• Hardware and software are modular in design for greater efficiency, scalability, and portability

• Calling Card, Tandem, 1+ and 1010+ applications can all be run and purchased separately

• Excel switches can be added on as nodes to scale up transparently to 100's of T1's

• Extensive database integration allows for greater flexibility, easier maintenance, and quicker development time

Partitioning

• The platform is built for partitioning with all the necessary security
• Same application can talk to different databases based on inbound trunk group and/or access number (DNIS)

Open architecture

• Software design allows porting to other database platforms as well as other operating systems.
• Main development is Solaris and Windows NT
• Code base is 100% C++

Reliability

• Multiple applications can be run on the same machine for application redundancy
• Multiple redundant machines with unlimited load sharing capabilities allow for hardware and application redundancy, as well as enormous scalability

Protocols

• Supports SS7, C7, ISDN, CAS - T1 or E1
• Analog termination
• Custom protocols available from Lucent and WorldWide Telco

Control Interface GUI for provisioning and maintenance

• Add, edit, remove, or reset trunks and trunk groups
• Query trunk status, configuration, call completion, etc.
• Put channels or spans in or out of service
• View the activity on any channel, T1, or system card in the system
• SS7 operations and maintenance
• Dynamically configure any aspect of the switch (any combination of channel groups and/or T1/E1's)
• Monitor system alarms
• Allocate or redefine switch resources
• Web-based access

Integration

• All applications (Calling Card, Tandem, 1+, and 1010+) run exclusively on the Excel switch
• All voice prompts are stored and played from the Excel switch DSP's and not from any external PC, thereby limiting point of failure and saving on expensive third party voice boards

Real-Time Flexible Routing

• Unlimited NXX breakouts
• Time-of-day and day-of-week routing
• Translation rules based on simple, regular expression pattern matching
• Convenient grouping of NXX's by name for use in constructing routing rules

Intelligent Alarm Maintenance & Notification - Automatic email/beeper notification based on user specifications

• Switch alarm program emails, beeps, and/or performs user-specified actions (resets T1's, channels, etc.) whenever certain switch alarms are encountered
• Database alarm program emails, beeps and/or performs user-specified actions whenever customer specified parameters are met (low ASR's, short average call lengths, unusually low traffic, etc.)

International Direct Lines

• Software answer supervision with a bad channel manager available for international analog line termination. The software listens for distant-end dial tone on analog lines before attempting to place any calls
• Full support for VoIP and TDM applications