Teltone's Call Generator Passes The Test

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May 23, 2000 (12:00 AM EDT)

By Isaac Hillson,

Who better to thoroughly go over a new piece of telephony test/developmentequipment than the folks at CT Labs (Roseville, CA -- www.ct-labs.com)? That's why CommWeb commissioned them to check out Teltone's (Bothell, WA -- www.teltone.com) TSP (Telecom Simulation Platform) bulk call generator.

The product is a low-cost relative to the highly intelligent and flexible call generators from providers like Hammer and Ameritec. While it does not have the scripting features of the more expensive competition, the TSP can handle all basic call generation. Overall, CT Labs gave it high marks from installation through performance testing; it also, a few minor glitches aside, gave it a ringing endorsement.

The Teltone TSP simulates T-1 and POTS call connections in order to test telephony products. It is a standalone box with plug-in interface modules and a Windows 95/98/NT GUI. This GUI lets you change tests without the need to manually reconfigure the TSP unit. Up to four plug-in telephone interface modules can be installed simultaneously. The modules currently available are: single T-1/E-1, dual T-1/E-1, 4 Channel POTS and 8 Channel POTS.

The Teltone TSP unit supports three simulated call types: originate, terminate and end-to-end. The POTS modules support Loop Start protocol, while the T-1 module supports Ground Start, Immediate Dial, Wink Start and Delay Signal protocols. A large number of call parameters are programmable via the TSP software, such as call timing options, dial strings, dialtone and ring-back parameters and bulk call generation. The TSP software can log call-by-call events and will allow you to define pass/fail parameters on events to help you automate your tests.

CT Labs had no problem getting up and running. It was a breeze for anyone with basic networking and moderate computer telephony knowledge, requiring just over a half an hour altogether. The TSP's auto-detection for the port cards was the handiest feature for getting things going.

There was a small snafu when their testers tried to re-initialize the product from serial to network connectivity and discovered that the network feature, while available on the GUI, is not yet available in the product. This problem has been fixed in the software so users can no longer select the network control feature, which is still in the works at Teltone.

The testers also expressed their interest in having an installation wizard included. As it stands, installation can not be completed and the GUI program can not be opened unless you enter the machine address or the required authorization code from Teltone.

The documentation provided was a preliminary manual in Adobe Acrobat format. It was very readable, though it was not easy to track down specific information. Some figures were missing and the glossary was missing some definitions, but these will presumably be taken care soon.

Testers thought it had potential to be an excellent manual with some revision. The online help presented similar difficulties to the manual, though the Windows format made it searchable and therefore easier to find specific answers than in the written manual.

Technical support was prompt and helpful. Agents were fairly knowledgeable, especially considering the newness of the product. The one time that an agent didn't know the answer, he called back in an hour with the correct information.

The administrative GUI performed excellently with no detected defects. CT Labs was especially impressed with each channel, port, slot and unit having a status symbol displayed in the Explorer tree. This allows easy tracking of any problem that occurs, even if the user is working with the menu in collapsed mode. One feature that was not appreciated was the inability to view a subset of data on the event log viewer without first loading all records into the viewer, a process which took over two minutes in the testing.

The performance evaluation of the the TSP again was relatively problem free. There were a few incidences of no dialtone being detected within the allotted time during the terminate tests of the automated call handling. These minor issues are currently being addressed by Teltone. The originate tests logged no errors at all.

For the most part the Teltone TSP does what it says it will and does it very well. Priced at $4,554 for a base unit with a single-port T-1 plug-in, it is a very cost effective solution if you need a solid call generator and you don't need call scripting capability. CT Labs gave it an overall rating of 8.6 out of 10.

For a look at the complete test results in .doc format, click here.