Cisco Systems Inc. has unveiled its IP telephony system for enterprise branch offices and small and midsize companies. The ICS (Integrated Communications System) 7750 is a chassis-based system with six universal slots, allowing it to be configured to individual business requirements. Each slot accepts a card, either the MRP (Multiservice Route Processor) or the SPE (System Processing Engine), which provides connectivity for voice, data, and applications. The MRP router/voice gateway card has two slots that support voice interface cards and WAN interface cards. The SPE is an embedded application server that supports call processing and applications, according to Cisco. By using existing IP infrastructure for telephony, businesses can take advantage of a new level of applications such as unified messaging, data and voice collaboration, video streaming, and real-time communication via the Internet. An IP-based telephony system can help tie in remote offices because it adds voice capabilities to the existing data infrastructure. The system can connect to a variety of WAN links, voice trunks, analog fax machines, PCs, file servers, and IP phones. The Cisco ICS 7750 is to be deployed in an existing network and managed as an extension of the campus LAN network. To ease the installation process, users can use the ICS System Manager, a Web-based application designed for the 7750. The tool allows users to install, configure, and manage system components locally or remotely from a GUI. The Cisco ICS 7750 will be available in the summer, priced starting at US$765 per seat. The 7750 can support as many as 150 users Cisco Systems Inc., in San Jose, Calif., is at http://www.cisco.com.
Prices listed are in US currency.