Hey, guys. Been awhile since I posted anything here, but now I have some questions regarding my voicemail module. I've been thinking of putting the module back in the carrier and putting it to use lately, especially since work is picking up. The questions I have mostly pertain to connecting it to my network. I know first off I have to set it's IP address, which can only be done through the RS232 port. What is the pinout of the 8P8C RS232 port so I can use it? Then what are the settings for parity, stop bits, baud, etc? I'm sure I'll have more questions once I get into it with hyperterminal... Once I've managed to get that far, what software do I need to be able to access it over the network?

Hey Chris,

I don't have the info at hand, but, it should be specified in the voice mail's document. Avaya should have the doc on their website. It downloads in a zipped format.

Thanks! I don't have any hard documentation for any of my Partner stuff. I've told the story of how I came to own all of it. I'll go check out Avaya's site later today. I have to run out for awhile. I know they are usually pretty good with having all the documents on their website. That's where I got all the manuals to program the processor. I'm sure the software to access the VM's from my desktop won't be so easy to find.

You will also need the software that's on the CD that comes with the unit. you can use a standard network hookup or the RS232

You do know that you don't have to connect it to your network and use Manager to program it.

-Hal

Hal, I know I don't HAVE to connect it to the network, I had it programmed and running a year or so ago. Hooking it up to the network is something I want to try to make work.
Russ, the system was a "gift" for helping a widow with some work around the house. I removed it from the wall from her late husband's defunct ISP. It's quite a rats nest up there in the NOC and I *might* be able to find that CD, but it's like the needle in a haystack. I'm sure the software isn't something I can legally have someone just copy. So not sure how to solve that issue just yet. I'm just taking a preliminary look into what it would take to get this going again. I know I can just slap it in the carrier, put the extensions in HG 7 and roll, I was curious what it would take to make it a little more useful. When I first got it going I had a heck of a time defaulting it, since I didn't know the admin password. I finally got into it, so in that respect it's a working unit ready to go. I just like the idea of being able to use a computer to access and manage it better than the kludgy phone interface.

You need a 355A adapter to connect to the serial port, you can google the pinout. It's not a Cisco console cable, but you can make an adapter to get that going. I seem to remember 19200-N-8-1, but you can just change baud rates until it answers you when you press enter.

You can also use a modem and dial into the auto attendant and transfer to the onboard mpdem.

The programming software is on the avaya support site, or I can send you a link to it on my site.

The gui is great for making a lot of mailboxes at once, and for troubleshooting things like outcalling.

TTT to the rescue! That would be great if you could send me the link for the software. I have a couple adapters where I can change the pinout around, so that should be no problem. The problem with using the modem, is, unless I can dial into it from a station port, it probably won't work with my "fake" phone lines. They are all VoIP and notoriously useless for data. It took hours to complete a 15 minute download for the rate tables in my pay phone. I can't say I'm in any hurry to go through that again. I should be able to crack it through the serial port. Thank You!

I found a pinout for the adapter. Apparently there are two different adapters, a 355A and 355AF. One is for the smdr port and the other is for the admin/console port. The difference is one is DTE, the other is DCE. I hope I got those terms right, but you know what I mean. I haven't done much with serial ports since my 1200 baud modem in the early 90's!! After that everything was internal on the old ISA bus.

The difference between a 355A and 355AF is just Male and Female connectors. Same one is used for both Admin and SMDR. DTC and DTC will just swap Xmit and Recv.

I used this info recently to roll a 355 adapter into a Cisco console cable while out in the middle of an oil field -
The SMDR/Admin pin out is as follows.
Useing a RJ45:
-Pin 1- Not used
-Pin 2- DSR= DATA SET READY
-Pin 3- DTR= DATA TERMINAL READY
-Pin 4- GRD= GROUND
-Pin 5- RxD= RECIEVE DATA
-Pin 6- TxD= TRANSMIT DATA
-Pin 7- PTS= REQUEST TO SEND
-Pin 8- Not Used
A 355AF adapter just takes a RJ45 to a 25 pin interface.

I'll PM you a link to the software

I received a usb-serial adapter cable today. Made an adapter with a db25 breakout box, and got into the system. I was able to reset the IP to an address that works on my network, and now I can access the web GUI. I have not yet been able to get the administration program to run on either of my PC's but this is a HUGE step in the right direction. Thank you all for your help, especially TTT.

Here is a picture of the monstrosity it took to make a pig fly:

I looked into the specifics of the 355A adapter when I got my Merlin Legend. Surprisingly it's not some weird proprietary pin-out: it's a standard EIA-561 to DB25 adapter, with some clamping diodes (likely) to handle surges/noise. EIA is the group that published the RS232/RS422/RS485 standards, and EIA-561 is a standard for RS232 on an 8P8C connector.

A little detour, but still about ACS serial ports... I just picked up a cheap PC running XP pro, so I can manage the partner messaging module. In addition, I would like to leave it connected to the SMDR port on the processor to keep a running call log. Is there any harm in leaving a pc connected to that port running all the time? It was really neat to connect it to my laptop and see it spit out a call log in hyperterminal, and I think it would be kind of handy to have a record, just not sure if it's kosher to leave that cable connected all the time.

Won't hurt anything, that's what a call accounting system does.

Cool. Thanks, TTT.