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-
-
- introduction
- ------------
- this file is intended to educate the reader on rolm systems. from
- what i know, this is one of the most complete files on the cbx system up
- to date. some information (of less importance) has been left out for
- space. so if you have any questions please direct them to me on: metal
- shop private, the dead zone, or worlds grave elite. even though some
- parts were edited, this is still a very large file, so it has been divided
- into three parts (sorry i don't have an ibm xt with a 20 meg ramcard).
-
- part i
- ----------
-
-
- background
- ----------
- rolm corporation, now fully owned by ibm, has made a number of
- significant enhancements to the long-lived cbx line. rolm renamed their
- product and reconfigured the product line in november 1983. the cbx ii
- includes a number of upgrades and probably will continue to
- grow, especially in the area of data communications and networking, as ibm
- and rolm begin working more closely together. the vscbx is the small
- version of the cbx and is aimed at installations under 120 lines.
-
- rolm corporation was founded in 1969 to sell and manufacture
- "off-the-shelf" computers that could meet stringent military environmental
- demands. based on the success of its mil-spec business, the company saw a
- major opportunity in the telephone industry. it developed one of the first
- computer-controlled pabx systems, known as cbxes, and quickly took the
- lead in the embryonic telephone interconnect industry. today it ranks up
- with at&t and northern telecom in installed pabx systems, with well over
- 18,000. the company has enhanced the cbx family on regular occasions, and
- today the cbx ii offers the numerous sophisticated features that buyers of
- larger systems often require.
-
- the cbx ii is available immediately with the rolmbus 74, while a 295
- bps version known as the rolmbus 295 is scheduled for releases in the
- fall of 1985. the cbx ii can be configured in single-node systems for up
- to approximately 800 users, or in a system as large as 15 nodes,
- supporting up to 10,000 users. a multinode cbx ii can be connected using
- either t1 digital circuits or fiber optic inter node links (inls). for
- very large systems, the inter node network (inn), a junction for the
- inter node links, extends the cbx ii to its full 15 nodes.
-
- ibm's telephone message management systems (tmms), became available
- in april 1985 for larger cbx ii installations to provide callers with
- information concerning users who are out of the office. each user enters
- selected information on a terminal, and attendants access the information
- for callers. rolm has also announced an ibm gateway for ascii terminals
- operating in an ibm 3270 environment. the gateway provides the protocol
- conversions necessary for cbx ii access, thereby eliminating the need for
- coaxial cable, and allowing use of cbx ii management features.
-
- the communications and networking capabilities are in addition to the
- cbx enhancements announced in may 1983, which were highlighted by enhanced
- networking features, the addition of the acd 9000 and the onsite
- applications processor, and the introduction of the cypress workstation
- and the rolmphone 400. all cbx ii software is fully compatible with the
- cbx software. most systems are currently using release 7, which initiated
- the cbx data communications feature. release 8, the newest enhancement,
- includes support for phonemail, a voice-store-and-forward system; support
- for t1/d3 high-speed data transmission facilities; an automatic facilities
- test system (afacts); access to a code call system; and a tone sender
- facility that increases the internal traffic handling of the cbx ii.
-
- capabilities
- ------------
- the cbx was one of the first computer-controlled stored-program pabx
- systems, and ushered in a whole new generation of telephone switching
- equipment. the cbx ii is also fully digital, and uses time-division
- multiplexing with pulse code modulation (pcm) in its switching
- architecture. analog voice and data equally well, and the system's data
- capabilities have been enhanced several times since the 1981 introduction
- of the data communications features. support is now available for such
- popular communications technologies as ibm bsc and sna/sdlc and dec vt100.
-
- the cbx ii provides over 200 features, a formidable array which should
- satisfy most applications quite nicely. access to these features is
- through different types of terminals. besides standard rotary and
- pushbutton phones, rolm has a flashbutton, with a special button that
- substitutes for the switch-hook when activating a feature; the ettsm
- 100/200/300 electronic sets, which have user-programmable feature buttons
- and an led or lcd display, depending on the model; the rolmphone models
- 120, 240, 400, fully digital phones that have programmable buttons and can
- transmit both voice and data workstations, a full ascii terminal with
- support for dec vt-100 and ibm 3270 communications. two of the newer
- announcements from rolm include the cedar, a personal computer combining
- ibm pc compatibility and a multiline digital telephone with a 2-way
- speakerphone; and juniper, a multilined digital telephone with a built-in
- speakerphone which can connect to an ibm pc through a cable and adaptor
- board.
-
- phonemail is an integrated voice-store-forward system that permits
- users both inside and outside to leave voice messages in the cbx ii. this
- feature, like other similar products, is designed to eliminate missed
- phone calls, known as "telephone tag." three basic versions are now
- available; from 4 to 8 to 16 access lines into the cbx ii. up to seven
- 154-megabyte winchester disks can be configures for voice storage.
-
- technology
- ----------
- the rolm cbx ii uses time-division multiplexing with pulse code
- modulation (pcm). the systems have wired 4-wire internal switching, and
- voice is digitized at the cbx ii using standard pcm sampling techniques.
- all traffic is digital within the system.
-
- performance
- -----------
- the vscbx accommodates 24 to 120 lines; the cbx ii can accommodate up
- to 10,000 lines. the vscbx provides 14 ccs per line and a maximum of 150
- simultaneous conversations. because the cbx ii is available in such a
- wide range of sizes, traffic handling will normally range between 6 and 10
- ccs per line.
-
-
- marketing stance
- ----------------
-
- rolm cbx was one of the pioneering third-generation stored-program
- controlled pabx systems. rolm has continued to update and enhance their
- decade-old product, and the cbx ii remains one of the most powerful
- pabxes. some of the leading competition to the cbx ii includes the att-ism
- dimension system 85, northern telecom focus, and seimens saturn. looming
- on the horizon are the fourth generation systems such as the pnx from ztel
- and the rose from cxc. these systems are built around a high speed local
- area network linking multiple processors. telephone service is only a
- part of the overall capabilities being touted by the manufacturers. in
- spite of all the competition, rolm continues to make significant
- enhancements to its cbx ii product line, and it continues to be a major
- factor in the market place.
-
-
- --end of file.
- [] check for part ii []
- which will include: switching devices used, full isdn capabilities, and more.
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- [ (c) january 2, 1986 - celtic phrost & p.h.i.r.m. information systems ]
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