I am in the midst of finalizing a Polycom solution for wireless VoIP phones off of a BCM450 via an AudioCodes server which will act as the gateway between the phones and the BCM.

I am being told by the sales engineers at Polycom that the connection between the AudioCodes box and the BCM450 will be a PRI tie-line. That's all fine and well and I understand that, but I was informed that it's imperative that the signaling on the PRI is Q.SIG.

Where is that set up on the BCM's PRI config?
Do I need the MCDN keycode for that in the Q.SIG flavor in order to see it as a protocol on the PRI provisioning?

When I Googled "BCM PRI CARD Q.SIG", it obviously listed a lot of sites that sold the card and in the description of just about every one, it said the cards support Q.SIG.

I always thought Q.SIG was the counterpart to MCDN and was only for private networking to other systems. This is the first I've ever been told I needed it on a PRI card.

TIA.

I am wondering if QSIG is only support by the country you are in.
i.e the profile you are using.
If QSIG is now available in N.A. then check the market profile.
See Device Configuration Guide.

I am guessing you don't need to do anything on the BCM anyway since the carrier provides the PRI.

I thought the same thing about Q.SIG only working in European profiles. That has always been my impression.

This isn't a carrier PRI. It's a PRI tie-line from the BCM450 to an AudioCodes gateway.

I thought QSIG was it's own license for Nortel products - even the M1?

Maybe on its own with N1/Options/Successions.

On BCM it is shared with MCDN as of late.

You purchase 1 auth code but it generates 2 keys, however the key for Q.SIG cannot be entered unless you have the right profile selected.

I think that's how it works.

https://searchunifiedcommunications.techtarget.com/definition/Q-signaling

You have your own answer; the DTM MBM supports Q.SIG on its own; when you order the MCDN keycode, Q.SIG is enabled to ensure compatibility between BCM and legacy and Meridian equipment, even if they're the same vendor. You can still trunk two BCMs without MCDN without any problems; it just adds another layer of efficiency, like route optimisation.

So, you should have no problem going with your PRI. But it's funny though to install an Audiocode with PRI tie instead of SIP; we've installed several for a large national CO for 911 purposes; always SIP.

Even funnier, Polycom as a SVP Server to interface BCM450 with polycom 80xx series phones; all you need is to be on the same LAN.

Your Polycom phones are basically VoIP clients like any Nortel IP set.

I'm sure you're aware of that and have a reason for that design (my excuse for weird setup usually involves a guy who works at commission), I'm just curious.

Polycom said that the only Nortel-branded product with direct integration is the CS1K. For the BCM, an AudioCodes gateway is required to do the signaling. The sales engineer said the phones will talk to the AudioCodes box via SIP and the AudioCodes box will talk to the BCM450 via a PRI tie-line.

I was good with all of that until they said the signaling on the PRI had to be Q.SIG. When I inquired further about this and asked about NI2, I was told that NI2 would work but that certain functionality would be lost and that Q.SIG was the preferred means.

I always thought Q.SIG couldn't be enabled in a North American profile. Is that accurate?

I generated a Try 'n Buy keycode for MCDN/Q.SIG (same keycode) and loaded it on their system. Before, I had the following protocols available on a PRI card: NI2, DMS100, DMS250, 4ESS. After loading the keycode, I now have SL-1 as an option for the protocol.

I read in the manual that SL-1 refers to the MCDN protocol and that ETSI Q.SIG only "applies to international systems with a DTM...".

Does that mean Q.SIG can't be turned on and/or enabled on a NA system? Is it only allowed with the UK protocol?

After the MCDN/Q.SIG keycode was loaded, I was only given SL-1 as a new option for PRI protocol. If SL-1 is MCDN, then it appears Q.SIG isn't possible.

Agree/Disagree?

Well, as posted earlier if you use a DTM, you don't have to worry about Q.SIG... Anyway I would toy around with SL1 first; if it doesn't work, go with the others. Only other time I tied two Nortel (MICS) systems directly through PRI, I probably used DMS100 (out of memory, I'm not sure).

As for the CS1K integration, there's a large national hardware store chain in Canada (Rona) that uses BCM450 with SVP Servers in most stores, so...

I've dealt with Polycom tech support, they know their stuff; I've dealt with Polycom sales, eeeesh....