Xorcom Astribank XR0001

Xorcom Astribank XR0001 - 8 FXS - USB Channel Bank

The Xorcom Astribank XR0001 - 8 FXS - USB Channel Bank is housed in a wall-mountable chassis. A single Astribank supports up to 32 analog ports, or up to 144 analog and PRI channels.

The Astribank XR0001 is a versatile and powerful channel bank that was specifically designed for the Asterisk IP-PBX. Astribank extends the functionality of Asterisk-based IP-PBX systems and supports all the common telephony lines and trunks: FXS, FXO, BRI, E1/T1 PRI, T1 CAS and E1 R2.

Astribank XR0001 connects to the Asterisk IP-PBX server via USB 2.0, thus eliminating the requirement for a PCI (E1/T1) card, and even for PCI slots.

The internal design of Astribank is modular, offering a wide variety of FXS, FXO, BRI ISDN and I/O port combinations. Multiple Astribank units may be connected to a single Asterisk server using different USB 2.0 ports, a USB 2.0 hub or USB 2.0 PCI card.

Xorcom Astribank XR0001 - 8 FXS - Product Overview

Mechanical Design

The internal design of Astribank is modular, offering a wide variety of FXS, FXO, E1/T1 PRI/R2/CAS, BRI ISDN and I/O port combinations. Click here to see a table of available port combinations. Use the Xorcom product configurator wizard to design the best telephony system to match your requirements.

Multiple Astribank units may be connected to a single Asterisk server using different USB 2.0 ports, a USB 2.0 hub or USB 2.0 PCI card.

Modular, Flexible Channel Bank Grows with Your Telephony Needs

A single Astribank USB-connected channel bank supports various combinations of analog and/or digital telephony lines and trunks. See the Astribank models table for suggested configurations.

The Astribank design allows you to let the system grow along with your telephony needs. The digital modules support individual software activation of each port (up to four ports per PRI module, and up to eight ports per BRI module). In other words, if you purchase a single E1/T1 port, you receive hardware that can support up to four active ports. When required, the additional port(s) can be activated remotely, via a software key. Additional analog modules can also be added as needed (each chassis supports up to four modules of eight analog ports each) for a maximum of 32 analog ports per chassis.

Software

Astribank's driver has been included as an official part of Zaptel (now DAHDI) since release 1.2.4 (Feb. 2006), making Astribank integral with Asterisk systems. Today Astribank is tested with Debian, CentOS 5 and trixbox (CentOS 4).

Applications

Astribank is the leading solution in high density Asterisk systems, as in hotels, motels, apartment buildings etc. Since most hotels are wired for analog telephony and have analog phones in their guest rooms and offices, Astribank's advanced services provide a low cost solution that enables hotels to safely and economically migrate to a state-of-the-art VoIP solution.

The need to connect hundreds of analog phones to Asterisk has been a major obstacle in the deployment of Asterisk-based solutions in hotels. Using FXS PCI cards limits the number of ports and therefore does not suit hotel requirements. The only realistic solution is using channel banks.

Minimum Device, Maximum Lines Setup

Channel banks are designed to interface to T1 channels. For each 24-port channel bank a single T1 channel is needed. To support 192 FXS lines, eight 24-port channel banks and two quad-T1 cards are required. The Astribank channel bank provides a better solution; with six competitively priced 32-port models, it eliminates the need for a T1 card. The industry-standard 19" rack-mounted Astribanks can be connected to standard RJ11 front connectors or to a rear connector that bundles all 32 lines into one cable.

Xorcom Astribank XR0001 - 8 FXS - Features

Additional Reasons to use an Astribank USB Channel Bank solution:

• Easy Setup- No need to open the server box and install PCI cards.
• Easy Maintenance - front panel allows convenient maintenance.
• Message Waiting Light - indicating that a message is waiting in the guest's mailbox.
• Support of Long Telephone Lines – for remote telephone support, up to 2,000 feet for five phones; up to 6,000 feet for a single phone.
• Input & Output Ports - The output ports can activate a door lock, intercom system, appliances, etc. The input ports can be connected to external systems, such as fire or burglar alarms, and initiate a call sequence with appropriate pre-recorded messages.