February 1999

Alaris Medical Calls In The Right Prescription

BY BILL STEWART

There may be some holdouts, but as each day passes it becomes more difficult for companies to overlook the benefits of Internet telephony. Fortunately, Alaris Medical Systems, Inc., became relatively early adopters of this technology, and as a result, we tripled the available bandwidth on our Wide Area Network (WAN). The fact that the Internet telephony technology investment, which was not minimal, had a return on investment (ROI) of just three months is equally impressive. And cost benefits will be even greater as soon as our Internet telephony solution supports video conferencing, because we will be able to completely eliminate the need for public carriers in this application - and thereby save $0.48 per minute on domestic video conferences and $1.38 per minute for video conferences to our Mexico facility.

The company's requirement for Internet telephony grew out of a need to increase available bandwidth over our WAN to accommodate two new applications - an enterprise resource planning solution (SAP R/3) and a corporate e-mail system (Microsoft Outlook). Together, these applications demanded far more bandwidth than existed in a network originally designed to carry IBM 3270 traffic alone.

While there were several ways we could have met our expanded bandwidth requirements, we wanted to do so without impacting existing operations, or incurring unnecessarily high capital investments and operational costs. These criteria immediately eliminated ATM - a technology that would have required an entirely new routing infrastructure. And the simpler choice of adding T1 links was not seriously considered because of the implementation expense as well as the high monthly costs. Additional frame relay links - less expensive than T1s - were also considered, but cost was again a negating factor.

WORKING WITH EXISTING PBXs
Internet telephony seemed to provide the ultimate solution. With its compression algorithms, this technology would allow us to leverage existing T1s to achieve the bandwidth boost we needed. And, since the technology is implemented as a gateway to the existing network, legacy router investments could be protected.

The only problem with Internet telephony was identifying a solution that was compatible with our existing NEC NEAX PBXs. Deployed in each of our major facilities, these PBXs support a private voice network over the same T1s we use for our data network. Simply put, our voice network supports four-digit dialing, centralized voice mail, calling number ID, and other key features we rely on for easy, low-cost voice connectivity among our geographically distributed sites - and we had no reason to forsake this legacy investment.

The challenge Internet telephony solutions face in supporting these NEC PBXs is the dependence of the NEAX switches on a non-compressed continuous 64 Kbps data channel to support NEC's proprietary CCIS protocol. As an SS7-based data link protocol used for signaling, call detail recording, call control, networking, and management of NEAX PBXs, this CCIS channel is essential for maintaining the features Alaris requires in its private voice network.

A CERTIFIED GATEWAY
After reviewing available Internet telephony solutions, only the Network Exchange 2210 gateway from Netrix Corporation proved to fully support this CCIS channel, the first gateway certified to interoperate with NEAX PBXs through NEC's Fusion Alliance Program. In other words, with this solution we were able to simply drop the gateways into our network in front of the NEC PBXs, gain the bandwidth we needed, and still preserve all of the existing features of our private voice network. The credit for identifying this solution goes to TruComm Consulting, a firm Alaris hired to assist in this project, and Advantage Telcom Supply, our Netrix reseller. Together with Netrix, this team resolved all early application issues to the point where subsequent implementations took less than a half-day.

With CCIS performing the signaling chores for call setup, the Network Exchange 2210 is configured to treat voice calls as nailed up connections called Hoot and Holler circuits - named after the attention-getting method common on stock market trading floors. These circuits remain permanently nailed up so long as WAN connectivity is maintained, so bandwidth is only needed for voice calls actually in use. Coupled with voice activity detectors that minimize bandwidth use for each voice channel, Hoot and Holler circuits optimize overall voice bandwidth utilization, freeing more resources for data traffic.

Although voice traffic is programmed to automatically take priority over data in the Internet telephony gateway, data is not ignored - built-in intelligence uses a fairness algorithm to police line usage and prevent any one application from using all available bandwidth. Data bandwidth is also protected with a call routing algorithm that evaluates line speed, utilization, and delay to ensure that the optimum path is chosen for each call. In other words, the gateway freed us from having to manually balance load between voice and data channels - the system takes care of load balancing automatically, based on priority schedules we specify.

Coupled with up to 8:1 compression, these optimization algorithms have enabled us to gain all the bandwidth we need for the new data applications without adding any additional T1 circuits, and without modifying our legacy infrastructure. In fact, because we have so much extra bandwidth now, we are looking forward to eliminating two of three T1s that currently link our two facilities in San Diego. The only reason we have not yet made this change is a contractual obligation for the T1 service.

Bandwidth is now so abundant that our WAN will be able to support all internal video conferencing requirements as soon as Netrix releases the BRI interface required for this application. Expected in the first half of 1999, this interface will enable us to eliminate the expense of using the public switched network, a cost we now incur each time we conduct a video conference. With video conference utilization increasing in our company as a way of reducing travel expenses, this capability will add significant value to our Internet telephony gateway.

While we now rely on three gateways in San Diego, Portland, OR, and Creedmoor, NC, the value of our Internet telephony solution will be increased when we add a 2210 in Tijuana. This implementation is scheduled to occur later in 1999, when our two existing facilities are consolidated. Also slated for the future is the addition of Internet telephony gateways in our European and Asian facilities. In fact, the only factor slowing this implementation is the problem of incompatible voice mail systems. Once this hurdle is overcome, the gateways will be able to provide seamless connectivity between PBXs from various manufacturers throughout our global WAN.

For now, Alaris is more than satisfied that Internet telephony has empowered us to meet our bandwidth needs for the present and long into the future. Adding to our overall satisfaction level is the fact that - not factoring in significant sources of future cost avoidance such as video conferencing and virtually free global voice communications - the cost benefits of Internet telephony are nothing short of profound.

Any solution that can pay for itself in 90 days through an elimination of costs otherwise needed to meet operational requirements makes good business sense. But with a future ripe for even greater savings, we are overjoyed that we did not unduly delay our migration to Internet telephony. For others contemplating Internet telephony, the lesson is clear: If you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, do it now.

Bill Stewart is senior information technology operations manager for Alaris Medical Systems, Inc., of San Diego, CA. Alaris designs, manufactures, and markets intravenous infusion therapy products, patient monitoring instruments, and related disposables. A global company, Alaris' North American WAN links corporate headquarters with manufacturing and distribution sites in San Diego, Portland, OR, Creedmoor, NC, and Tijuana, Mexico. For more information, visit Alaris at www.alarismed.com.