Trunk / Access Gateway

The Trunk / Access Gateway object is a child of the Trunk / Access Gateways object. It manages communications with the telephone network (using TDM Ports) and with subscriber access devices.

This object corresponds to the Call Agent's view of a Media Gateway, rather than the physical Media Gateway itself. The Media Gateway it represents can be a local Media Gateway as part of the same Integrated Softswitch, a separate MG3500 or MG3510 Media Gateway controlled by the local CA9000 Series Call Agent, or a trunk gateway from a third-party supplier. (Note that the MetaSwitch Call Agent does not support third-party gateways providing ISDN.)

In general, Trunk / Access Gateway objects for MetaSwitch Media Gateways will be included as part of the delivered configuration. You can add or delete Trunk / Access Gateway objects if you are adding or deleting additional Media Gateways managed by an existing Call Agent, or if you are adding or deleting third-party gateways (those that do not correspond to a MetaSwitch Media Gateway). You can delete a Trunk / Access Gateway only if it has no child objects.


If any of the TDM ports on a third-party gateway are used for subscriber access instead of trunking, they should be represented in the EMS by Access Device objects instead of TDM Port objects. After importing the Trunk / Access Gateway's child object configuration, you should delete each port that is used for subscriber access and add an Access Device child object to the Trunk / Access Gateway instead.


If you change the value of the Connection type field, the connection between the Call Agent and the Media Gateway will be temporarily disrupted for a short period (less than one minute). During this time, calls that are in progress will continue, but new calls cannot be started and there may be a delay in ending existing calls. Calls will still be billed correctly, however. Securing the connection also requires you to use the CRAFT interface to change the connection type on the Media Gateway. For more details of this, see the MetaSwitch Class 5 Softswitch Ancillary Servers Guide.

Object-Specific Actions
Import To import configuration information from a previously exported text file for a child object of this Trunk/Access Gateway object, click on the 'Import' pushbutton. See MetaSwitch Class 5 Softswitch Operations Manual: Overview for more details of importing configuration information.
Add shadow objects for gateway This action applies only to MetaSwitch gateways and not to third-party gateways. It automatically creates all of the child objects below the Trunk / Access Gateway based on the configuration of the associated Media Gateway.
Enable shadow objects for gateway This action enables all of the child objects below the Trunk / Access Gateway.
Activate shadow objects for gateway This action activates all of the child objects below the Trunk / Access Gateway.
Deactivate shadow objects for gateway This action deactivates all of the child objects below the Trunk / Access Gateway. Typically you will use this action to clean up the configuration before deleting a gateway.
Disable shadow objects for gateway This action disables all of the child objects below the Trunk / Access Gateway. Typically you will use this action to clean up the configuration before deleting a gateway.
Delete shadow objects for gateway This action deletes all of the child objects below the Trunk / Access Gateway. Typically you will use this action to clean up the configuration before deleting a gateway.
Add shadow objects for adaptor This action applies only to MetaSwitch gateways and not to third-party gateways. It automatically creates all of the child objects below the Trunk / Access Gateway that correspond to the specific adaptor card selected in the Shadow configuration - Adaptor field, based on the configuration of this adaptor in the EMS.
Enable shadow objects for adaptor This action applies only to MetaSwitch gateways and not to third-party gateways. It enables all of the child objects below the Trunk / Access Gateway that correspond to the specific adaptor card selected in the Shadow configuration - Adaptor field.
Activate shadow objects for adaptor This action applies only to MetaSwitch gateways and not to third-party gateways. It activates all of the child objects below the Trunk / Access Gateway that correspond to the specific adaptor card selected in the Shadow configuration - Adaptor field.
Deactivate shadow objects for adaptor This action applies only to MetaSwitch gateways and not to third-party gateways. It deactivates all of the child objects below the Trunk / Access Gateway that correspond to the specific adaptor card selected in the Shadow configuration - Adaptor field. Typically you will use this action to clean up the configuration before deleting an adaptor.
Disable shadow objects for adaptor This action applies only to MetaSwitch gateways and not to third-party gateways. It disables all of the child objects below the Trunk / Access Gateway that correspond to the specific adaptor card selected in the Shadow configuration - Adaptor field. Typically you will use this action to clean up the configuration before deleting an adaptor.
Delete shadow objects for adaptor This action applies only to MetaSwitch gateways and not to third-party gateways. It deletes all of the child objects below the Trunk / Access Gateway that correspond to the specific adaptor card selected in the Shadow configuration - Adaptor field. Typically you will use this action to clean up the configuration before deleting an adaptor.

Parameter

Access

Description
Description Change A text string used in the EMS System Explorer to identify this Trunk / Access Gateway.
Integrated softswitch Read only Specifies whether the Media Gateway represented by this Trunk / Access Gateway is part of an Integrated Softswitch in the same chassis as the Call Agent, or a separate MG3500 or MG3510 Media Gateway controlled by the local CA9000 Series Call Agent. Values:
  • True
    The Media Gateway is part of an Integrated Softswitch in the same chassis as the Call Agent.
  • False (default)
    The Media Gateway is a separate MG3500 or MG3510 Media Gateway controlled by the local CA9000 Series Call Agent.
IP address Change Inactive This field does not appear if Integrated softswitch is set to True. The IP address of this Trunk / Access Gateway, used to send gateway control commands. This parameter is optional if you have specified a Domain name that can be resolved to an IP address using the NE's Domain Name Services settings. Specify a standard dotted-decimal IP address.
Domain name Change Inactive This field does not appear if Integrated softswitch is set to True. Domain name for the Trunk/Access Gateway. This parameter is optional if you have specified the IP address.
  • If you specify a domain name, this name (rather than the IP address) is used in messages to the Media Gateway, unless the selected Media Gateway Model's Fix bits (MGCP, MeGaCo) parameter includes the value Use IP Address, not domain name.
  • If this fix bit is set, or if you do not specify a domain name, the IP address is used instead.
Both relative and absolute domain names are supported in this field. A relative domain name is made up of letters A-Z (either uppercase or lowercase), digits, and hyphens. The first character must be a letter. An absolute domain name is a list of one or more relative domain names separated by dot (period) characters. Note that the domain name is used in calculating the HTTP digest used for authentication. If the Subscriber Gateway uses authentication and you change the domain name, you will need to specify the password again to force the EMS to create a new HTTP Digest.
Resolved IP address Read only This field applies only to a separate Media Gateway, and does not appear if Integrated softswitch is set to True. The IP address of this Trunk/Access Gateway that was determined from the supplied domain name using Domain Name Services.
Connection type Change This field is not visible if Integrated softswitch is set to True. This field only applies on the CA9000 Series Call Agent. This field specifies whether the connection from the Call Agent to the Media Gateway is set to use encryption (secure) or not (insecure). Both the CA9000 Series Call Agent and the Media Gateway must have been configured with certificates for secure connections, using the CRAFT interface. If you change the value of this field, the connection between the Call Agent and the Media Gateway will be temporarily disrupted for a short period (less than one minute). During this time, calls that are in progress will continue, but new calls cannot be started and there may be a delay in ending existing calls. Securing the connection also requires you to use the CRAFT interface to change the connection type on the Media Gateway. Values:
  • Secure
    The NE and EMS will communicate using an encrypted connection.
  • Insecure
    The NE and EMS will communicate using an unencrypted connection.
Media Gateway model Change Inactive The Media Gateway model that describes this gateway. Select from the displayed list of Media Gateway models for trunk / access gateways.
  • Models for use with MetaSwitch Media Gateways have names starting with MetaSwitchMediaGateway.
  • For a third-party gateway, you will normally use a Media Gateway Model imported from a text file provided by MetaSwitch Support, which identifies the specific type of gateway you are using.
The model name you choose when creating the gateway defines whether it is a MetaSwitch gateway or a third-party gateway; you cannot change the type of an existing gateway by specifying a different model name.
Location Change Specifies the location for this gateway. Select from the displayed list of available Location objects or None (no location). The value defaults to None.
Media Gateway name Read only A unique identifier for this gateway among all other devices on the Call Agent. This identifier is used by other objects that need to reference this gateway.
Provider status Read only The availability status of the gateway, indicating whether the Call Agent can communicate with it. Values:
  • Unavailable
  • Available
  • Inactive
  • Active
  • Out of service
  • Quiescing
  • Unconfigured
  • Pending available
Shadow configuration - action status Read only The status of the most recent action taken on shadow objects for this gateway. Values:
  • None
  • Enabling ports
  • Activating ports
  • Deactivating ports
  • Disabling ports
  • Deleting ports
  • Enabled ports
  • Activated ports
  • Deactivated ports
  • Disabled ports
  • Deleted ports
  • Failed to enable ports
  • Failed to activate ports
  • Failed to deactivate ports
  • Failed to disable ports
  • Failed to delete ports
The following values can appear only on MetaSwitch gateways, and will never appear on third-party gateways:
  • Creating ports
  • Created ports
  • Failed to create ports
Shadow configuration - action log correlator Read only When an action on shadow objects for this gateway has succeeded or failed, this field contains a correlator for the log message that contains a summary of the action and its progress. Click on the 'go to log' button next to this field to jump to this message in the EMS log viewer window. If there are earlier logs relating to the action (for example if one or more individual ports could not be created or activated), you can follow the links within the log viewer to see these logs.
Shadow configuration - action log correlator MetaSwitch Read only When an action on shadow objects for this gateway has succeeded or failed, this field contains the name of the EMS Server or MetaSwitch Network Element that generated the failure log. You may need this information to find the log in the EMS log viewer window.
Shadow configuration - Adaptor Change This field appears only for a MetaSwitch gateway (not for a third-party gateway). The adaptor to which the actions for managing adaptor shadow objects apply. Before using one of the action buttons, click on the ellipsis symbol in this field to select from the list of adaptors on the Media Gateway corresponding to this Trunk / Access Gateway.
Shadow configuration - deactivation mode Change Specifies how child objects should be deactivated when using the action to deactivate shadow objects for this gateway (or to deactivate shadow objects for an adaptor on a MetaSwitch gateway). Values:
  • Normal (default)
    Shut down child objects normally before deactivating the object.
  • Quiesce
    Deactivating the object in quiesce mode will wait for all existing child objects using the object to be completed before deactivation. No new child objects will be accepted during this deactivation period.
  • Abort
    Deactivate the object and all its child objects immediately. (This may result in errors at remote systems.)
Congestion - system load - status Read only Specifies whether the associated media gateway is currently reporting congestion status. If the gateway hardware does not support congestion status reporting, this field is not displayed. Values:
  • Reported by Gateway
    The media gateway is reporting congestion status.
  • Unavailable
    The media gateway supports congestion status reporting but is not currently reporting it (for example because it has only just started).
Congestion - system load - value Read only This field appears only if Congestion - system load - status is visible and set to Reported by Gateway. The congestion level of the associated media gateway, expressed as a percentage of its total capacity.
Congestion - RTP resources - status Read only Specifies whether the associated media gateway is currently reporting RTP congestion status. If the gateway hardware does not support congestion status reporting, this field is not displayed. Values:
  • Reported by Gateway
    The media gateway is reporting RTP congestion status.
  • Unavailable
    The media gateway supports congestion status reporting but is not currently reporting it (for example because it has only just started).
Congestion - RTP resources - value Read only This field appears only if Congestion - RTP resources - status is visible and set to Reported by Gateway. The congestion level of the associated media gateway's RTP resources. A sudden jump in this value may indicate that a piece of hardware has failed or has been deactivated.
Congestion - RTP resources - combined status Read only Specifies whether RTP resource usage is currently limited by the associated media gateway's resource usage or by the bandwidth constraints configured on the Call Agent. Values:
  • Limited by Gateway
  • Limited by Call Agent
  • Unavailable
    Information on RTP resource constraints is not currently available.
Congestion - RTP resources - combined value Read only This field does not appear if Congestion - RTP resources - combined status is set to Unavailable. The overall congestion level of RTP resources. This congestion level may be determined by the gateway's resource usage or by the Call Agent configuration, as indicated by the field Congestion - RTP resources - combined status.
Alarm state Read only Specifies whether any alarms are currently raised for this object. Values:
  • Clear
    No alarms are currently raised.
  • Attention Required
    Attention Required - the object is not operating normally, and needs operator intervention.
  • Attend To Dependent
    Attention Required elsewhere - another object on which this object depends is not operating normally.
Alarm log correlator Read only Identifier of the log message for the event that caused the last Attention Required or Attend To Dependent alarm state for this object. This field is reset when the Attention Required alarm events or Attend To Dependent alarm events is reset to zero.
Attention Required alarm events Read only / Reset Number of times (since the alarm count was reset) that this object's alarm state has gone to Attention Required.
Attend To Dependent alarm events Read only / Reset Number of times (since the alarm count was reset) that this object's alarm state has gone to Attend To Dependent.
Alarm state changed timestamp Read only The time at which the Alarm state last changed.
Alarm events reset timestamp Read only The time at which the Attention Required alarm events or Attend To Dependent alarm events was last reset to zero.
Access Device Attention Required alarms Read only The total number of Access Devices (and their child objects) that are in Attention Required state.
Access Device Attention Required alarm events Read only / Reset The total number of times that the alarm state for an Access Device child object has gone to Attention Required.
Access Device Attend To Dependent alarms Read only The total number of Access Devices (and their child objects) that are in Attend To Dependent state.
Access Device Attend To Dependent alarm events Read only / Reset The total number of times that the alarm state for an Access Device child object has gone to Attend To Dependent.
LAPD Resource Attention Required alarms Read only The total number of Call Agent LAPD Resource objects (and their child objects) that are in Attention Required state.
LAPD Resource Attention Required alarm events Read only / Reset The total number of times that the alarm state for a Call Agent LAPD Resource object has gone to Attention Required.
LAPD Resource Attend To Dependent alarms Read only The total number of Call Agent LAPD Resource objects (and their child objects) that are in Attend To Dependent state.
LAPD Resource Attend To Dependent alarm events Read only / Reset The total number of times that the alarm state for a Call Agent LAPD Resource object has gone to Attend To Dependent.
RTP Port Attention Required alarms Read only The total number of Call Agent RTP Ports (and their child objects) that are in Attention Required state.
RTP Port Attention Required alarm events Read only / Reset The total number of times that the alarm state for a Call Agent RTP Port child object has gone to Attention Required.
RTP Port Attend To Dependent alarms Read only The total number of Call Agent RTP Ports (and their child objects) that are in Attend To Dependent state.
RTP Port Attend To Dependent alarm events Read only / Reset The total number of times that the alarm state for a Call Agent RTP Port child object has gone to Attend To Dependent.
TDM Port Attention Required alarms Read only The total number of TDM Ports (and their child objects) that are in Attention Required state.
TDM Port Attention Required alarm events Read only / Reset The total number of times that the alarm state for a TDM Port child object has gone to Attention Required.
TDM Port Attend To Dependent alarms Read only The total number of TDM Ports (and their child objects) that are in Attend To Dependent state.
TDM Port Attend To Dependent alarm events Read only / Reset The total number of times that the alarm state for a TDM Port child object has gone to Attend To Dependent.
Summary child alarm state Read only Summarizes the alarm status for all children of this object. Values:
  • Clear
    No alarms are currently raised.
  • Attention Required
    Attention Required - one or more child objects are not operating normally, and need operator intervention.
  • Attend To Dependent
    Attention Required elsewhere - another object on which one or more child objects depend is not operating normally.
Diagnostics - API trace enabled Change Specifies whether API tracing is enabled for this object. Values:
  • True
  • False (default)
Diagnostics - trace tag Change An optional diagnostics tag inserted into API tracing and PD logging for this object. This tag may include any ASCII characters.
Import - number of objects imported Read only The total number of objects (including child objects) read from the import file so far in the current or most recent import operation.
Import - status Read only The status of the current or most recent import operation, if any. Values:
  • None
  • In progress
  • Succeeded
  • Failed
Import - mode Change Whether the imported information is to replace existing EMS objects or to add new ones. This field provides additional checking on the import operation if required. Values:
  • Do not overwrite
    The imported information is to add new objects. If the file contains objects that already exist in the EMS, the import operation will fail and will not overwrite them.
  • Do not create
    The imported information is to update existing objects. If the file contains objects that do not already exist in the EMS, the import operation will fail and will not create them.
  • Overwrite or create
    No checking. The import operation will create or update objects as required.
Import - file Change The name of the text file (in the EMS User's home directory on the EMS Server) from which configuration information for this object will be imported. The maximum length of the filename is 32 characters.
Import - log correlator Read only If the import status is Failed, this field contains a correlator for the log message that contains details of the failure. Click on the 'go to log' button next to this field to jump to this message in the EMS log viewer window.
Import - correlator metaswitch Read only If the import status is Failed, this field contains the name of the EMS Server or MetaSwitch Network Element that generated the failure log. You may need this information to find the log in the EMS log viewer window.
Requested status Read only Specifies whether an administrator has attempted to enable the Trunk / Access Gateway. Values:
  • Active
    The object has been activated.
  • Inactive
    The object has not been activated or has been deactivated.
  • Disabled
    The object has not been enabled or has been disabled.
Actual status Read only Specifies the current status of the Trunk / Access Gateway. Values:
  • Active
    The object is active.
  • Activating
    Activation is in progress.
  • Deactivating
    Deactivation is in progress.
  • Inactive
    The object is inactive.
  • Disabled
    The object has been disabled.
  • Activation Failed
    The object is inactive because an activation attempt has failed.
  • Failed
    The object was active but has failed.
  • Quiescing
    The object is preparing for normal deactivation. It is operating normally but will not accept any new users.
  • Waiting For Parent
    The object cannot be used because its parent object is not yet active.
  • Parent Failed
    The object cannot be used because its parent object has failed.