Specifications

Glossary
Glossary – 2 ShoreTel, Inc.
Call Stack The list of calls in ShoreWare Desktop associated with an extension, including
active calls and calls that have been put on hold or are being managed in some other
way by the user.
Call Waiting Usually for single-line telephones, a feature that lets a second call arrive to
the line by delivering a call-waiting tone to the user and a ring-back to the caller.
Call-Waiting Tone The tone that is presented to a user with call waiting when a second
call arrives.
Caller For documentation purposes, an outside caller—a person calling the telephone
system from outside. See also
End User.
CallerID A technique for transmitting the calling party’s telephone number and
(optionally) name to equipment enabled to handle this feature; also called CLI in
Europe.
Centrex A name for advanced telephone services provided by the local telephone
company. It usually requires a connection to a special telephone system but provides
services such as voice mail and call forwarding.
CLASS Custom Local Area Signalling Services, a family of telephone services offered
from local telephone companies, usually for a monthly fee; includes features such as
CallerID, Call Waiting, call return, repeat dialing, call rejection, call trace, priority
ringing, and selective call forwarding.
Class of Service Abbreviated as CoS or COS; a set of features and privileges associated
with a particular user or extension, used for grouping similar users together.
CO Central Office; the building where the telephone company’s telephone switching
equipment that services the local area is located.
CO Line See Tr unk.
Conference Three or more parties joined together in a single call, such that each party
can hear and be heard by the others.
DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, a protocol for downloading network
information (such as IP addresses) to client workstations.
DID Direct Inward Dial, a signaling mechanism used by telephone companies to
indicate to a customer’s PBX what telephone number was dialed by the calling party. It
can be used with analog lines but is used mostly with digital (that is, T-1) connections.
DTMF Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency, a technique of providing two tones for each button
on a telephone to signal dialing digits; also known as Touch Tone.
End User For documentation purposes, a person using the telephone system from the
inside, such as from an extension or a call control application, as opposed to a caller
who dials in from outside the system; often shortened to “user.” See also
Caller.
Erlang Formula A mathematical way of predicting a randomly arriving workload (such
as telephone calls) based on known information (such as average call duration).
Although traditionally used in telephone traffic engineering to determine the required
number of trunks, Erlang formulas have applications in call center staffing as well.