Specifications

Legacy Integration
Planning and Installation Guide 14 – 5
Alternatively, inbound services can be consolidated on either the ShoreTel 6.1 system
or the legacy PBX. In this environment, calls to users on the other systems are
forwarded to the remote or off system extensions through the trunk lines connecting
the systems.
When all inbound trunks are consolidated on the ShoreTel 6.1 system, the trunks are
configured to support off system extensions within the range of extensions on the other
PBX.
When all inbound trunks are configured on the legacy PBX, the trunks on the ShoreTel
6.1 system are configured to support inbound services with call routing to the
extensions on the ShoreTel 6.1 system.
NOTE When DID numbers are already in place on one of the PBX’s which will be
connected, ShoreTel recommends that the inbound DID service not be moved or
split between the systems but configured to remain on the system where they are
currently configured and have calls to users on the other system forward across
the connecting trunks.
In the single site configuration, ShoreTel recommends that services for outbound calls
be connected to the legacy PBX. In this configuration the trunk interfaces on the
ShoreTel 6.1 system are configured to support outbound local and long distance dialing
while the interface on the PBX is configured to route the received outbound calls.
Consolidated Long Distance
Long distance calls can be consolidated into a single PSTN interface across both the
ShoreTel 6.1 system and the integrated legacy PBX. In this configuration, you gain the
benefits of reduced long distance rates by consolidating all your enterprise's long
distance calls into a single carrier. When it is required, the outbound long distance
trunks are connected to the legacy PBX and the ShoreTel 6.1 system is configured to
route long distance calls outbound across the digital trunk connecting the systems.
Voice Mail Integration
The primary issue with voice mail integration is they are proprietary and the interfaces
defined to connect the same and disparate systems are very old, complex and difficult
to implement. In fact, many voice systems from the same vendor are not connected.
The interface with which most customers are familiar is AMIS. This is an analog
interface that has been around for a long time, but is a real challenge to implement and
can be very expensive from legacy voice mail providers. It is not uncommon to pay
$10,000 per site for this capability. Another widely-used interface, Simplified Message
Desk Interface (SMDI), was developed in the days when the PBX and voice mail
systems were separate systems. It operates on a serial link between a PBX and voice
mail system and allows them to work together. ShoreTel 6.1 supports both AMIS and
SMDI protocols for voice mail integration.
AMIS Protocol Support
The ShoreTel 6.1 system sends and receives voice mail messages to and from legacy
voice mail systems using AMIS protocol Version 1 - Specification February 1992. To
send voice mail messages to remote AMIS sites, ShoreTel 6.1 dials the access phone
number for the remote system. Likewise, to receive voice messages from a remote
system, the remote system must know the number to dial into the ShoreTel 6.1 system.