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Asynchronous Communication
A data communications method in which bits are sent
one after the other with a start and stop bit used
for flow control. This as opposed to synchronous communication
where blocks of data are transmitted using a synchronizing
clock.
Audio Menu
A verbal choice provided by a recording over the phone.
Audio choice menus are common in automated attendant,
IVR and fax-on-demand systems. They are prompts for
caller input. Audio menus can instruct you to speak
commands or hit touch-tones as commands.
Audio Response Unit (ARU)
A computer telephony system incorporating voice store
and forward technology. There are both passive and
interactive ARUs. Passive ARUs simply play out messages.
Interactive ones play messages based on input from
callers.
Audio Teleconferencing
Or Audio Conferencing. The original technology used
for audio teleconferencing was based on PBX conferencing
circuits. Setting up conference calls through the
PBX is cumbersome, voice quality degrades as the number
of people on a call increases and there are capacity
limitations. As a result, specialized conference bridges
were developed to improve capacity and voice quality.
Conference bridges, however, require trained operator
intervention to schedule and invoke most features.
As a result, individual corporations find the cost
of ownership prohibitive, and the market for such
products has been concentrated on service bureau providers.
Today, PC-based systems combine the freedom of conference
bridges. By installing a conference server on your
voice networks, you can set up, attend, and manage
your own conferences over any touch-tone telephone.
Additionally, users can schedule meetings using desktop
software from their e-mail systems, or from a Web
browser.
Conference Bridge
A device used to connect multiple parties over the
phone. A proctor or operator can man conference bridges,
or the can be supervised. There are both stand-alone
conference bridges and conference bridge functions
built in to some PBXs (Private Branch Exchange). These
systems have circuitry for summing and balancing the
energy (noise) on each channel so everyone can hear
each other. More sophisticated conference bridges
have the ability to "idle" the transmit side of channels
of non-speaking parties. Some conference bridges use
"clVoxising" to idle or reject the input of touch
tones or other signals.
Digital Subscriber Line
A high-sped digital switched service using existing
copper pairs to connect subscriber CPE (Customer Premises
Equipment) to the Central Office. DSL handles more
data downstream (data flowing towards the subscriber)
than upstream (towards the network).
E-1
The designation for the 2.048Mbps. ITU standard for
Europe's 30-channel digital telephone service. It
is the European version of T-1 (DS-1). The bandwidth
is divided into two signaling channels (channels 15
and 31 starting from 0) and thirty bearer (voice channels).
A&B bit signaling (robbed bit signaling) is not used
here. E-1 uses one of the control channels for signaling
and the other for clock synchronization.
Fax Server
A computer based fax machine. Fax servers are "shared
use" devices, typically installed on a LAN. Clients
on the LAN can use the fax server from their PCs in
much the same way they share a network-based (shared)
printer. Faxes can be generated by users at their
workstations and "printed" to the fax server for transmission.
Likewise, fax servers can route incoming faxes to
printers, file server directories or to individual
users. Fax servers save users from having to print
documents, carry them to the fax machine and subsequently
wait for them to be transmitted after creating a cover
page.
Frame Relay
In data communications, a packet switching method
that uses available bandwidth only when it is needed.
This fast packet switching method is efficient enough
to transmit voice communications with the proper network
management.
Full Duplex
In telephony and data communications, the ability
for both ends of a communication to simultaneously
send and receive information without degrading the
quality or intelligibility of the content.
Interactive Voice Response IVR.
In computer telephony, Interactive Voice Response
is a horizontal application wherein computer-based
information is accessed over the phone - with a telephone
versus a computer. An IVR platform uses computer telephony
components to translate callers' touch-tones or voice
commands into computer queries after the callers hear
an audio menu. For example: "Please enter your account
number using the touch-tones on your telephone." These
queries are then "fetched" by the IVR platform from
the host computer. In some cases, the information
resides in the same platform (self-hosted). The information
is then converted into voice commands and then spoken
over the phone to the caller. These spoken prompts
can be pre-recorded, digitized speech messages that
are then concatenated to form whole sentences. For
example: "Your bank balance is five hundred and
sixty-three dollars". The responses to the caller
an also take the form of text-to-speech prompts. IVR
systems can also be used for callers to change the
information in a database instead of just "listen"
to the information.
Internet
The current-day public and global computer network
or "information super-highway." The Internet is an
outgrowth and combination of a variety of university
and government sponsored computer networks. Federal
and private sector subsidies supported the DARPA-NET.
NSFnet (National Sciences Foundation) and thousands
of other subnetworks, which were used to do inter-agency
research and communication. Today, the Internet is
made up of millions upon millions of computers and
subnetworks - almost entirely supported by commercial
funds except in countries where deregulation has not
occurred. The internet is the substrate and chief
communications backbone for the World Wide Web (WWW),
the "graphical interface" of the Internet.
Internet Telephony
Any means of transmitting the human voice (real time
or close to real time) over the internet. There are
several components: 1) On the client side, a multimedia-equipped
PC with special client software will digitize your
voice. This can be done with a voice modem or other
voice encoding method; 2) A direct or dial-up connection
to the internet allows your voice to be transmitted
in packet form to its destination; 3) Connection with
the far side is achieved by IP address search, common
servers or beacons to identify the called party (and
to "ring" that person's phone); 4) A similar arrangement
on the far end completes the call and allows both
parties to speak. There are also PSTN/Internet gateways
that allow regular telephone callers to make Phone-to-Internet-to-Phone
connections. There are PC-to-Phone connections and
Phone-to-PC connections.
ISP
Internet Service Provider. A business that provides
subscriber-based access to the Internet. Subscribers
can be individuals or businesses. According to Jack
Rickard, publisher of Boardwatch Magazine, ISPs operate
at the fourth or lowest level of the Internet. At
the third level, regional providers aggregate traffic
from lower-order ISPs to the second, backbone level.
The highest level in North America is the NAP (Network
Access Point), which act as peer-to-peer interconnection
points for the largest backbones. There are three
"official" NAPs located in San Francisco, Chicago
and Pennsauken, New Jersey. ISPs use both Internet
Routers, Servers and Rack-Mounted modems to provide
a variety of services including Web Site hosting,
FTP service, e-mail accounts, unified messaging, audio
and video broadcasting and in some cases - Internet
Telephony and Fax Gateway service.
Messaging
In computer telephony, any means of message store
and forward. This includes fax mail, voice mail and
broadcast messaging. This horizontal application is
the most popular of all other voice solutions. Messaging
systems provide for the store and forward of "non-real
time" communication. For example, a recorded voice
message can be stored for later play back either locally
or remotely, or a fax can be received and stored before
it is re-transmitted to the ultimate recipient. Messages,
then, can vary in content and media type - the distinction
being that they are recorded or stored for pick up
in the future. The time between original storage and
retrieval of a message can be created and stored by
a sales manager for later retrieval by multiple (worldwide)
sales people. The sales staff can listen to the message
at different times over an extended period. This is
due to the nature if random retrieval by the recipients
in their respective time zones. Messaging systems
are a kind of "shared tenant" answering machine, because
messages that were intended for as many as a thousand
or more users can be stored and controlled by the
same system. If a community of users agree on some
basic ground rules, messages can be shared, forwarded,
and distributed to multiple recipients in the same
fashion as e-mail.
Modem
Short for Modulator/Demodulator. Equipment that converts
digital signals to analog signals and vice-versa.
Modems are used to send data signals (digital) over
the telephone network, which is usually analog. A
modem modulates binary signals into tones that can
be carried over the telephone network. At the other
end, the demodulator part of the modem converts the
tones to binary code.
Packet
A logically grouped unit of data. Packets contain
a payload (the information to be transmitted), originator,
destination and synchronizing information. The idea
with packets is to transmit them over a network so
each individual packet can be sent along the most
optimal route to its. Packets are assembled on one
end of the communication and re-assembled on the receiving
end based on the header addressing information at
the front of each packet. Routers in the network will
store and forward packets based on network delays,
errors and re-transmittal requests from the receiving
end.
Packet Switching
A means of economically sending and receiving data
over alternate, multiple network channels. The premise
for packet switching is the packet, a small bundle
of information containing the payload and routing
information. Packet switching takes data, breaks it
down into packets, transmits the packets and does
the reverse on the other end. Packets can be sent
in order and then be received in a different order
- only to be put back in the correct order in seconds.
There are slow packet switching networks, like the
old SNA networks - and there are fast packet networks
based on Frame Relay and ATM. Although traditionally
used for data, packet networks, especially well-managed
ones, are becoming suitable for real-time transmission
of voice and video.
PBX
Private Branch Exchange. Or PABX (Private Automatic
Branch Exchange). In telephony, a PBX system behaves
as a customer's premises over trunk lines (thus the
term "branch"). At first, PBXs mimicked a small telephone
company switchboard. Users would use an operator to
take and make telephone calls to and from the PSTN
(Public Switched Telephone Network). Over time, users
were able to dial directly, without the use of an
operator. Today, computer telephony platforms such
as automated attendants are able to route incoming
calls automatically, too.
POP
Point of Presence, equivalent of a local phone company's
central office. The place your long distance carrier
terminates your long distance lines just before those
lines are connected to your local phone company's
lines, or to your own direct hookup.
Alternate Definition: Post
Office Protocol. An Internet standard for the storage
and retrieval of email messages
PSTN
Public Switched Telephone Network.
Real Time
A communication wherein any perceptible delay between
the sender and receiver are minimal and tolerated.
Regular telephone calls are real time. Point-to-point
fax transmissions are "close" to real time. Voice
messaging is in non-real time.
RJ-11
The designation for connecting a tip and ring circuit
to a standard, modular, six-position jack. The green
and red wires go in the middle (only) pair, and the
outside positions of the connector are unused.
RJ-45
Eight-position modular connector used for data transmission
over standard twisted or flat pairs.
Service Provider
An addressable entity providing application and administrative
support to the client environment by responding to
client requests and maintaining the operational integrity
of the server.
Signaling System #7
Or SS7. The basis for modern methods to route traffic
with out-of-brand signaling. Its forerunner, CCIS
(Common Channel Interoffice Signaling), used 4.8 Kbps
data links to transmit call set up and tear down messages
to switching office adjunct computers and packet switches.
SS7 in itself is not a network service offering, but
rather the underlying infrastructure with which many
existing and proposed offerings are based. For example,
local Basic Rate ISDN (BRI) services can tap into
SS7, so 64 Kbps packetized data can be routed with
the help of the network's out-of-band signaling capability.
In addition, nationwide Primary Rate ISDN (PRI) services
can use the same backbone.
Speech Recognition
Speech recognition describes a group of special technologies
that allow callers to speak words, phrases, or utterances
that are used to control applications. In the case
of voice processing, speech recognition is used to
replace touch-tone input, make for more intuitive
menu structures, and ad a level of simplicity and
security to some systems. Speech recognition, on the
other hand, is a technology that uses the spoken word
as input that has an effect on the logic flow and
execution of the program in question.
Store And Forward
As the name implies, the discipline of storing a message
or transmission for later playback or transmission.
As opposed to real time communication, store and forward
is the basis for all messaging systems including email,
fax-on-demand, unified messaging, etc. In data communications,
store and forward applies to momentary buffering of
packets or other data strings.
T-1
North American digital standard for high-capacity
transmission of telephony and data communications.
In telephone T-1 provides a 1.544 Mbps link which
is broken down in to 24 discrete, 64 Kpbs voice-grade
channels. In data communications, T-1 links are used
to directly connect CPE (Customer Premises Equipment)
routers to the Internet and for Private Data Network
or VPN circuits.
T-3
North American standard for DS-3. Operates at a signaling
rate of 44.736 Mbps, or the equivalent of 28 T-1s.
TCP
Transmission Control Protocol. The transport layer
protocol developed for the ARPAnet which comprises
layers 4 and 5 of the OSI model. TCP controls sequential
data exchange in TCP/IP for remotely hosts in a peer-to-peer
network.
Telephony
Taken from Greek root words meaning "far sound", telephony
is the discipline of converting or transmitting voice
or other signals over a distance, and then re-converting
them to an audible sound at the far end.
UNIX
A multi-user, multi-tasking operating system originally
developed in 1969 by Ken Thompson of AT&T Bell Laboratories.
UNIX is used in telephone company and mission critical
applications.
Voice Messaging
An application of store and forward wherein telephone
access to private messages are retrieved by users
for playback. Imagine a shared tenant answering machine
that handles multiple telephone lines and can record
incoming messages for hundreds of people simultaneously.
Imagine the intended parties being able to retrieve
these messages over the phone with simple touch-tone
commands. Imagine full security, so no one can pick
up anyone else's messages without a special, private
access code. That's voice messaging. Voice messaging
systems take many forms. There are CPE (Customer Premises
Equipment) versions and Service Bureau or Telco versions.
The basic idea is the non real-time sending and receiving
of private messages. Some systems support the broadcast
of messages to multiple recipients. Some provide message
waiting notification via pager, message waiting light
or "outdial" telephone calls.
Web Browser
Client software used to view information on Web servers.
Can display graphics. Web browsers are also packaged
with email clients, newsreaders and in some cases,
IP Telephony clients.
Web-Enabled Call Center
Any call center whose "callers" can establish a traditional
of Internet-Based phone call with an agent initiated
via Web Browsing Interaction. Imagine this: You cruise
to a Web Page and see a product you'd like to buy.
You click on a button that says "speak to a live agent".
A form pops-up and you're prompted to enter your phone
number. A few moments later your phone rings. It's
an agent from the call center associated with the
Web Page you just visited.
Web Server
On the World Wide Web, a server dedicated to storing
data (such as Web pages in HTML format) and distributing
it to Web Browsing users. Web browsers are able to
download video, text, still images and audio from
Web Pages. Some servers support Unified Messaging.
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