Glossary of Key Terms

Emergency Stand Alone

Emergency Stand Alone/ Emergency Standalone, commonly known as ESA or ESA switching, refers to the capability installed in a service region that enables local calls within that service region even if the connection to the central office host switch is severed.

Switch Collapse

Switch Collapse, also known as switch consolidation, is an increasingly popular method for network architecture whereby remote switch units and even central office host switch units are removed from service areas and replaced with next generation broadband access concentration devices such as BLCs.  Voice traffic is centralized, or foreign exchanged, usually over optical links, to a high capacity, often next generation, voice switch.  Having one voice switch that serves a large geographic region allows for operational cost savings, ease of provisioning and a unified service offering.  Central and end office sites that previously contained remote switches or central office switches are equiped with ESA switches for reliability and for maintaining the status quo in terms of settlements.

True ESA™

True ESA is Aztek Networks' branded version of emergency standalone switching.  A True ESA switch is one that is based on open-standards, does not introduce another point of failure into the network, compact, hardened and fully redundant.  The Aztek 5000S is a True ESA switch.