Improve Business Processes and the Bottom Line. Pocket Glossary

Transcription

1 Improve Business Processes and the Bottom Line Pocket Glossary

2 By placing people at the center of business communications and identifying the employee s role, NEC helps organizations build a unified infrastructure, which is enabled by unified communications, integrated with business processes, and supported by partnerships and services. This is what creates a true unified business.

3 Glossary of Terms IEEE standard for wireless LANs, intended to provide for interoperability of wireless LAN products from different manufacturers. AAA (Authentication, Authorization and Accounting) - A framework for intelligently controlling access to computer resources, enforcing policies, auditing usage and providing the information necessary to bill for service. Abandoned Call Search - Prohibits abandoned incoming calls from being connected to agent or supervisor positions. Once the ACD has answered a call (played announcement, queued call, etc.), some central offices are unable to inform the ACD that a trunk is no longer in use this feature clears those calls from the queues. Access - The capability of terminals, entities or networks to be interconnected with one another for the purpose of exchanging traffic. Access Log - A list of the individual files people have requested from a web site. Access Network - An implementation comprising those entities such as cable plant, transmission facilities, etc. that provide the required transport bearer capabilities for the telecommunications services between a Service Node Interface (SNI) and each of the associated User Network Interfaces (UNIs). Access Router - A router at a customer site that connects to the network service provider WAN. Sometimes termed a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) router. Access Point (AP) - A hub for wireless clients. Access Signaling - The signaling between a user device and its supporting entity that can either be a network entity (e.g. local exchange) or another user device (e.g. private exchange). 1

4 ACD Queuing - Method of routing incoming callers to appropriate agents in the most efficient manner. Incoming calls are directed to pilot numbers. Pilot numbers direct the call to either a week schedule or to a call control vector. The call control vector provides instructions for the further routing of the call, including queuing the call to groups of agents defined in splits. Each split is associated with two queues, one containing a prioritized list of callers waiting to be connected to agents and the other containing a list of agents waiting to be connected to callers. Either Standard Queuing or Conditional Queuing defines how these two queues are related. If a queue is full (is at its defined maximum depth), alternate routing may be invoked by sending the call to a specified step in another call control vector. Acoustic Echo Canceller - For phone sets featuring speakerphone operation, an acoustic echo canceller is needed to cancel out echo picked up by the microphone of the received speech. The echo comes from the reflections of the 2 speaker s voice off the walls, windows, furniture, etc. in the room where the speakerphone is located. Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation (ADPCM) - A technique for converting sound or analog information to binary information (a string of 0s and 1s) by taking frequent samples of the sound and expressing the value of the sampled sound modulation in binary terms. Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) - A protocol used by the Internet Protocol (IP) network layer protocol to map IP network addresses to the hardware addresses used by a data link protocol. Defined in RFC 826. Ad-Hoc Mode - A client setting that provides independent peer-topeer connectivity in a wireless LAN. Administrative Domain - A collection of network elements under the same administrative control and grouped together for administrative purposes. It is usually managed by a single corporate entity. For QoS enforcement purposes a network domain refers to

5 any domain that shares a common QoS policy. It may or may not overlap other kinds of domains like IP or NT domains. Admission Control - A policy decision applied initially to QoS requests for controlling the admission of network traffic from outside a given administrative domain. Admission Control is closely tied to accounting and relies on source authentication. Admission Control is different from Policing, which occurs after a request is accepted and data is flowing. Advanced Routing - Upon initial receipt of a call, the Advanced Routing feature allows the call to be directed to agents based on Automatic Number Identification (ANI), account code or area code. After ACD Call Mode - Determines whether agents become available or go into work mode at the conclusion of each call. After-Call Availability - Allows a split to define post-call handling for agents. Automatic Available mode allows a position to receive new ACD calls immediately upon disconnecting from the previous call. Automatic Work mode makes a position unavailable to receive ACD calls after disconnecting from a previous call in order to allow the agent to perform various functions to conclude the previous transaction. Agent Anywhere - Enables agents to be spread across a network of NEAX 2400 IMX and NEAX 2400 IPX systems connected via FCCS. A single NEAX 2400 IMX or NEAX 2400 IPX system with CallCenterWorX Enterprise (I) or CallCenterWorX Enterprise provides centralized control, CTI, MIS and administration. Agent Assist - Allows an agent to call for assistance. The active call is placed on hold and an assistance call is placed to a pre-programmed number, which may be a PBX station, an attendant, an individual supervisor, a pilot number for a split of supervisors, a pilot number for a group hunt, a system speed number, etc. Also known as Supervisor Assist. Agent Audit - Allows a supervisor to audit an agent s activities for any day or days within the last 3

6 week. The audit tracks the agent s states, the time the agent entered each state and duration spent in that state. Agent Personal Assist Request Number - Defines the supervisor to which assist requests should be delivered for a particular agent. Agent Personal Line - Line appearance on the Dterm agent station that is provided for internal calling and to support an Agent Personal Queue. Agent Personal Queues - Ability for a caller to queue directly to an agent without going through the main queue. Also gives the ability to track statistics for that call versus a call on the PBX line. Agent Preference - Influences call routing by seeking the agent who has the highest preference level specified for a split. A single-split agent is defined as having the highest possible preference level ( 1 ). Multi-split agents may specify preferences ranging from one to ninety-nine (1 is high, 99 is low) for each split. For each split, the highest priority call is connected to 4 the agent with the highest preference who has been waiting the longest period of time for a call. Agent Softphone - Provides control of the agent phone from the PC, including answering an incoming call, disconnecting a call, setting work and break modes, entering tally codes, activating hold, transfer and conference and retrieving a held call. Alternate Night Call Control Vector (CCV) - Provides custom routing on a per-pilot number basis for incoming ACD calls which encounter splits in the night mode. Calls to pilot numbers, which do not specify an Alternate Night CCV, will be routed to the Night CCV assigned to the split to which the pilot belongs. Allowed Traffic - Packets forwarded as a result of the rule set. Alternate Routing - Within the call control vector, if a call is unable to be queued, it may be redirected to a specified step in another call control vector. Analog ACD Position - Extends the functionality of ACD features

7 to users operating analog station equipment. By dialing access codes from a single-line station, an agent may invoke features such as logon with ID, logon without ID, logoff, switch between Work/Ready/ Break, enter Tally Codes, register trunk trouble, place the split into Day and Night modes. Also known as SLT Agent (Single Line Telephone Agent). Analog Work Timeout - Defines an after-call-work timeout specified for analog station users and different from that defined for digital station users. Announcements - Variable length announcements (2 120 seconds) are provided for ACD callers by customer-provided announcement hardware using digital announcement trunk circuits or analog trunk circuits. Answer Mode - Defines whether the agent s phone will ring and be manually answered (lift handset) or will provide zip tone and an automatic connection for headset users. Analog Transmission - Signal messaging that represents messaging by various combinations of signal amplitude, frequency and phase. Application Layer - The highest layer of the OSI network model, this layer is also known as the seventh layer. Application Provider - Has overall responsibility for the provision of an application or a set of applications and negotiates those application services with the service providers concerned. Application Proxy - A proxy service that is set up and torn down in response to a client request, rather than existing on a static basis (as is the case with circuit proxies). Whereas a basic proxy performs generic packet filtering, the application proxy only processes packets related to the applications that it supports. When an application proxy is set up, incoming packets are dropped if code is not installed for an application, and packets are subject to authentication and authorization before they are forwarded or connected. 5

8 6 Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) - Uses existing copper phone lines. With proper retooling by phone companies, these can supply 6 Mbps downstream delivery of data. Authentication Header (AH) - A field that follows the IP header in an IP datagram and provides authentication and integrity checking for the datagram. Auto Attendant - Provides call routing functions. A menu will be read giving up to ten various transfer options and when an appropriate key is pressed, the transfer will take place. The Auto Attendant may also prompt the caller to enter a customer-specific account code or user ID, up to 32 digits in length. Automated Security Incident Measurement (ASIM) - Monitoring of network traffic and collection of information on networks by detecting unauthorized network activity. Autonomous System (AS) - A self-connected set of networks that are generally operated within the same administrative domain (See Administrative Domain). Asynchronous Transmission - Digital signals sent without precise timing usually with different frequencies and phase relationships. Asynchronous transmissions generally enclose individual characters in control bits (called start and stop bits) that show the beginning and end of each character. (See also Isochronous Transmission and Synchronous Transmission.) Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) - A data framing and transmission architecture designed to carry voice, video and data that has built-in QoS capabilities. ATM operates at Layer 2 of the OSI model and is a high-speed, connection-oriented, packet switching, multiplexing architecture. Bandwidth is divided into fixed size cells of 53 bytes each, including headers, which are allocated to services on demand. Bandwidth can be dynamically allocated. ATM can offer up to multi-gigabit bandwidth rates. Although relatively few native ATM applications exist, TCP/IP traffic can be sent

9 over an underlying ATM layer. In principle, ATM could be used over the LAN, MAN or WAN; in practice, ATM is prevalent in WANs and Internet backbones. ATM services are likely to coexist with QoS-enabled IP networks for many years to come. Attached Sub Network - A sub network attached to a HIPERLAN sub network for the purpose of communication to either an end system or another sub network. Authentication - The process of verifying that a user requesting a network resource is who he, she, or it claims to be, and vice versa. The entity being authenticated might be the client machine or a user, so authentication may take the form of verifying IP addresses, TCP or UDP port numbers, passwords or other advanced forms of identification, such as token cards and biometrics. Auto Redirect - A redirect tool that automatically redirects inbound calls to a user defined device based on user contact rules. Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) - A device that handles a large number of incoming calls. An ACD performs four functions; first, it recognizes and answers incoming calls; second, it looks in a database to decide how to route the call; third, based on these instructions, it sends the call to an answering position based on a pre-determined, logical answering pattern. Finally, the ACD connects the call to an agent once that agent has completed the previous call. Automatic Registration - The process by which NEAX platforms automatically detect and add new IP telephone devices to their databases, such as the Dterm IP and INASET terminals. Backbone - 1.) The master network that links all the networks of an entire building, company or campus. Various types of LANs may be attached to the backbone so that any single node may communicate with any other node, regardless of the LAN protocol it uses. 2.) The core infrastructure of a network that provides the interconnection to other networks. Bandwidth - The information carrying capacity of a communications 7

10 8 channel or line that determines how much data the line can transmit in a given amount of time. Sometimes referred to as speed. Digital bandwidth is measured in bits per second (bps). The greater the bandwidth, the faster the rate of data transmission. Backward Explicit Congestion Notification (BECN) - The bit that notifies the user that congestionavoidance procedures should be initiated for traffic in the opposite direction of the received frame. A DTE that receives frames with the BECN may ask higher-level protocols to take necessary flow control measures. Compare with FECN. Basic Rate Interface (BRI) - ISDN access rate of 144 Kbps, consisting of two 64 Kpbs B (Bearer) channels for audio, video and data transmission and one 16 Kbps D channel for out-of-band signaling. B Channel - The ISDN circuitswitched bearer channels, capable of transmitting 64 Kbps of digitized information. Best-Effort Service - The default behavior of TCP/IP networks in the absence of QoS measures. TCP/IP nodes will make their best effort to deliver a transmission but will drop packets indiscriminately in the event of bandwidth congestion. The Internet today is a good example of best-effort service, suitable for a wide range of networked applications such as general file transfers or . Bit - Binary digit. The smallest unit of information handled by a computer; either 1 or 0 in the binary number system. Bit Error Rate (BER) - In telecommunication transmission, the BER is the percentage of bits that have errors relative to the total number of bits received in transmission, usually expressed as ten to a negative power. For example, a transmission might have BER of 10 to the minus 6, meaning that, out of 1,000,000 bits transmitted, one bit was in error. Bit Error Rate Test (BERT) - A procedure or device that measures the BER for a given transmission. BlueFire - NEC s family of digital display solutions which provide

11 networking, control and programming of multiple LCD or plasma displays to allow dynamic messaging for a wide range of vertical markets, such as hospitality, retail, healthcare, transportation, etc. Bluetooth - A short-range radio technology, up to 2 Mbps in the 2.45 GHz band aimed at simplifying communications among Internet devices and between devices and the Internet. It also aims to simplify data synchronization between Internet devices and other computers. BPS - Bits Per Second. Bridge Protocol Data Unit (BPDU) - Packets used by bridges to communicate and share bridging information on a network. Bonding - Bandwidth On- Demand Interoperability Group. A standard that allows different manufacturers' inverse multiplexer (IMUX) to subdivide a wideband signal into multiple 56 or 64 Kbps channels, which are passed individually over a switched digital network and then recombined into a single high-speed signal at the receiving end. Bridge - A device connecting two LAN segments and operating at the Data Link Layer, i.e. passing frames from one segment to the other by executing the MAC protocol of the LAN. Bridge Group - Used by data networking switches to allow for the logical grouping and segmenting of networks using a unique identifier. Layer 2 traffic is only shared by interfaces that belong to the same Bridge Group number. Broadband - A service or a system requiring transmission channels capable of supporting rates greater than the primary rate. A general term for applications and communications that take place at speeds faster than a million bits per second (Mbps). Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network (BISDN) - Integrates digital transmission services with the broadband network of fiber optic and radio media. Broadcast - A data frame or packet that is transmitted to every node on the local network segment 9

12 (as defined by the broadcast domain). Broadcasts are known by their broadcast address, which is a destination network host address with all the bits turned on. Also called local broadcast. Broadcast Domain - A group of devices receiving broadcast frames initiating from any device within the group. Because they do not forward broadcast frames, broadcast domains are generally surrounded by routers. Broadcast Storm - An undesired event on the network caused by the simultaneous transmission of any number of broadcasts across the network segment. Such an occurrence can overwhelm network bandwidth, resulting in time-outs. Buffer - A storage area dedicated to handling data while it is in transit. Buffers are used to receive/store sporadic deliveries of data bursts, usually received from faster devices, compensating for variations in processing speed. Calendar Link - An application that automates user status by 10 linking appointment and meeting notification with the Outlook calendar. Call Priority - In circuit-switched systems, the defining priority given to each originating port; it specifies the order in which calls will be reconnected. Additionally, call priority identifies which calls are allowed during a bandwidth reservation. Call Forward All Calls (CFA) - Configurable feature that e-routes all incoming calls destined for one telephony device to another phone or device. Call Forward Busy (CFB) - Configurable feature that re-routes incoming calls to an alternate line when the first line is in use. Call Forwarding (CF) - Configurable feature that sends incoming calls routed to a particular directory number to another number. Call Forward No Answer (CFNA) - Configurable feature that reroutes incoming calls from one phone to another phone when

13 the first phone is not answered after a certain number of rings. Call Set-up Time - The length of time necessary to switch a call between DTE devices. Call Park - Configurable feature that allows the user to deposit a stable call at a specified directory number, then go to another phone and dial the park number to retrieve the call. (Call Park differs from a hold feature by allowing the user to retrieve the call from any phone on the same system. A system administrator must configure a Call Park number, or range of numbers, for this feature to work). Call Pickup - Configurable feature that allows a user to redirect an incoming call that is routed to another destination in order to retrieve the call on the user s own phone or directory number. Call Waiting - Feature of telephony systems that notifies a caller when another call is coming in during an active call. Camp On - A technique in which an incoming call is stored on hold until an attendant, trunk, trunk group or station is available to accept it, at which time the call is completed. Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) - Media-access mechanisms wherein devices ready to transmit data first check the channel for signals. If no signal is sensed for a specific period of time, a device can transmit. If two devices transmit at once, a collision occurs and is detected by all colliding devices. This collision subsequently delays retransmission from those devices for some random length of time. Access is used by Ethernet and IEEE Category 3 Cabling (CAT-3) - A rating for twisted pair copper cabling that is tested to handle 16 Mega-hertz of communications. Handles 10 Mbps of LAN traffic and is commonly used as telephone wiring. Category 5 Cabling (CAT-5) - A rating for twisted pair copper cabling that is tested to handle 100 Mega-hertz of communications. CAT-5 cable is generally required for higher speed data communications, such as Ethernet LANs and 11

14 12 possibly low-speed ATM. Category 6 Cabling (CAT-6) - Specified for a frequency range of MHz. This means that category 6 offers at least double the amount of usable frequency spectrum for signal transmission and supports more than double the information carrying capacity of a category 5 or 5e system. Cell - In ATM networking, the basic unit of data for switching and multiplexing. Cells have a defined length of 53 bytes that includes 48 bytes of payload and a 5-byte header that identifies the cell s data stream. Cell Delay Variation (CDV) - In an ATM network, the variation in cell delay through the network. Cell Error Ratio (CER) - The ratio of transmitted cells having errors to the total number of cells sent in ATM transmissions within a certain span of time. Central Office Trunk (COT) - An interface to connect to an analog PSTN line. Centrex - A local exchange carrier service that provides local switching resembling that of an on-site PBX. Centrex has no on-site switching capability. Therefore, all customer connections return to the central office. Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) - Cisco s proprietary protocol that is used to tell a neighbor Cisco compliant device about the type of hardware, software version and active interfaces that the devices are using. NEC hardware terminals, such as the Dterm IP phone, utilize CDP discovery for activation of in-line power as yet another alternative to the NEC spare pair Power Patch Panel and local AC Adapter solutions. Circuit Proxy - A proxy service that statically defines which traffic will be forwarded. The circuit proxy is a special function performed by application proxies, usually to support proxy connection between internal users and outside hosts. Packets are relayed without extensive processing or filtering because they are from trusted internal

15 users, and they are going outside. However, packets that return in response to these packets are fully examined by the application proxy services. Circuit Switching - A switching system that establishes a dedicated physical communications connection between end points of a network for the duration of the communications session. This is often contrasted with packet switching in data communications transmissions. Class Based Weighted Fair Queuing (CBWFQ) - Allows you to define traffic classes that are based on certain match criteria, such as access control lists, input interface names, protocols and QoS labels. Classical IP over ATM (CIA) - Defined in RFC 1577, the specification for running IP over ATM that maximizes ATM features. CLI - Command Line Interface. A method that allows a user to configure switches via a textbased interface. Client - A host computer that is configured to request information from another computer operating as a server in a network. Classful Network - A network that uses traditional IP network addresses of Class A, Class B and Class C. Classless Network - A network that does not use the traditional IP network addressing (Class A, Class B and Class C), but defines the network boundary using a prefix value that indicates the number of bits used for the network portion. Class of Service (CoS) - A category based on type of user, type of application or other criteria that QoS systems can use to provide differentiated classes of service. The characteristics of the CoS may be appropriate for high throughput traffic, for traffic with a requirement for low latency or simply for best effort. The QoS experienced by a particular flow of traffic will depend on the number and type of traffic flows admitted to its class. Cookie - Information that a web site puts on your hard disk so that 13

16 it can remember something about you at a later time. Common Gateway Interface (CGI) - A method used by Web servers to allow interaction between servers and programs. Communications Portal - A unified, web accessible portal that enables the individual to manage all of their communications from a single application. This business integration tool incorporates a communication suite, Outlookbased interface that supports Unified Messaging, and the ability to access network based systems and information. Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) - One of three wireless telephone transmission technologies. Takes an entirely different approach from mobile communication systems and the similar Time Division Multiple Access. CDMA assigns a unique sequence code to each call, then digitizes the call and spreads it out over the entire available bandwidth. Multiple calls are layered on top of each other in the channel. The dispersed signals are pulled out of the background noise by a receiver, which knows the code. Committed Information Rate (CIR) - Averaged over a minimum span of time and measured in bps, a Frame Relay network s agreedupon minimum rate of transferring information. Common Channel Interoffice Signaling (CCIS) - Carries telephone signaling information along a different path from the one used to carry voice. CCIS occurs over a separate packet switched digital network. Accelerates the setting up and tearing down of phone calls. This functional and extremely flexible "intelligent network" capability allows two or more NEC telecommunications systems to be networked together to provide feature transparency and to centralize many important telecommunications functions such as attendant consoles, call accounting/billing systems, voice processing systems, management systems and trunk facilities, to name a few. 14

17 Based on the industry standard CCITT (now ITU) Signaling System #7, CCIS offers 64K "clear" channel voice/data transmissions. The CCIS "intelligent network" can be configured to provide redundant signaling channels and multiple alternate routing schemes for maximum network reliability. CCIS can be used with standard digital T1 spans, analog tie lines or satellite transmission systems. Recent additional options for connectivity include CCIS over ISDN public services (Event Based CCIS) and CCIS over IP Telephony. Compression - Reduces the representation of information but not the information itself. Compression is accomplished by running data through an algorithm that reduces the space required to store or the bandwidth required to transmit the data. Compression Control Protocol (CCP) - Used to negotiate compression methods over PPP links. Compression Types - One of the key factors that determines the amount of bandwidth used per call. Compression types available from NEC are G.711 (default), G and G.729a. Constant Bit Rate (CBR) - Audio and video multimedia streams are examples of CBR applications. They transmit at a relatively steady data rate with constant bandwidth allocations. Contact Rules - Call control methods that can be set based on user status and incoming caller. Converged Network - A network that combines varied traffic types such as data, voice and multimedia. Most analysts expect the converged network of the future to be based on Internet Protocols. This trend is evident in corporate networks, which are starting to merge telephony service with traditional data networks. Cooperative Management - A management strategy in which different stakeholders cooperate in order to achieve a defined task. Cooperative Management can be organized on a peer-to-peer or a hierarchical basis (e.g. between an ATM service provider and a VPN service provider). 15

18 16 Corportal - Short for corporate portal. Many corporations are building and in some cases, rebuilding their web sites along the model of the enterprise information portal, a model that emphasizes the exploitation of a company's information resources. A corportal can be internal (an intranet), a public site, or, with appropriate safeguards, both combined. CRTP - Compressed Real-time Transport Protocol. (See RTP.) D-channel - 1) Data channel: A full-duplex, 16 Kbps (BRI) or 64 Kbps (PRI) ISDN channel. 2) In SNA, anything that provides a connection between the processor and main storage with any peripherals. Data Encryption Standard (DES) - A cryptographic algorithm for protecting data. Datagram - A form of packet switching in which the packets that make up the conversation do not all traverse the same path through the network, thus improving the robustness and security of the network. Data Link Layer - The second layer of the OSI network model, which is responsible for data transmission over a physical link. DDS - Digital Data Service or Dataphone Digital Service. Provides private line digital (as opposed to analog) service. DDS (Digital Data Storage) is a format for storing back-up computer data on tape that evolved from the Digital Audio Tape (DAT) Technology. Default Route - A user-configured route for all traffic destined to an external network. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) - The central research and development organization for the Department of Defense (DoD). It manages and directs selected basic and applied research and development projects for DoD and pursues research and technology where risk and payoff are both very high and where success may provide dramatic advances for traditional military roles and missions.

19 Delay - The time elapsed between a sender s initiation of transaction and the first response they receive. Also the time needed to move a packet of information from its source to its destination over a path. Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) - A network segment or segments located between protected and unprotected networks. The DMZ may not be connected to the protected network in any way. The DMZ may also include perimeter defense systems. For example, a DMZ can be made to look like it is part of the protected network,luring hackers into traps that log their activities and attempt to track the source of the activity. Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) - A technology that puts data from different sources together on an optical fiber with each signal carried on its own separate light wavelength. Using DWDM, up to 80 (and theoretically more) separate wavelengths or channels of data can be multiplexed into a light stream transmitted on a single optical fiber. With each channel carrying 2.5 Gbs, up to 200 billion bits can be delivered per second by the optical fiber. DWDM is also sometimes called wave division multiplexing (WDM). Denial of Service (DoS) - An attack in which a user or organization is deprived of normally expected services. Digital - Method of representing information using a sequence of 1s and 0s for storage and interpretation by a computer. In digital transmission, analog signals originally in a continuous form, are converted to discrete signals of 1s or 0s for transmission. Digital Hierarchy - The progression of digital transmission standards typically starting with DS-0 (64,000 Kbps) and going up through at least DS-3. Twenty-four DS-0s make up a DS-1; 28 DS-1s make up a DS-3. There are other links (including a DS-2), but these are less common. Digital Network - A network in which the information is transmit- 17

20 18 ted as a series of 1s and 0s rather than a continuously varying wave as in traditional analog networks. Digital networks have less noise than analog networks. Digital Object Identifier (DoI) - A permanent identifier given to a web file or other Internet document so that if its Internet address changes, users will be redirected to its new address. Digital Signal 0 (DS-0) - In the digital hierarchy, this signaling standard defines a transmission speed of 64 Kbps. Digital Signal 1 (DS-1) - In the digital hierarchy, this signaling standard defines a transmission speed of Mbps; a DS-1 is composed of 24 DS-0 signals. The term is often used interchangeably with T-1. Digital Signal 3 (DS-3) - In digital hierarchy, this signaling standard defines a transmission speed of Mbps; a DS-3 is composed of 28 DS-1 signals. The term is often interchanged with T-3. Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) - A general term for any local network loop that's digital in nature; technically, DSL equates to ISDN, but this is decreasingly enforced terminology. An alternative to conventional modems that permits existing copper wires to be used for high-speed data connections instead of traditional phone calls. Digital Subscriber Line Access Muliplexer (DSLAM) - A network device, usually at a telephone company central office, that receives signals from multiple customer Digital Subscriber Line connections and puts the signals on a high-speed backbone line using multiplexing techniques. Direct Inward Dialing (DID) - Dialing the directory number of an IP terminal or a telephone attached to a PBX without routing calls through an attendant or an automated attendant console. Direct Outward Dialing (DOD) - The ability to dial directly from the Dterm IP or PBX extension without routing calls through an