Municipal government 911 Service reduces labor costs to service PBX systems
The Scenario - A U.S. city’s 911 service requiring Internet-based in-band management for its extensive PBX network.
The Challenge
For organizations managing a large scale PBX (private branch exchange) telephone system, there is a continuous need for technicians to monitor changes and perform maintenance. Given the size and complexity of some networks, the ability to perform remote maintenance on PBX switches is instrumental in optimizing resources, speeding maintenance and reducing labor time and costs.
For 911 operations especially, where uptime can be critical to an individual’s very survival, the more efficiently and proactively maintenance of inbound services can be performed, the better.
While device configuration over a subnet or network can be performed via modem, the process requires dial-up to each individual phone system, making it slow and cumbersome for mission-critical operations. Managing the process over an IP network on the other hand is much more efficient, faster and scalable. However, it can be challenging to achieve this level of access in an environment that utilizes serial-based switching technology.
A solution that enables operations to access secure, high speed connectivity to the network, while leveraging existing serial-based technology is the Perle IOLAN SDS1. This serial to Ethernet device allows enterprises to facilitate connectivity at each port of a PBX system to allow maintenance personnel a secure and easy means to perform remote maintenance.
The Solution
The IOLAN SDS1 is a single port encryption-enabled device server that was deployed at each PBX system to create secure links and provide technicians with a single point of access to multiple telephone systems via the nekwork. This configuration provided a number of advantages, including:
- Rapid deployment with minimal disruption to operations
- Investment protection of existing hardware
- No infrastructure or application software changes
The Results
Significantly more responsive technical support and proactive remote maintenance have allowed for reduced labour costs. The organization also protected their original PBX equipment investment by extending its use with the IOLAN SDS1 serial to Ethernet connectivity.
