Linking two MICS in same facility

[bwtc]

We have a spare MICS that came from a facility where our lease ran out. It has been disconnected for at least 5 months. I powered it up this afternoon, and was pleased that all programming had been retained!

Anyways. this MICS used to be connected via a T1/E&M to our corporate office. We currently have another MICS that is connected the same way, to another facility. The extension scheme is 2xxx/3xxx/4xxx. 4xxx is on the system that is out of service.

The two MICS systems that are in service are on MICS 5.0, and the other is on MICS 6.1.

There is a very good chance that we will be changing our extension scheme in the near future, because of the addition of a digital T1 (not PRI), that will replace most of our copper lines, and allow DID.

Hence, the reason I powered up the other system... I wanted to play with the programming, and get it tied into our current system, in our corporate office, to "simulate" a remote location.

I was thinking of trying to connect the two systems directly via the existing E&M cards, but am unsure if this will work. I also want to be able to call the off-site MICS (and receive calls from it) during this testing.

Also, upon transition of the extension changes, I am considering swapping out the off-site MICS 5.0 with the 6.1, or would it be better to have each site be on the same release?

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[hawks]

First thing you need to do is check the version of both the 5.0 & the 6.1 because both had known issues with PRI circuits. The latest version of 6.1 had no problems that I'm aware of. But yes you can tie the 2 together few ways E&M, T1, PRI. If you want it to look like 1 unit then do it with PRI & MCDN with a CDP as your dialing plan between the 2. Just some ideas I'm sure others here will help out.

 

[bwtc]

We will not be using a PRI -- just a T1 with 11 digital channels of voice & 4 tie-line channels.

Anyways, is it possible (for testing purposes) to connect the "off-line" system (6.1) to our 5.0 system directly, via a NT7B74AAAA card?

If so, does anyone have the pinouts that would be required on each end of the RJ-45 jack, and do you know the specific settings when going into "Hardware" for the card (CO fail, I/F levels, etc) ?

It would just make things so much easier to do all testing in one location during the transition.

Thanks

 

[hawks]

yes you can connect them
pin outs = T1 crossover cable (1 to 4 & 2 to 5)

 

[bwtc]

Ok, one other question... in order to re-add the second T1 card to our KSU, I need to remove a Loop card.

If I disable the card on the KSU, is the card hot-swappable, or do I need to power down?

Thanks again

 

[hawks]

Power down before adding or removing any cards in that cabinet.

 

[bwtc]

Ok, so here's the scoop...

I disconnected the T1 cable from the MICS at corporate, and replaced it with a cross-over going to the offline MICS (1->4 2->5).

I made sure that I changed the destination & routing codes accordingly.

When I go to dial a 4 to get to the "test" MICS, I hear a brief dial tone, followed by a busy tone.

There are no alarms or abnormal lights on the T1 card. But, when I unplug the network cable, I get Alarm 41, 42, 44, or 75 on the sets, as well as the alert lights.

Hence, I think that something needs to be changed in the T1 card setup, but I'm unsure what.

Here are the settings:

Card type: T1
Lines: 001-024
Discon times: 460
Answer timer: 2
CO fail: TIA-547A
I/F levels: ISDN
Framing: ESF
Internal CSU: Off
DSX1 bld: 000-100
Line coding: B8ZS
ClockSrc: Primary

Thanks

 

[bwtc]

I probably should have clarified -- when I said that I disconnected the T1 from the MICS at corporate, I did that to make sure that this would work, without having to power down & replace a loop card with a T1 card. FYI

 

[bwtc]

After doing some more research, I discovered that the "off-line" MICS and the one at our remote location were using different channels in the T1 card.

After reprovisioning, disabling & enabling the port, I tried the above mentioned test again, and it worked.

So, theorically, should I be able to power down our phone system here, pull out our Loop card & replace with the 2nd T1, power system back up, configure (and re-provision) the T1 card, and I'll be in business?

 

[hawks]

Looks that way

 

[bwtc]

Works like a champ... thanks!