sundance-communications.com/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring BIX, PBX Terminations

All;

so sorry for the long post but i am hoping to provide as much detail as possible

I am relatively new to IT (<3 YR) and have some (limited-PC Support) experience with data networks but am very new to voice. I would like to increase my knowledge with voice network. I realise VOIP is most likely the future. However my immediate goal is to get a grasp of the wiring /cabling involved in BIX /PBX/ BCM50 installations. I have no interest in becoming a cabling or wire technician.

on the data side; i am aware that a T1 comes in from a telco to a CSU/DSU->Router->Switch->patch panel->work stations. One of my task is to identify and eliminate spaghetti cables on the data and voice network. On the data side, this is easily accomplished by simply (1) tracing the name of the network drop in the cubicle to (2)the corresponding port on the patch panel. The next step is to (3)verify if the port on the patch panel is (4)patched into a switch accessport and if the led is on. Cleaning up cables on the voice side has proven to be more problematic for the following reasons:(a)Phone ports are not clearly labeled, (b)there is multiple BIX panels-B1X 12 port modular rj11.

Hopefully you understand why this is a bit frustrating

so my question: can you explain the wiring/cabling from the telco to the deskphone (nortel m7310 /m7316)? if you have an office with 2 bix panels, 18 deskphones, 1 pbx, how can i determine/identify where the phones terminate? some terms i have heard and would like explained in relation to telephony are PBX, T1, Trunk, RJ11, Cat3, 25 pair, 100 pair, BIX, Amphenol connectors. BTW, we have a BCM 50 support <20 users at one location and a BCM400? at another.

Thanks

Get yourself a toner set and plan on spending a lot of time tracing connections.

Check out the training materials at sandman.com.

metelcom/dnd;

thanks for the response. but as i mentioned ; my immediate interest is not in cabling or wiring. My immediate goal is to be able to identify and explain how, where, why the connections are made.

the information on sandman is extensive but i didnt find anything that answers my question.

Metelcom:

I am open to purchasing the toner. However that is secondary.

Your first advice was probably the best. A toner and probe is about the quickest way to trace the wiring. Outside of that,
the BCM controller has ports marked with symbols like the crossarm of a telephone pole is the lines and the extensions probably have a phone jack icon.

Since both devices take only a pair of wires per jack, it's fairly simple to figure out where everything goes. If these are really modular RJ-11 jacks at the frame, then you could unplug them one at a time to identify where they go. Guessing that 101 or 21 or 221 is the first port, and you go from there.

With a toner and probe, you put the toner in the phone jack and trace it back to a port on the PBX. A lot quicker.

Carl

They are made via wiring and cabling so if you are looking to answer your question then your immediate interest is indeed wiring and cabling. It can be overwhelming to stare at an MDF but it all comes down to where a pair (or pairs) of wire get terminated and cross connected.

You may find you could hire whoever installed the system to give you a crash course…. it would cost you an hour or two of labor but it would save you a ton of time.

i found another source who was able to answer my question. Now that i understand the "logical" layout of the phone system/pbx/bix/ etc, my focus will shift to wiring and also purchasing a toner as Metel had suggested.

thanks again for sharing.

upstateny:

.."It can be overwhelming to stare at an MDF but it all comes down to where a pair (or pairs) of wire get terminated and cross connected."

This pretty much describes my experience (overwhelming) and what was at the root of my frustration (identifying, understanding MDF/ PBX / terminations and cross connect).

I now have an idea of how the various components of a phone system are logically connected to each other.

1. One pair of wires per port per phone instrument.

2. One or two pairs (depending on the circuit) from the Telco Smart Jack to the BCM. The circuit MAY go through a CSU, but it does not necessarily have to.

3. One pair of wires per POTS trunk port.

It is VERY simple. The overwhelming part is in not knowing what you're doing.

Rcaman