AlphaCom FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. Can AlphaCom E provide IP to a station?

AlphaCom E will be able to provide IP to stations. IP stations are part of the next AlphaCom E release.

2. Should I send my critical security system over a VPN? Is it reliable?

VPN provides a very cost efficient way of implementing a WAN service, However, as VPN cannot guarantee a 99.999 % network and bandwidth availability in the Internet, care and consideration should be taken on the criticality on bandwidth availability for the services using the VPN service. It is possible to build an Intercom over IP service over a VPN WAN link. This will provide a very cost effective solution. As bandwidth availability is not guaranteed and packet loss delay may vary, VPN is not suited for critical communication that must always work. However, if the service can live with a 99% availability VPN, is a good choice.

3. By using IP to connect over intercom network – will we be open to viruses?

The AlphaCom E does not require an anti-virus protection. AlphaCom E does not receive emails nor email attachments, and download of files are restricted to software upgrades. All software upgrade files to AlphaCom have a digital signature to hinder virus infections. The probability of a virus infecting AlphaCom E is thus very small. Definition virus: A virus is a program that is designed to infect multiple files on a single computer. It cannot infect other networked computers without human assistance. It will spread to other systems by way of an infected floppy disk, a (infected) shared file on a network drive, or by manually sending the infected file as an e-mail attachment.

4. Is audio quality and intelligibility affected by packet loss? Will I understand the call?

Yes, audio quality and intelligibility is affected by packet loss. You will be able to understand the call with 3% packet loss. However, audio quality and intelligibility will be degraded.

5. Will I still be able to use my existing AlphaCom equipment with AlphaCom E?

AlphaCom E is backward compatible with existing AlphaCom equipment. You will be able to use AlphaCom E with existing AlphaCom exchanges as well as Touchline and AlphaCom station. In addition you will be able to upgrade an AlphaCom 80 and AlphaCom 138 to an AlphaCom E exchange.

== 6. When utilizing existing or new fiber backbones, can you use off the shelf Ethernet-to-fiber converter and by which recommended mfg? ==

Yes, you will be able to use off the self Ethernet-to-fiber converters. Zenitel has no recommended manufacture for this type of equipment.