Merlin Legend Ctilink Interface

[Guest Guest_Wayne]

I have a Merlin Legend PBX that I would like to interface to via the PBX CTILINK functionality.

 

Does VG support this?

 

If so, what telephony hardware would you suggest?

 

Thanks in advance.

[SupportTeam]

via the PBX CTILINK functionality.

Please post the dcument(s) describing what type of CTI interface that PBX has (the more detailed/techcial the better).

[Guest Guest_wayne]

By the nature of your response, I take it that you have no knowledge of a VoiceGuide customer running in this configuration?

 

The CTI interface is an ISDN interface, running the USA/Canada, AT&T protocol (5E4 or higher/5ESS Custom). Avaya who now nominally supports this switch (end of lifed) recommends an Eicon DIVA 2.02 ISDN PCI card. This is what they would supply if we purchased their CTI interface product. I am not real keen on going to Avaya as they are both expensive and a pain to work with - in my opinion. Having spent a little time evaluating your product, I like what I see so far. I am also wondering if their is another CTI interface board which would work as well as the recommended Eicon product.

 

Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

Wayne

[SupportTeam]

ISDN lines are the lines that carry the actual voice calls...

 

VG will have no problems with any of the ISDN lines out there.

 

Is it a "T1" ISDN line or an "E1" ISDN line or a "BRI" ISDN line?

 

 

CTI and ISDN are two different things...

Maybe they use the term CTILINK to describe an ISDN line as ISDN carries most of the basic call related info (Caller ID/DNIS/NumberDialed) that used to be accessed over the CTI link in the older days...?

[Guest Guest_wayne]

It is BRI ISDN as best I can tell. The PBX uses a dedicated internal digital extension (site configurable on the PBX) to speak ISDN between the switch and the computer doing CTI. Actual analog voice phone signals are carried on other internal analog extension's or optionally, proprietary digital extension's (non-ISDN) to Avaya phones. We use 4 analog extensions to feed our existing VM system. I am sure your product will talk to these. My problem and question is only with regard to the CTI link, the switch control interface.

 

Another possibility has occured to me. I assume your product would handle an RS-232 connection as the interface between the switch and the CTI computer. I believe I may already have hardware in house that will convert between the AT&T ISDN interface and RS-232.

 

So I guess my question then is two fold:

 

1) if I talk directly to the PBX using the AT&T ISDN protocol for my CTI interface what's involved? who's interface board, etc.?

2) if I talk to the PBX via RS-232 with an AT&T ISDN protocol to RS-232 converter in between, what's involved?

 

Again all of this is only for the PBX control channel for CTI.

 

Thanks again.

 

Wayne

[SupportTeam]

RS-232 is a common CTI interface. You would just connect the serial cable to one of the available serial ports on the computer and that's all.

 

VoiceGuide can receive CTI information over the RS-232, but each PBX sends data over the RS-232 in a different way.

 

Do you have any information on what the data coming out of the RS-232 will look like? Any documentation or samples of the output?

 

We can then see if this is something that VoiceGuide supports.