1. ISDN allows digital signals to be transmitted over existing telephone wiring. This became possible when the telephone company switches were upgraded to handle digital signals. ISDN is generally viewed as an alternative to leased lines, which can be used for telecommuting and networking small and remote offices into LANs. ISDN's ability to bring digital connectivity to local sites has many benefits, including the following:
· ISDN can carry a variety of user traffic signals. ISDN provides access to digital video, packet-switched data, and telephone network services.
· ISDN offers much faster call setup than modem connections because it uses out-of-band (D, or delta, channel) signaling. For example, some ISDN calls can be setup in less than one second.
· ISDN provides a faster data transfer rate than modems by using the bearer channel (B channel of 64kbps). With multiple B channels, ISDN offers users more bandwidth on WANs than some leased lines. For example, if you were to use two B channels, the bandwidth capability is 128Kbps because each B channel handles 64Kbps.
· ISDN can provide a clear data path over which to negotiate PPP links.
2. Complete the table below.
|
Component |
Description |
|
Terminal Equipment Type 1 (TE1) |
Designates a device that is compatible with an ISDN network (A specialized device created for ISDN.). A TE1 connects to a network termination of either type 1 or type 2 (NT1 or NT2). |
|
Terminal Equipment Type 2 (TE2) |
Designates a device that is not compatible with an ISDN network and requires a terminal adapter (TA). |
|
Terminal Adapter (TA) |
Converts standard electrical signals into a form used by ISDN so that non-ISDN devices can connect to the ISDN network. |
|
Network Termination Type 1 (NT1) |
Connects four-wire ISDN subscriber wiring to the conventional two-wire local loop facility. |
|
Network Termination Type 2 (NT2) |
Connects four-wire ISDN subscriber wiring to the conventional two-wire local loop facility. NT2 is a more complicated device, typically found in digital Private Branch eXchanges (PBXs), that performs Layer 2 and Layer 3 protocol services. |
3. Before you can connect a router to an ISDN service, you must be aware of the switch types used at the CO. You specify this information during router configuration so the router can place ISDN network-level calls and send data. In addition to learning about the switch type your service provider uses, you also need to know what Service Profile Identifiers (SPIDs) are assigned to your connection. The ISDN carrier provides a SPID to identify the line configuration of the ISDN service. SPIDs are a series of characters (that can look like phone numbers) that identify you to the switch at the CO.
4. Complete the table below.
|
Protocols That Begin With This Letter |
Are Used For These
Purposes |
|
E |
These protocols recommend telephone standards for ISDN. For example, the E.164 protocol describes international addressing for ISDN. |
|
I |
These protocols deal with concepts, terminology and general methods. The I.100 series include general ISDN concepts and the structure of other I series recommendations; the I.200 series deal with service aspects of ISDN; the I.300 series describes network aspects; the I.400 series describes how the UNI is provided. |
|
Q |
These protocols cover how switching and signaling should operate. The term signaling in this context means call set-up. |
5. ISDN utilizes a suite of ITU-T standards spanning the physical, data-link, and network layers of the OSI reference model.
6. When you're deploying remote access solutions, several encapsulation choices are available. The two most common encapsulations are PPP and HDLC. ISDN defaults to HDLC. However, PPP is much more robust because it provides an excellent mechanism for authentication and negotiation of compatible link and protocol configuration.
7. ISDN interfaces allow only a single encapsulation type.
8. PPP is an open standard specified by RFC 1661.
9. Remote access involves connecting users located at remote locations through dialup connections. The remote location can be a telecommuter's home, a mobile user's hotel room, or a small remote office. The dialup connection can be made via an analog connection using basic telephone service or via ISDN. Connectivity is affected by speed, cost, distance, and availability.
10. Remote access links generally represent the lowest-speed link in the enterprise.
11. With the remote nodes method, the users connect to the local LAN at the central site through the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) for the duration of the call. Aside from having a lower-speed connection, the user sees the same environment the local user sees. The connection to the LAN is typically through an access server. This device usually combines the functions of a modem and those of a router. When the remote user is logged in, he or she can access servers at the local LAN as if they were local.
12. There are two ISDN services: BRI (Basic Rate Interface) and PRI (Primary Rate Interface). The ISDN BRI service offers two 8-bit B channels and one 2-bit D channel. ISDN BRI delivers a total bandwidth of a 144-kbps line into three separate channels. BRI B channel service operates at 64 kbps and is meant to carry user data and voice traffic.
13. The third channel, the D channel, is a 16 kbps signaling channel used to carry instructions that tell the telephone network how to handle each of the B channels.
14. ISDN LAN routers provide routing between ISDN BRI and the LAN by using dial-on-demand routing (DDR). DDR automatically establishes and releases circuit-switched calls, providing transparent connectivity to remote sites based on networking traffic. DDR also controls establishment and release of secondary B channels based on load thresholds.