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RAM
Required
Minimum 64meg of RAM is required although 128meg
preferred
Hard disk space requirements
Minimum 40 Meg hard disk space
required to install the software.
Post installation hard
disk space requirements
Reports Program
Call Collector
Database 6 MB
2MB
1MB / 1,000 call records.
*A minimum of 200MB should be available.
Archive disk space
Each archive will reduce the database by a factor of 90% so a database of
300MB will be archived down to approximately 30MB
Installation
to a dedicated PC, Server or Workstation.
The Call Collector program
which gathers the data from the PBX and stores it in the database needs to
be left turned on at all times. In addition, other PC's on the office LAN
need to be able to access the database in order to run Reports. For this
reason it makes sense to install the Call Collector on a Server, which
typically are left on all the time and already have access rights assigned
to other users.
Saturation point
The Call Collector processes
call records "a bit at a time". As the serial port buffer of the PC receives
data, the Call Collector processes it, and blocks the buffer from sending
fresh information until the processing has been completed. In theory, if the
Call Collector were running on a PC with very slow processor, and the PBX
was not able to control the output of data, then the PC's serial buffer
could overflow and call records could be lost.
In reality, most PBXs will only release serial data when they receive a
"Clear to Send" signal from the PC serial port.
Line Types
At present PABXSoft is
designed to collect data from a serial port. It does not know whether the
PBX is connected to the outside world by ISDN, PSTN, Tie Lines or whatever.
It is reliant on receiving a data stream from the PBX that it can interpret
and reliant on the User configuring the software accurately. If the user
connects their telephone system to a Voice over IP network then the PBX must
report on the call in a manner consistent with other types of call traffic.
In other words it must allocate a "Line" number to the Voice over IP call
and insert that into the SMDR stream. If it does not, then PABXSoft can not
interpret the data.
Data transmission from the PBX to PABXSoft
One of the limitations of sending SMDR data from the
PBX to a telephone management software package over a serial data link is
distance. A serial cable link is generally only good to about 40 metres,
although this can be extended with good cable, boosters etc. However, this
means that the PC running the Call Collector normally would be no more than
40 metres distant from the SMDR output device of the PBX. Some PBX's get
round this limitation by providing "remote" Serial output/input devices that
can be wired up to 500 metres from the PBX main equipment. Another way, and
one that we will see a great deal of in the next few years, is to send the
data via TCPIP.
The PBX has a LAN port and plugs into the customer network as just another
terminal with an IP address. It allows the user to connect to the PBX to
perform maintenance, reprogramming etc as well as allowing data streams like
SMDR to be output to a "named pipe". Instead of PABXSoft gathering data at a
PC from the serial port it needs to collect the data using a process called
"Telnet". In layman's terms this means locating the data at a predefined
path via an IP address.
We have already developed the
process of data collection via Telnet but as yet, have not had the
opportunity to try it out on a real PBX, as none to date have offered this
facility. However, Samsung are organising to allow us to try out on their
new iDCS500 system shortly. |
