General

• Q. What is SpiderMUX?
  A. SpiderMUX is Modular TDM over Ethernet Multiplexer. TDM is telecom standard for voice channels. SpiderMUX transfers TDM channels over standard Ethernet network using TDMoE protocol.
• Q. Why SpiderMUX?
  A. SpiderMUX is the first and currently the only device to transfer voice over Ethernet using TDM over Ethernet protocol.
• Q. What is unique in SpiderMUX?
  A. It provides convenient and cost effective way of carrying voice services over existing Ethernet infrastructure, saving the cost of demanding T1/E1 and SDH equipment. TDMoE protocol delivers quality of services unattainable for VoIP protocols such as SIP, H323 and Skype, maintaining full TDM advantages.
• Q. Is SpiderMUX VoIP device?
  A. No. SpiderMUX does not use VoIP technology, nor it is IP dependent. It uses TDM over Ethernet protocol.
• Q. How many simultaneously calls can I get on a system?
  A. 32 total. Either Ingress or Egress.
• Q. Does it cost anything to make or receive a call?
  A. This depends on your provider`s settings.
• Q. Is SpiderMUX stand alone device?
  A. Yes, it is.
• Q. What software do I need to use SpiderMUX?
  A. SpiderMUX is tested with stock installation of Asterix using TDMoE protocol. No additional patches for Asterisk® are needed.
• Q. How is SpiderMUX device "seen" by Asterisk?
  A. SpiderMUX is configured in Asterisk as standard Zap channel.

Definitions

• Q. What is TDMoE?
  A. Time Division Multiplexing over Ethernet. TDMoE works at the Ethernet layer, all you need to configure is MAC addresses and Ethernet interfaces. When you use TDMoE protocol with Asterisk® you see the device as standard Zap channel.
  
• Q. What is Time Division Multiplexing (TDM)
  A. A technology that transmits multiple signals simultaneously over a single transmission path. Each lower-speed signal is time sliced into one high speed transmission.
  
• Q. What are the differences between FXS and FXO interfaces?
  A. FXS (Foreign eXchange Subscriber) is an interface which drives a telephone. FXS interfaces get phones plugged into them, delivery battery, and provide ringing. FXS interfaces are signaled with FXO signaling. FXO (Foreign eXchange Office) is an interface that connect to a phone line. They supply your PBX with access to the public telephone network. FXO interfaces use FXS signaling. FXS interfaces are what allow you to hook telephones to your PBX, and FXO interfaces allow you to connect your PBX to real analog phone lines.
• Q. What is VoIP
  A. Voice over Internet Protocol. The technology used to transmit voice conversations over a data network using the Internet Protocol. Such data network may be the Internet or a corporate Intranet. SpiderMUX does not use such technology.
• Q. What is PSTN
  A. Public Switched Telephone Network. Also know as Plain Old Telephone System, this refers to the world`s collection of interconnected public telephone networks designed primarily for voice traffic.
• Q. What is Ethernet
  A. The most widely-used standard for local area networks.
• Q. What is LAN
  A. Local Area Network. A computer network that links personal computers and workstations within a limited geographic area, such as a building or several contiguous buildings. Linked by cables such as coaxial cables or twisted pair, the computers connected to the LAN can access resources on other computers and shared peripheral devices. If there is a central network device, it is a file server that includes resources of use to all. To keep two workstations from accessing the LAN at the same time, LANs? employ a Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol; Ethernet is one such protocol.

Quality

• Q: Is the audio quality as good as with a traditional phone?
  A: Yes as long as each channel has guaranteed 64Kbps Ethernet bandwidth to the Asterisk PBX. If you have an Ethernet connection of 10Mbps or bigger, the quality of the call should be very good. However, if you are also Web surfing, downloading, or using your connection in other ways while talking, you may get lag on the call, where voices will stutter or jitter.
• Q: Can someone eavesdrop on my calls?
  A: Because your voice gets digitized and broken up into many tiny packets, then sent over the Ethernet with everyone else`s traffic, it would be very difficult to listen in. However, most customer phones don`t encrypt your voice, which means they can`t be considered secure

Installation

• Q. What are the Power Requirements for the SpiderMUX?
  A. 220V AC or 48 V DC.
• Q. I am using (insert phone model here). Is It compatible with SpiderMUX?
  A. Any phone is compatible with SpiderMUX.
• Q. I`m using (insert codec here) codec. Is It supported?
  A. Yes. Codecs are not an issue, because the voice data is not encoded on sending nor decoded on receiving.
• Q. Do I need a sound card for SpiderMUX operation?
  A. No. SpiderMUX is a Computer independent device.
• Q. Why does my SpiderMUX fail to auto-register with Asterisk?
  A. Either of:
  • SpiderMUX is not configured with Ethernet MAC address of the Asterisk server network card.
  • There is no Ethernet connection between Asterisk and SpiderMUX.
  • Asterisk configuration issues.
  • Disabled SpiderMUX device from the back end.
  • Etc.
• Q. How do I change the number of rings that occur before my phone forwards to voice mail?
  A. It`s software dependent.
• Q. Can I reset my SpiderMUX without access to Asterisk®?
  A. Yes, you can reset the phone this way. Power cycle.
• Q. How can I remotely check phone/SpiderMUX information?
  A. To be decided.
• Q. Oh-Oh! I don`t get a dial tone! What`s wrong?
  A. Check your plugs, cables and cords.
  • Make sure your phone is plugged into the phone jacks into the SpiderMUX device.
  • If you`re using a cordless phone, make sure the battery is charged and the base station is plugged in.
  • If the base station needs to be plugged into an electrical outlet, check on that.
  • Check Asterisk channel settings
• Q. How can I tell if the problem is my phone or the line?
  A. To troubleshoot your phone problem, borrow a known working phone and plug it into your jack. Also, try plugging your phone into a known working jack.
• Q. My telephone is broken! Will you fix it, please?
  A. Sorry. We don`t fix phones or phone cords. SpiderMUX team provides maintenance to the phone jack only.
• Q. I want to be able to log the console output. How do I do that ?
  A. There is not console output. There are however other means of control over It.
• Q. I want to update the SpiderMUX firmware. How can I do that ?
  A. This is yet to be decided.
• Q. I inserted new card in slot X. When will the LED lights come on?
  A. You need to power cycle SpiderMUX for new hardware to be enabled.
• Q. What kind of cable do I use to connect to a channel bank?
  A. You will need a RJ-11 cable for phone connection and UTP CAT-5 cable for connecting SpiderMUX in the Ethernet network.