How to: Interpret the trunks page
- Kelli Higdon
The Resources --> trunks page displays the TDM cards installed within your PBXtra and the number of trunks currently in use by the system (at the bottom)
You will notice a difference between Analog lines or PRIÂ B-Channels being used and the number of 'Channels' referenced at the bottom.
A channel inside FONcore is a single connection from your server to an end point. The end point could be an IP Phone, a softphone, or an outside caller. These single connections do not represent a phone call - they represent actions such as a user checking their own voicemail, or an outside caller listening to your company's IVR.
Once two callers are connected on a single call, the trunks page shows 2 channels in use, but only a single trunk. Each party needs an independent connection to your PBXtra .
A trunk, by comparison, is one of the 'lines' that you purchased from your Telco provider. A single trunk might be 1 analog line or 1 B-Channel on your PRI/BRI/E1.
A simple rule of thumb is that you will always see 2 times as many channels as trunks. This rule is only incorrect when a user is connected to the voicemail system or to a sub-menu (IVR) as mentioned earlier.
To summarize:
Channels connect end-points to the PBXtra
Trunks connect the PBXtra to the PSTN
If you have Analog cards, hold your mouse over the green dot next to each port to view the current line voltage.
Low Voltage causes low volume and possibly dropped analog calls.
Good Voltage should be between 48 - 54 volts.
High Voltage causes extremely high volume and may distort the audio of all calls.
If you have PRI/T1 cards, hold your mouse over the ">>" symbol next to More Info: in order to view the number of channels configured for each PRI span. A typical North American PRI has 23 channels. If you ordered a full PRI and you do not see channels 1-23 displayed in the pop-up, please contact Fonality Support.
NOTE: You can add an alert to any span (port) of any card by clicking the Alerts link next to every port.