ACULAB

GroomerII – enabling interoperability in a converging world

GroomerII offers a cost-effective, single platform solution for network operators, alternative carriers, service providers, telephone equipment manufacturers (TEMs), systems integrators and enterprises who are seeking more than just a signalling or media gateway for routing between TDM and IP networks.

GroomerII will enable interconnection and protocol conversion between most of the world’s ISDN networks, SS7, SIP, and a rich legacy of channel associated signalling (CAS) and R2 derivatives.

As a stand alone, integrated appliance, GroomerII provides users with enormous flexibility, including many routing and billing features otherwise available only by using a separate softswitch or media gateway controller.

Features include the simultaneous use of multiple protocols in the same platform, and conversions between any of the wide range of supported protocols.

Users who need to support protocol conversions and complex routing applications between a variety of incompatible networks – both TDM and IP – have the ideal choice in Aculab’s GroomerII.

A powerful and flexible problem solver

GroomerII is typically deployed as a signalling and media gateway between public networks, IP-PBX/PBX/ACD switches and private networks with disparate interfaces. Alternatively, it may also be used within a telco network as new mobile or IP switching platforms are added. In addition, GroomerII may be used to provide interconnection between SS7 and all other supported protocols, including SIP.

Traditionally, service providers have been forced to maintain expensive, bespoke PBX solutions to facilitate international connection. Equally, equipment vendors would be required to invest in new product development to enable inter-working with different networks. This is even more of a concern for carriers and TEMs when it becomes necessary to interconnect between a traditional circuit switched network and an IP-based network. GroomerII can be used to extend the capability of existing infrastructure, reduce cost and generate revenue.

Because GroomerII is an adaptable, integrated appliance, it can be readily customised for a variety of application requirements.

Capabilities include:

• A call manager offering many call routing options, with numbering plans, number translation, number mobility, alternative routing, black/white lists and interoperation with SIP Proxy server network entitites
• Signalling gateway with connectivity to SIP, SS7 and most of the world’s ISDN and CAS networks
• Media gateway for interconnection between TDM (CAS, ISDN, or SS7) networks and IP/RTP (SIP) networks
• External database connectivity via an ODBC interface for number portability and CLI or DDI-based routing
• Multi-port concentration where multiple incoming routes can be fed to a consolidated onward route
• Billing features provide call data records (CDR) for network management systems and advice of charge (AOC) generation and mapping to extend the functionality of many PBXs
• Connecting E1 and T1 networks with A-law and μ-law encoding conversion