Specifications

ESI Communications Servers Sales Overview
9
Esi-Link private IP networking capabilities
The IVCEL24 card
1
is reserved for the support of 24 Esi-Link channels. With the Esi-Link IP networking option, up to 100
individual sites may be connected together via a customer’s WAN or the Internet. The following table shows how many
Esi-Link IVCs may be installed in each ESI Communications Server, and the resulting number of possible, simultaneous
VoIP connections between systems:
Maximums ESI-1000 ESI-600 ESI-200 ESI-100 ESI-50
Esi-Link IVCs 4 2 1 1 1 (built-in)
Inter-system VoIP connections 96 48 24 24 12
2
Note: For more complete details, consult the Esi-Link Product Overview (ESI document #0450-0214). Resellers may download
this document from www.esiresellers.com (password required).
IP station sets
Several types of IP telephones are supported by ESI Communications Servers:
• The 48-Key IP Feature Phone II can be installed in-house on the customer’s LAN, or remotely wherever a broadband connection is
available. Each 48-Key IP Feature Phone II contains a two-port Ethernet switch. This means that a single Ethernet connection to the
LAN is all that is required for the connection of both the customer’s IP Phone and his office computer. This reduces the customer’s
data cabling cost by half. The ESI Communications Server’s support of Quality of Service is critical when using the integrated two-
port Ethernet switch. This ensures that there is no loss of audio or dropped voice packets during large data downloads. The phone
includes built-in Power over Ethernet (PoE) capabilities. In those cases where the customer does not have PoE switches installed,
the optional 48VDC adapter is used to provide operating power to the phone. The 48-Key IP Feature Phone II may also be installed
outside the confines of the customer’s LAN. When installed remotely, the phone uses the higher compression rate of G.726 to
maximize voice quality. A remote location might include a remote facility, home office, or any other location where broadband
access is available. Remote IP users are connected directly to the system via the IVC card, and therefore operate as if they were
on-premises. The 48-Key IP Feature Phone II is available with backlit display.
• The ESI Local IP Cordless Handset provides connection of the customer’s LAN to the phone’s base station. Users of the Local IP
Cordless Handset are free to move throughout their facility while staying in touch with customers and co-workers. This IP phone also
supports PoE, requiring no additional AC power outlet for the transceiver base station.
• For remote teleworkers, ESI also offers the Remote IP Cordless Handset. This phone connects like a “wired” Remote IP Phone,
and can be installed anywhere broadband access is available. This, also, is a PoE phone. An inexpensive PoE Adapter connects
between the remote router and the cordless IP phone. The base station of the remote IP phone has a built-in RJ-11 jack into which
the teleworker’s home phone line can be connected. This is a convenience for the remote worker so that only one phone can be
used to answer and call on either line.
• The optional VIP Softphone combines the functionality of a 48-Key IP Feature Phone II and the VIP Professional product in one
PC-based phone. For more information about this product, see also “Optional PC applications,” beginning on page 7, as well as the
VIP Sales Overview (ESI # 0450-0920).
• ESI additionally supports local-only SIP-compliant hardware endpoints — i.e., SIP “phones.” However, due to limitations with SIP
itself, not all of the ESI feature set is available via a SIP phone. The following SIP hardware endpoints have been tested with one or
more ESI Communications Server models:
— Aastra 9133i
— Grandstream BudgeTone 101
— Grandstream HandyTone 286
Note: Each compatible ESI IP Phone [IP Feature Phone II, IP Cordless Handset (Local or Remote), or VIP Softphone] or SIP
endpoint requires an available IVC port and the activation in the system of a local, remote, or SIP license before the IVC will
connect to the IP Phone. When an IP Phone is programmed in the system, a license is consumed.
There are many benefits to designing an IP telephony application with Power over Ethernet capabilities:
• By using the local area network to power the IP phones, a consistent voltage is provided to all phones without
the fluctuations that frequently occur in commercial office buildings.
• Since all power is provided from one location, a single UPS system can be used to protect the IP phones from
power surges, brownouts, and other electrical anomalies.
• Powering the IP phones via the customer’s LAN saves the cost and inconvenience of providing a fused power
strip at each IP phone placement.
1
Not supported by the ESI-50. Its only IP support comes from its built-in IVC 12, which supports up to 12 IP channels (of which eight can be remote).
2
The ESI-50 uses only the G.726 speech compression algorithm and, therefore, can be in an Esi-Link network with only other ESI Communications
Servers set to G.726. ESI’s IVX
®
X-Class and IVX E-Class systems, as well as the original ESI-600 (prior to system software version 16.2.0), use only the
G.729 speech compression algorithm; thus, an ESI-50 cannot be in an Esi-Link network with these systems.