExtOut, and OtherSpl. An a gent’s work 
state for a particular sp lit may change for a variety of reasons (for example, whenever a call is 
answered, abandoned, the agent changes work modes, etc.). The BCMS feature monitors the 
work states and uses this information to provid e the BCMS reports. 
						

							Glossary
GL-32Issue  3   Marc h 1996 
write operation
The process of putting information onto a storage medium, such as a hard disk.