Nortel Meridain Mail

Meridian Mail is a premier voice messaging system—a hardware and software package that integrates with the Meridian 1 Communications Systems. Meridian Mail is a high-powered, cost-effective means of extending sophisticated call handling across the communications network. With Meridian Mail, businesses of all sizes enjoy the benefits of voice messaging. The system can scale from 2-96 ports with 5 to 800 hours storage capacity—offering growth in line with business requirements. With the Meridian Mail Release 13, Nortel offers many standard enhanced features, which have been included in the base software package, as well as an optional feature Key Features:

Standard Features: SNMP Support, Text Messaging, Delete Unread Messages, Nested System Distribution, Remote Notification Class of Service, Message Sort Order, Meridian Mail User Interface Speed Control Enhancement, Disable Message Reception, and Remote Notification 30 Digit Pin Plus Callback Number.

Optional Feature: Personal Mailbox Administration.

Compatible with Meridian Mail Platforms: Meridian Mail Mini, Card Option, Enhanced Card Option, EC11, Modular Option, Modular Option EC, Modular Option GP, and MSM

Features & Benefits

Standard Features

SNMP Support: Meridian Mail provides system administrators with the ability to specify a mailbox (i.e., Message Trigger Mailbox) to receive a message when a SEER issued via the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). When this feature is enabled, a SEER trigger will cause an unsolicited message (i.e., an SNMP trap) to be broadcast to all SNMP Managers that have been set up to receive the trap. The SNMP Managers will then display the trap message to alert the system administrators of the SEER notification. The trap message will contain the complete SEER that includes the SEER number, SEER description, and its severity, namely, critical, major, minor, and info. The benefits are that this feature provides prompt notification of system problems to system administrators. Its notification contains the complete SEER text (SEER number and description). Also, some users have Message Trigger Mailboxes set up but they do not have the outcalling feature installed. The SNMP notification can thus be used as a remote notification mechanism for SEER alarms. Currently, together with remote notification, a SEER trigger can be used to notify 2 mailboxes and up to 6 remote notification (RN) devices, which means that at most 6 users can be notified. The SNMP notification, however, can be broadcast to a larger number of users.

Text Messaging: SMS (Short Message Service) is a service provided by the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) network. It provides the ability to send and receive short alphanumeric messages of up to 160 characters. This feature will provide the capability of sending a text message to a user via the user's Service Provider. The target for a user's text message can be a user's e-mail account, PCS device, or pager. A schedule is used to maintain time periods and specify what target to use for that time period. A target (or device) profile in Meridian Mail is used to specify how to deliver a text message to the defined target. There are two modes to this feature-standalone and notification. The standalone mode allows for text messages to be composed and sent to users. The notification mode allows for notifications to be accepted from other software, for example, Meridian Mail, and then allows for a predefined text message to be sent to the recipient of the notification. The Text Notification Message will contain the following information:

System Identifier: Up to 10 alpha/numeric characters that define which mail system is sending the text message.

Message Type: URG for Urgent messages, ACK for Acknowledgements, and nothing for Standard or Economy messages.

Sender of Message: The Name and CLID of the sender. Up to 20 characters are available for the name and up to 16 characters for the CLID.

Mailbox Number: Up to 18 characters in length.

Date and Time: Up to 11 characters will display the date and time that Meridian Mail received the message.

Subject of the Message: Up to 15 characters.

Length of the Message: 5 characters showing the length of the message in minutes and second (mm:ss).

PC-Web Functionality: Text Messaging and Notification will be implemented as a PC application with a web interface. All administration of this application will be performed through the web interface. The application will:

Accept notifications from a Meridian Mail system whenever a new message is deposited into a user's mailbox.

Enable the capability for other applications to trigger a notification.

Contain a (web interface) utility to compose and send a text message to a user.

Provide the system administrator and user with capabilities of:

Administration a login to the application.

Viewing errors encountered by the application through an Event Logs window.

Defining or modifying all the keywords (From, To, Time, Subject, Length) used in a Meridian Mail text notification message in different languages.

Specifying which language translation to use for the keywords in a Meridian Mail text notification message.

Defining and modifying the user's schedule.

Specifying target devices to use during defined periods in the user schedule.

Allows a Meridian Mail user with administration capabilities through Web PMA.

Route the text message information to the recipient's Service Provider via dial-up, or e-mail. The method of contacting the Service Provider is configurable by the system administrator or user. Dial-up access privileges will be assigned to users by the system administrator, and can only be modified by a system administrator.

Delete Unread Messages: Allows the administrator to control the number of days unread (new) messages remain in a user's mailbox. In previous releases of Meridian Mail (MMail), unread messages remained in a mailbox until the user either deleted the message manually, or delayed the message and the system deleted the message once it exceeded the Read Message Retention time. In release 13 of MMail (MM13), the administrator can configure the system to automatically delete unread messages after a specified number of days. This feature provides the following functionality:

The system can be configured differently for unread broadcast messages1 and all other unread messages (including unread system messages); and to retain both unread broadcast messages and unread messages from 1 to 99 days.

Unread messages can remain on the system indefinitely by setting the appropriate retention period to zero, and exceeding the retention period are deleted from user's mailboxes once per day by the nightly VS Audit.

Changes to the retention period will not take effect until the next time that the VS Audit runs.

The feature can be configured via the Mailbox Class of Service (COS) and applies to both the MMUI and VMUIF interfaces. Also, it can be configured via the MMI and the web.

The deletion of any unread messages is captured in the Session Trace Tool.

Nested System Distribution Lists: On Meridian Mail, distribution lists allow voice mail users to address messages to groups of mailboxes as if they were a single mailbox. There are two types of distribution lists: PDLs and SDLs. Each mailbox user can have customized Personal Distribution Lists (PDLs) which are defined and accessed with the telset. Then, if the user often composes messages to the same group of people, he or she can enter the PDL number instead of entering every mailbox number. Like PDLs, Shared Distribution Lists (SDLs) allow groups of mailboxes to be addressed with one number, but they are defined by the administrator, and are accessible to all users. Until now, SDLs could contain only mailbox numbers. The Nested Shared Distribution List (Nested SDL) feature for Meridian Mail Release 13 (MM13) allows each SDL to contain a combination of mailboxes and other SDLs. Benefits of this feature include:

Each SDL can contain up to 120 entries.

Each entry in an SDL can be either.

A Local Voice User mailbox number.

A Remote Voice User mailbox number.

Another SDL number.

By allowing 'nesting' of SDLs within SDLs, this allows many more mailboxes to be included in a single SDL.

Composing a message to a single SDL sends the message to all the mailboxes and SDLs that are included within the SDL.

SDLs can be added, viewed, modified and deleted using the MMI or Web-based Admin.

Administrators can organize the SDLs so that they mimic the departments and divisions of their organization's hierarchy.

Large SDLs can be organized in small manageable units.

Using networking and remote SDLs, it becomes possible to address an entire organization with a single SDL, no matter how large the organization is or how many Meridian Mail sites it has.

When an SDL is deleted, all references to it in other SDLs will automatically be removed. (Deleted mailboxes are already handled this way.)

Remote Notification Class of Service: Gives customers the ability to define up to 100 different sets of characteristics for external devices, such as different paging companies. This allows customers whose employees use multiple paging companies to customize the Remote Notification target of each employee to work with the type of external device that employee uses. With Meridian Mail Release 13, the administrator has the ability to create up to 100 Remote Notification Classes of Service. Each Remote Notification Class of Service will define a set of characteristics to interface with a particular external device (i.e., paging company). Users are then assigned to one of the Remote Notification Classes of Service in the user's Class of Service on Meridian Mail. This feature, in summary, allows an administrator to:

Define characteristics for all supported Remote Notification Devices (phone, tone pager, numeric pager, voice pager, and paging service) in a Remote Notification Class of Service.

Define up to 100 different RN Classes of Service.

Create one (or more) system level Mailbox Class Of Service with RN capability, and assign a RN Class of Service to it.

Any user utilizing this RN COS, either through a system Mailbox COS or a personal Mailbox COS, will inherit these characteristics for any RN sessions.

Redesigns how Outcalling Administration is performed, both at the System and Customer level.

Message Sort Order: Allows Meridian Mail mailbox users to control the organization of messages stored in their mailbox through a web interface. This feature provides the user with flexible control over the organization and behavior of his or her mailbox. Currently messages are presented to the user in chronological order based solely on message delivery time. Upon login, the first message referenced is the first new message in the mailbox; if there is no new message, then it is the first unsent message; if there is no unsent message, it is the first message in the mailbox. With this feature, the user will be able to configure the following four mailbox organization attributes, determining the playback and sort order of all messages stored in the user's mailbox.

Delivery Time: Refers to the time at which a message is deposited into a mailbox.

Message Priority: All Meridian Mail messages have an associated priority set by the sender of the message. The priority options are Urgent and Standard/Economy.

Message Status: Messages stored in a user's mailbox are categorized as having been played back to the user (Read). Or having been deposited but not played back (New).

Mailbox Entry Point: This attribute refers to the first message playable by the user upon successful login to his/her account. The user will be able to select from a variety of Mailbox Entry Points.

Meridian Mail User Interface Volume Control: Subscribers control the volume level of messages residing in their mailboxes and/or the prompts given in a voice messaging session. Changing the volume level via the telset is only possible during a playback of a voice message. A total of four volume levels will be available to subscribers during a message playback session. This feature is intended to address, but not be limited to, the following scenarios:

A hearing impaired user and/or a user who always logs into his/her mailbox from a noisy environment (e.g., a factory) will want his/her voice messages, prompts, and other voice recordings played at a higher volume level than normal.

A user, who usually logs into his/her mailbox from a noisy environment (airport), will want all the voice messages played at a higher volume level than normal. The user may not want the prompts and other voice recordings played at the higher level. An example of this scenario would be a user who travels frequently.

A user who wants to listen to, at a higher volume level than normal, only those messages that are low voice recorded.

Multiple Message Waiting Indication DNs: The user can now specify to receive the MWI for any new messages, to receive the MWI only for new, urgent messages, or not to receive the MWI at all. Most telsets will then light an indicator or alter their dial tone to indicate the message's presence to the user. In MM13, the administrator can now define 7 more MWI DNs for a total of 8 per mailbox. When a message is deposited in a mailbox, an MWI request will be sent to the switch to turn on the MWI for all defined MWI DNs. When all new messages are played, an MWI request will be sent to the switch to turn off the MWI for all defined MWI DNs.

Meridian Mail User Interface Speed Control Enhancement: The Speed Control feature provides subscribers with the capability to control the playback speed level of messages residing in their mailboxes during a voice messaging session. The enhancement to this feature in Meridian Mail Release 13 provides a user profile field that will define the initial default speed level for a user.

Disable Message Reception: This feature gives users the ability to prevent callers from leaving messages while they are away for extended periods of time (vacations). It also gives administrators the ability to protect disk storage space by placing a control on mailboxes which are frequently using more than their allowed storage capacity, by blocking new message reception when the mailbox is full, or by blocking all message reception on unused mailboxes. The Disable Message Reception feature provides flexible control over the reception of messages. Using Meridian Mail Release 13, any Mailbox can be configured to:

Block all message reception.

Block message reception when mailbox is full.

Block message reception when TAG is recorded (MMUI only)

The user can also choose to transfer the call to a Revert DN when message reception is blocked.

Remote Notification 30 Digit Pin Plus Callback Number: For numeric pagers with general access, such as a 1-800 number, a Pager Identification Number (PIN) is used to identify a user's pager. For numeric pagers with direct inward dialing access, a Callback Number is used to indicate to the user that Meridian Mail has a message waiting. Typically, this number is the Meridian Mail access number.With the introduction of the PCS phones, and the fact that many DNs are greater than 8 digits in length, requests have been made to increase the maximum digit limit for these RN values. The 30 Digit Remote Notification PIN and Callback Numbers feature for Meridian Mail Release 13 (MM13) will increase the current allowance of digits for the PIN and CallBack numbers from 8 to 30. It allows a user and an administrator to:

Enter up to 30 digits for a user's paging service Pager Identification Number (PIN), and Callback Number.Enter up to 30 digits for a user's numeric pager CallBack Number.

It also allows a system level administrator, for single-customer systems, or a customer level administrator, for multi-customer systems, to enter up to 30 digits for the default Callback Number. (In previous releases of Mail, this field was referred to as Default Numeric Pager Data and was available through the Outcalling Administration screen). If a user has RN setup for notification to a numeric pager OR a paging service, and the user does not have a Callback Number defined, then this default number is displayed as the callback number. NOTE: There are NO new fields; this feature simply extends the functionality of existing fields.

Optional Feature

Personal Mailbox Administration: Allows the end user of MMail (i.e., mailbox owner) to view and modify aspects of their mailbox from a web browser. The web interface provides a GUI-like environment for end users to administer their greetings, remote notification schedules, personal distribution lists, and mailbox preferences. For certain tasks this interface provides a more intuitive mechanism than he telephone user interface. With this feature, customers that have an existing LAN infrastructure can administer their mailbox from their desktop computer. And due to the cross-platform support of web browsers, Personal Mailbox Administration can be used on those platforms that can run a feature-compatible web browser. This feature can be used in an enterprise network (i.e. Intranet) environment or on the Internet. This alternate administrative interface to a user's mailbox will reduce the MMail administrator's workload in satisfying requests for changes to mailbox preferences. The control of these preferences, which can vary from person to person, is now placed in the hands of the mailbox owner. This feature permits the administration of a mailbox from the mailbox owner's perspective, including such aspects as:

Personal Distribution Lists (PDLs) Remote Notification (RN) schedule

Recordings

Preferences

Languages

Playback Speed Default

Volume Level Default

Message Sort Order

User Profile Password Administration

PMA is available for mailboxes defined with either the MMUI or the VMUIF telephone user interface (TUI). In comparison to the TUI, this facility provides more information for such tasks as setting up a RN schedule. Currently, the only language that is supported by this interface is English. However, the design for this feature will be such as to allow for localization in the future. For the fields that are made available in this facility, the valid values that can be entered into these fields are the same as those currently provided in the MMI and/or the TUI. Also, any default values supplied by these interfaces are supported here as well

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