System Architecture
Instead of managing services from a central server, the
ShoreTel architecture distributes call control functionality and
applications — including voicemail, automated attendant, and hunt groups
— to voice switches distributed across the enterprise. The result: a
single-image, unified telephony environment. A ShoreTel system replaces
the inefficient, complex installations of multiple-vendor PBXs, voice
mail systems, automated attendants, and multiple ACD systems — each of
which comes with their own unique management interface.
Network Diagram
ShoreGear Voice Switches
ShoreGear voice switches provide the hardware foundation
of the ShoreTel system. Intelligent gateways that manage the flow of
voice data across your network, the switches were designed to meet the
demanding requirements of enterprise telephony; ShoreGear voice switches
use an embedded, real-time operating system to deliver 99.999%
reliability. In layman’s terms, that means you will never lose dial
tone.
A ShoreTel network distributes call control among the
switches — allowing every voice switch on the network to operate
independently and eliminating any single point of failure.
In the unlikely event that a ShoreGear voice switch does
fail, the other switches on the network automatically assume the
call-processing load for the missing device. Because the system does not
rely on a central server to provide telephony services, the ShoreTel
solution delivers a level of availability that is unmatched — even by
traditional PBX vendors.
Designed to meet the needs of any size enterprise,
ShoreGear voice switches are available in five different models — all
supporting IP phones, analog phones, conference ports, analog trunks,
digital trunks and SIP trunks.
ShoreGear 120/24 Voice Switch
Built to the specifications of the distributed
architecture, ShoreGear voice switches are fully scalable. You can
easily grow a ShoreTel system to accommodate tens of thousands of users
— without risky hardware break points or “forklift” upgrades required by
legacy or competitive solutions.
The ShoreTel system supports standards-based IP phones,
WiFi phones and analog telephones as well as a ShoreTel-branded soft
phone. As competition drives prices down and improves feature sets, you
can upgrade your phones without straining your IT resources or incurring
unwelcome cost.
IP telephones connect to the Ethernet network as
“plug-and-play” devices and use the Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP)
to communicate with the call management software on ShoreGear voice
switches.
Analog telephones plug into the ShoreGear voice switch
and communicate directly with the call management software on the
switch.
Calls are routed to WiFi phones through the use of SIP
trunks hosted by ShoreGear voice switches. The WiFi devices are
configured in the ShoreWare database as “off system” extensions.
