263 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
263 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
AIS - Automatic Intercept System
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The DAIS II System by Computer Consoles Incorporated
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INTRODUCTION...
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Computer Consoles Incorporated (CCI) manufactures various hardware
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appliances to be used in conjunction with phone companies switches as well as
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other aspects of the companies' uses, plus computer systems such as their own
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Unix-supporting systems.
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DAIS II is the Distributed Automatic Intercept System, which is the
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system used to announce if the subscriber has dialed a non-working number.
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This is what you hear, in action, when you dial a wrong number and get the 3
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tones plus the announcement or the ONI (Operator Number Identification)
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intercept operator ("What number did you dial?").
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The information from this file comes mostly from an instructional
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manual sent to me by CCI, who can be reached at 800-833-7477 or 716-482-5000
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directly, or may be written to at 97 Humbolt Street, Rochester, NY, 14609.
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INTERCEPTION
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~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Most definitely any person who has used a telephone in his life has,
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by some means or another, come across the dreaded 3 tones, leading up to the
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ever-so-cumbersome announcement telling of the disconnected or non-working
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number. This file will go into how the whole system works.
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After dialing the non-working number, the telco's Class 5 End Office
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routes the call to DAIS II.
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ANI Calls
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~~~~~~~~~
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Provided that the End Office has Automatic Number Identification
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(ANI) equipment, the equipment then identifies the digits of the called number
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and sends them to the intercept system.
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The system receives the called number from the end office, retrieves
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information for that number from the intercept database, formulates the
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message, and delivers it to the customer in an automated announcement. These
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announcements can either be standardized or tailored to the independent
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telephone companies' needs. If further assistance is required, the caller can
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then stay on the line and wait for an operator to come onto the line.
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ONI Calls
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~~~~~~~~~
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When the End Office is primitive, and they don't have the ANI
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equipment to do the above ritual, operators are directly involved. These
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operators are also called into action when there is an ANI or DAIS II failure.
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When the ONI (Operator Number Identification) call comes in, DAIS II
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routes the call to the operator. The operator asks for the number that the
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customer called and then keys it into her KDT (Keyboard Display Terminal).
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After she hits the command key, the number's information is searched for in
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the intercept database, the message is formulated, and the automated response
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is announced. Once again, if the caller needs further assistance, an operator
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will return to the line to help the subscriber.
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Operators will return to the line for any number of reasons. They
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include the following:
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Unsuccessful Searches - After DAIS II receives the called number from ANI
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equipment or from an operator, it searches the
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database to find the intercept message associated with
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the telephone number. The database contains all
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10,000 line numbers for each exchange in the calling
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area. If the system cannot complete the search, the
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number was either keyed in incorrectly or there is a
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problem in the system. The call is then routed to an
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operator and displays the intercepted number
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(including NPA) on the KDT screen along with a message
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indicating why the search could not be completed. If
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the number was keyed in wrong, the operator will
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correct the number, or else she will ask the
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subscriber to re-dial the number.
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Aborted Announcements - If a search is given successful but for one reason or
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another the automated announcement cannot be given,
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the call is routed to an operator. The KDT display
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shows the intercepted number, the appropriate
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information for a verbal response, and the message,
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"VERBAL REPORT." In this case, the operator quotes
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the message to the caller rather than activating the
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automated response.
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Reconnects - If a customer remains on the line for more information
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after receiving the automated announcement, the system
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routes the call to an operator. The operator's KDT
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display shows the called number plus other pertinent
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information given to the caller in the previous
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announcement. From here, the operator can respond
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verbally to the customer's needs, or activate the
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automated system again. The DAIS II system allows up
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to 4 reconnects per call, but the possible number of
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reconnects available ranges from 0-3. With 1
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reconnect, the operator must report verbally.
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Split Referrals - If a number has been changed but replaced with two
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numbers, this is called a "split referral." When the
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database finds 2 or more numbers, the DAIS II system
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routes the customer to an operator, displaying the old
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number and new listings on the KDT screen. The
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operator then asks which number they are looking for
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and keys in the command key to activate the
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announcement, or else they do the announcement
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verbally.
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Operator Searches
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Situations may arise where the subscriber needs more information
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than was given by the automated announcement, or believes the information to
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be invalid. DAIS II provides for operators to have access to both the
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intercept and the DA databases at all times as long as the system
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administrator, who judges the extent to which operators can use the
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cross-search capability, allows it.
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Components Of The System
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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The telco's Class 5 End Offices contain switching equipment that
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routes calls to DAIS II. If the office has ANI equipment, the switch routes
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the called digits to the intercept system in the form of multi-frequency
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tones. The end offices route calls to DAIS II on dedicated (direct) trunks.
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These direct trunks can carry ANI traffic or ONI traffic, but not both.
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If trunk concentrators are used, the concentrator trunks to DAIS II
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may carry ANI calls, ONI calls, or both, depending on the types of trunks
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coming into the concentrators from the end offices. The call is identified as
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ANI or ONI through MF tones transmitted by the concentrators.
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If an operator must be involved (due to ONI or further assistance),
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DAIS II routes the call to the telco's ACD (Automatic Call Distributor), which
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is a switching device that routes calls to any available operator.
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The intercept data base resides on disk in the ARS (Audio Response
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System). ARS processors known as Audio Response Controllers (ARCs) search the
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intercept database. If a call requires an operator's services, the Marker
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Decoder Unit (MDU) provides ACD routing information to the ARC.
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The DAIS II Automatic Intercept Communications Controllers (AICCs)
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route messages between the ARCs and the DAIS II subsystems. An intercept
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subsystem that is housed at the same location as the database is called a
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Colocated Automated Intercept System (CAIS). A subsystem located at a
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distance from the database is known as a Local Automated Intercept System
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(LAIS). Each subsystem can provide automated announcements without using
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expensive trunking to route ANI calls to a centralized intercept office. Only
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calls that require operator assistance are routed on trunks to the ARS site.
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Because those trunks are only held white the operator identifies the number
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and are released before the announcement begins, trunk requirements are
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reduced. The automated announcement is always given by the intercept
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subsystem.
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Each CAIS or LAIS site contains a Trunk Time Switch (TTS) and DAIS II
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Audio Response Units (DARUs). Intercept trunks from the concentrators and the
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Class 5 End Offices terminate at the TTS. When an ONI call comes in on one of
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these trunks, the TTS routes it to the ACD. When an ANI call comes in, the
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TTS routes the called number to the ARC. After the ARC retrieves the
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appropriate message from the database, it sends that information back to the
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TTS, which connects a DARU port to the trunk on which the call came in. Then,
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the DARU produces an automated announcement of the message and delivers it to
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the caller. ARS hardware generates only DA announcements whereas DAIS II
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hardware generates only intercept announcements.
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Automatic Intercept Communications Controller (AICC)
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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The AICC routes messages between the ARC and the TTS. Two units are
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required to enhance system reliability. Each pair of AICCs can communicate
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with up to 4 CAIS or LAIS subsystems.
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The AICCs are similar to the Audio Communications Controllers (ACCs)
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in the ARS system, but AICCs use a Bisynchronous Communications Module (BSCM)
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instead of a LACIM.
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An AICC can be equipped with up to 8 BSCMs, each of which handles one
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synchronous communication line to the TTS. The BSCM models selected depend on
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the location of the AICC with respect to the CAIS/LAIS sites. Standard SLIMs
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(Subscriber Line Interface Modules) are required for communication with the
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ARC.
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Trunk Time Switch (TTS)
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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The TTS has two types of components: the Peripheral Modules (PMs) and
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the Common Controls (CCs).
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The PM contains the printed circuit boards that provide the link
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between the end office's ANI trunks and the ARC and between the ONI trunks and
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the ACD. The activity of the PM is under direction of the CC
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A PM rack contains five types of circuit boards: Multi-frequency
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Receivers (MFRs), Analog Line Front Ends (ALFEs), T1 Front Ends (T1FEs),
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Peripheral Module Access Controllers (PMACs), and Multi-purpose Peripheral
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Devices (MPPDs).
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The MFRs translate the intercepted number from multi-frequency tones
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to ASCII digits for ANI calls; for ONI calls that come through a trunk
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concentrator, the MFRs translate the tones sent by the concentrator to
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indicate an ONI call. Based on the tones, the MFR determines the type of
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call: regular, trouble, etc.
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ALFEs convert incoming analog data to digital form so that it can be
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switched on the digital network. They also convert outgoing digital data back
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to analog. Incoming ALFEs provide the link between the TTS and the analog
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trunks from the Class 5 End Offices. Outgoing ALFEs provide the link between
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the TTS and the analog trunks to the ACD.
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ALFE is subdivided into two types for both incoming and outgoing:
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ALFE-A (contains the control logic, PCM bus termination, and ports for 8
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trunks) and ALFE-B (contains ports for 16 trunks, but must be paired with an
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ALFE-A in order to use the control logic and PCM bus on the backplane).
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ALFE-As can be used without ALFE-Bs, but not vice versa.
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Incoming ALFEs support E&M 2-wire, E&M 4-wire, reverse battery, and
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3-way signalling trunks. Outgoing ALFEs support E&M 2-wire, reverse battery,
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and high-low trunking.
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T1FEs provide the links between the TTS and the D3-type T1 spans from
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the end offices. They also link the DARU VOCAL board ports and the TTS. Each
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board has 24 ports in order to handle a single T1 span which carries 24 voice
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channels.
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PMAC is based on a Motorola 68000 microprocessor that directs and
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coordinates data flow within the PM.
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MPPD boards provide bus termination and the system clocks for the
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digital network. The MPPD contains a master and a secondary clock, which are
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synchronized with the frequency of an incoming T-1 span. The module also
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contains its own clock for use when T-1 synchronization is not available or
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lost.
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The MPPD also generates the ringing tones, busy signals, and reorder
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tones heard by the customer and sends the zip (alert) tone to the operator.
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The CC controls the interaction between the PM components and the
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DARU. It contains the Office Dependent Data Base (ODDB), which is a system
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table that describes the configuration of the TTS. The CC uses the ODDB to
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determine whether an incoming call is an ANI or ONI trunk.
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The CC sets up paths through the digital network in order to
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coordinate the resources of the CAIS/LAIS. It receives messages from the
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PMAC, stores information necessary for returning a response to the appropriate
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trunk, and controls message routing to and from the ARC or the operator. It
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also synchronizes the TTS and the Directory Assistance System (DAS) for
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operator-caller communications.
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The CC is a Power-series standalone processor that contains a central
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processing unit (CPU-2), based on the Motorola 68000 microprocessor. The
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processor also contains distributed intelligence for controlling the memory
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subsystem, the IO (input/output) subsystem, and the disk/tape subsystem. Each
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CC includes a Winchester disk drive, a quarter-inch tape drive, and additional
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miscellaneous hardware.
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DAIS II Audio Response Unit (DARU)
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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The DARU contains the VOCAL boards that produce automated
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announcements, which are compiled from a vocabulary stored in RAM. A
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CAIS/LAIS contains 1 to 3 DARUs, each with 48 ports.
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If a CAIS/LAIS houses more than one DARU, the units are multi-dropped
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together. One DARU is always linked to the ARCs (either directly or by modems
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and telephone lines) so that the announcement vocabulary can be downloaded
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from the ARCs if necessary.
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:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:=:
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Much of the information in this file is copied verbatim from the
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instructional booklet sent to me by CCI. Their documentation is extremely
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in-depth and well written, and, with some looking over, is easy to
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understand. Much of the information in here is confusing with all of the
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acronyms used as well as technical terms, but if you cross-reference acronyms
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throughout the file, you should be able to see what it stands for. Also, if
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you don't understand what something does, just think of it in terms of use by
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the telephone company in the context used and you can generally get an idea
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of what it does or is used for. I hope you enjoyed this file and continue to
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read Phrack Inc. files to learn more about the system we use and experience.
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Any constructive suggestions are welcomed directly or indirectly.
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Taran King
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