Allworx Corp.
300 Main St.
East Rochester, NY 14445

Phone: 585.421.3850
Fax: 585.421.3853
Email: contact@allworx.com

Glossary of Terms

Analog phone: Telephones that send transmissions and perform switching that are not digitally generated. Some analog phones may have digital features, but they send and receive analog transmissions over a telephone line.

BRI (Basic Rate Interface): In the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), there are two levels of service: the Basic Rate Interface (BRI), intended for the home and small enterprise, and the Primary Rate Interface (PRI), for larger users. Both rates include a number of B-channels and a D-channel. Each B-Channel carries data, voice, and other services. The D-Channel carries control and signaling information.

The Basic Rate Interface consists of two 64 Kbps B-channels and one 16 Kbps D-channel. Thus, a Basic Rate Interface user can have up to 128 Kbps service. The Primary Rate Interface consists of 23 B-channels and one 64 Kpbs D-channel in the United States or 30 B-channels and 1 D-channel in Europe.

Convergence: When communications technologies are combined, and all transmissions travel over a single network, rather than separate networks for voice and for data.

Firewall: A network's firewall monitors all inbound and outbound traffic, allowing only permitted traffic to pass through the gateway to your network system.

A system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network. Firewalls can be implemented in both hardware and software, or a combination of both. Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet, especially Intranets. All messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria.

There are several types of firewall techniques:

  • Packet filter: Looks at each packet entering or leaving the network and accepts or rejects it based on user-defined rules. Packet filtering is fairly effective and transparent to users, but it is difficult to configure. In addition, it is susceptible to IP spoofing.
  • Application gateway: Applies security mechanisms to specific applications, such as FTP and Telnet servers. This is very effective, but can impose a performance degradation.
  • Circuit-level gateway: Applies security mechanisms when a TCP or UDP connection is established. Once the connection has been made, packets can flow between the hosts without further checking.
  • Proxy server: Intercepts all messages entering and leaving the network. The proxy server effectively hides the true network addresses.

In practice, many firewalls use two or more of these techniques in concert. A firewall is considered a first line of defense in protecting private information. For greater security, data can be encrypted.

FXO (Foreign eXchange Office): This interface (the plug on the phone) receives POTS service, typically from a Central Office of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). In other words an FXO interface points to the Telco office.

FXS (Foreign eXchange Subscriber): This interface (the plug on the wall) delivers POTS service from the local phone company’s Central Office (CO) and must be connected to subscriber equipment (telephones, modems, and fax machines). In other words an FXS interface points to the subscriber.

Internet Call Access™:  Allows you to send and receive phone calls over the internet. Internet Call Access provides significant savings when communicating between multiple office sites using the Allworx system. This option is required when you want to connect the Allworx system to an Internet Telephony Service Provider (ITSP).

Key System: On a key system, each telephone line appears under a key (button) on the phone. To access an otuside line or answer an incoming call, you must press the key associated with that line.

LAN (Local Area Network): A group of computers connected together within a building or campus.

Message Waiting Indicator: Uses an icon or light to show that a message is waiting in your Allworx ® Inbox, where all your voicemail, email and fax messages are held for you.

Network Address Port Translation (NAPT): Enables a local network to use one set of network addresses for internal traffic and a second set for external, Internet traffic. This allows a company to 'hide' or shield company user addresses from the Internet, limiting access from hackers.

PBX (Private Branch Exchange): Your own, smaller version of the phone company's central switching office. A PBX controls all your incoming and outgoing calls, and offers the benefits of many automated features, easy set up and flexibility when adding or changing your phone system.

PRI (Primary Rate Interface): PRI is also known as ISDN PRI or sometime T1 PRI. ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network. There are two speeds of service offered: BRI or Basic Rate Interface and PRI or Primary Rate Interface. BRI is a low capacity service intended for residential and small business applications. PRI is the high capacity service carried on T1 trunk lines between telco central offices and your location.

PRI divides a T1 digital signal into 24 channels of 64 Kbps capacity per channel. 23 of these channels can be assigned as one telephone call each, the equivalent of having 23 separate telephone lines. The 24th channel is used for signaling information and special features such as caller ID and hotel / motel information services. It is a popular service for call centers which need the ANI automatic number identification or caller ID data .

TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol):  The suite of communication protocols used to connect hosts on the Internet. TCP/IP uses several protocols, the two main ones being TCP and IP. TCP/IP is built into the Unix Operating System and is used by the Internet, making it the de facto standard for transmitting data over networks. Even network operating systems that have their own protocols, such as Netware, also support TCP/IP.

VoIP Phone: These phones send and receive digital signals of voice to digital networks for transmission over network and Internet lines. They do not require a dedicated phone line; they can use your office network or the Internet.

WAN (Wide Area Network): A network of computers or computing devices connected by telephone lines that can serve a building or extend to cover an area larger than an area code.