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ISDN Ordering Code Registration
 
 This is a summary of the information provided in Helpful Hints for ISDN Ordering Code (IOC) Registration. More detailed information can be found in the corresponding section of that document.

Do’s

  • Obtain the appropriate IOC documentation to understand the codes and the process (Section 1.3)
  • Determine which IOC is appropriate for your application and equipment capabilities. There may be more than one, in which case, it is appropriate to register against multiple IOCs (Section 2.1)
  • If you have a common application that can be easily fit into an existing Generic code, attempt to use a Generic IOC (Section 1.1)
  • Test and register your equipment against the appropriate IOC(s) before using the IOC in your product documentation (Section 1.2)
  • Accurately reflect the capabilities of the equipment when completing the CPE Fact Sheet, the IOC Information Sheet, and, if applicable, the EZ Compatibility Inventory Form during IOC registration (Sections 2.1 and 2.2)
  • Retest your equipment against the same or different IOC when adding new capabilities to your equipment (Section 2.4)
  • Provide documentation that includes the IOC and describes the capabilities of the equipment that can be used with that IOC (Section 2.3)
  • Include the CILS’ “How to Order ISDN” brochure with your product documentation (Section 2.3)

Don’ts

  • Encourage user to order an IOC that the equipment that has not been registered against (Section 2.3)
  • Provide information on features or capabilities in the product documentation that are not consistent with the IOC that the equipment has registered against (Section 2.3)
  • Advertise capabilities of an IOC if the equipment can not use that capability (Section 2.3)
  • Assume that changes to your equipment won’t affect how the equipment operates with a given IOC (Section 2.4)
  • Encourage customers to request modifications to ISDN Ordering Codes (Section 2.3)


Helpful Hints for ISDN Ordering Code (IOC) Registration


1.0 Introduction

1.1 What Are IOCs?

In order to set up an ISDN line, service providers need to configure their switching equipment to match the capabilities of the customers' equipment and application. In the past, customers spent several hours working with their service providers in order to coordinate the proper configuration options to ensure interoperability. To eliminate this cumbersome process, many service providers and equipment manufacturers established a system known as ISDN Ordering Codes (IOCs). IOCs are one of the National ISDN initiatives promoted by Telcordia, the National ISDN Council, and the North American ISDN Users Forum (NIUF). When customers use the IOC listed in their equipment’s instruction manual to order ISDN service, the service provider will automatically have all of the information needed to configure the ISDN line. IOCs can reduce the service order time to a few minutes and ensure that the ISDN line operates correctly.

Two types of IOCs are defined - Generic IOCs and Non-Generic IOCs. Generic IOCs are based exactly on the packages defined by the NIUF. Generic IOCs are meant to cover the most common configurations required for many applications. Sometimes the equipment and/or application require a deviation from the packages defined by the NIUF. A Non-Generic IOC is a deviation from any of the Generic packages that meets the needs of one or more pieces of equipment. To ease the proliferation of IOCs, it is recommended that a CPE supplier attempt to use a Generic IOC if the application and equipment can easily fit into one of the Generic codes.

1.2 The IOC Registration Process

To get started with IOCs, participating CPE suppliers undergo the IOC registration process. This involves testing their equipment/application in a Lab environment using the switch translations from one of the baseline configuration packages. The output, a code that maps to switch translations for specific CPE, is registered with Telcordia and made available to industry. Telcordia then assigns the CPE supplier its IOC upon registration and the CPE supplier incorporates the IOC into its product literature. For example, a customer may purchase a Terminal Adapter and in the product literature be instructed to call their LEC and order IOC "S." The LEC has preconstructed Service Order and translations templates for IOC "S," thus reducing provisioning time and errors. CPE supplier participation has grown significantly since the inception of the IOC Process. Over forty four CPE suppliers are now participating.

1.3 Documentation About Registration

Telcordia publication SR-3480, "Procedures for Performing an IOC Translations Review," provides a set of guidelines that industry must follow to ensure a consistent set of documentation for all registered IOCs. Additionally, Telcordia publication SR-3622, "National ISDN Ordering Codes Overview and Code Listing," lists all Generic/Non-Generic IOCs and the CPE registered with them to date. SR-3622 is intended for industry stakeholders that need information on IOCs and Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) but not the actual switch translations. Similarly, Telcordia publication SR-3490, "National ISDN Ordering Codes," plus revisions, informs the industry of the National IOCs that have been registered to date with Telcordia, including the switch translations for all Generic and Non-Generic IOCs plus their associated CPE and IOC Fact Sheets. "National ISDN Ordering Codes" is intended for industry members, most particularly service providers (LECs) with responsibility for service negotiation, service orders and recent change/memory administration.

These documents provide a comprehensive overview of the registration process. However, as the process has evolved, areas have emerged where additional guidance to the CPE Supplier could be useful to maximize the benefits of the IOC registration process to the CPE Supplier, the service provider, and the user. This Helpful Hints document is provided to address these areas.

2.0 Getting the Most Out of IOC Registration

2.1 Selecting the Right IOCs

The CPE Fact Sheet (attached) allows the CPE Supplier to summarize the capabilities of a CPE in support of IOC registration. While submission of a completed CPE Fact Sheet is a prerequisite for registration testing, it should be viewed as a useful tool by the CPE Supplier to more readily choose one or more IOCs to be registered against. As such, care should be taken in completion of this sheet to ensure that the CPE’s capabilities are accurately reflected. This will help to avoid unnecessary testing and associated registration costs for IOCs that do not match the CPE’s capabilities.

In conjunction with the CPE Fact Sheet, the CPE Supplier must submit an IOC Information Sheet (attached) for each IOC desired for a given CPE. This sheet indicates the IOC to be registered against, as well as feature and application information for the CPE. After completing the CPE Fact Sheet, the CPE Supplier should find that selection of IOCs and completion of the IOC Information sheet is a relatively simple task.

2.2 CPE Functionality - Compliant Versus Conformant

Ultimately, the CPE Supplier makes the choice of IOCs to register their CPE against. This requires a strong knowledge of the characteristics of the most appropriate codes. However, the selection process has been simplified somewhat by the introduction of the EZ-ISDN IOCs. These codes have a broader scope than the non-EZ codes. Specifically, the non-EZ codes require CPE to be conformant, where the CPE must support all of the capabilities associated with the particular code (e.g., the CPE must support the Calling Number Delivery feature if it included in the IOC). However, the EZ-ISDN codes allow a CPE to be compliant or conformant. That is, the CPE can support all of the EZ-ISDN IOC’s capabilities or a subset of them. This approach allows a much larger number of CPE to meet the criteria to be registered under a smaller number of codes.

The flexibility offered by the EZ-ISDN codes does present some unique challenges to the industry and user community, however. While the CPE may only support a subset of the capabilities associated with the IOC, the user and possibly even the Service Provider may expect the CPE to support more capabilities than it does. Therefore, it is essential for CPE Supplier to clearly identify to both the user and the Service Provider what capabilities are supported by the CPE. This will set the user’s expectations on the capabilities to be provisioned on the customer’s line and avoid user dissatisfaction with the CPE’s capabilities, charges for unused features, etc. This can be done most effectively through the user documentation, as discussed below, as well as the EZ Compatibility Inventory Form (attached).

2.3 IOCs and User Documentation

The critical link between the CPE Supplier, the Service Provider, and the user is the documentation the Supplier provides with the CPE. It is essential that the user documentation identifies the following:
  • The IOC(s) that the CPE is registered against
  • The specific capabilities supported by the CPE
  • If more than one IOC, which IOC matches which capabilities
In addition, it is desirable that the following items be identified in the user documentation to lessen the likelihood of customer confusion: Problems have arisen when user documentation indicates that the customer should request that a specific IOC be used when the CPE has not been registered against that IOC. These problems can range from underutilization of the capabilities assigned to the line with the IOC (because the CPE does not support all of the capabilities), to finding that the CPE does not actually function at all with the given IOC. Therefore, the CPE Supplier is strongly urged to undergo the IOC registration process before specifying that a particular IOC be used.

2.4 IOCs as a Living Process

The IOC process is a living process. New Generic IOCs are introduced as new applications arise and become popular in the marketplace. It is important to keep up-to-date with the IOC process to maintain an understanding of the IOCs that are available.

Problems have arisen when the CPE supplier continues to use the same IOC after updating the CPE without retesting against the same or a new IOC, if appropriate. Changes to the CPE may cause changes in how the CPE interacts with the switches. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that a CPE is retested after a firmware change or other modification.

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