Getting Acquainted with the MAX

What is the MAX?

The items in your MAX package

Interfaces

What is the MAX?
The items in your MAX package
Interfaces

Before installing the MAX, take a few minutes to review its features, the contents of your packages, and the supported interfaces.

What is the MAX?

The MAX is a WAN access router designed for central site remote access applications. It has the following main features:

Supports digital WAN access for numerous WAN services.
Allows digital and analog modems to dial in over channelized T1/PRI and E1/PRI access lines.
Provides IP and IPX routing, bridging, and terminal-server functions.
Aggregates multiple calls for Bandwidth-on-Demand.
Supports multiple security methods.
Has various management and control features.

The items in your MAX package

All MAX models ship with the same set of accessories. Expansion cards might be preinstalled or packaged separately, depending on how you ordered them.

Checking the MAX base unit

Open the shipping package and make sure you have received the base MAX unit that you ordered. Figure 1-1 shows the ac MAX base unit. Figure 1-2 shows the ac Redundant MAX base unit and Figure 1-3 shows the dc MAX base unit (with a dc power source).

Figure 1-1. MAX base unit

Figure 1-2. Redundant MAX base unit

Figure 1-3. DC power source on the MAX 6000 and the Redundant MAX 6000

Checking other package contents

After you verify that you have received the correct base unit, make sure your package contains the following items:

A console cable (null-modem)
Two adapters
A power cable
A rack-mounting kit
Separately packaged expansion modules, (if you ordered them separately)

If you are missing any items, contact your MAX distributor.

Checking the expansion cards

The MAX accommodates up to six expansion cards (also referred to as expansion modules or slot cards). The figures in this section will help you to identify your expansion cards.

Host/6 card

The Host/6 card (Figure 1-4), also known as the AIM/6 card, supports six V.35 host ports. A Host/6 card supports 32 active channels. You can install a maximum of two Host/6 cards in the MAX.

Figure 1-4. Host/6 card

ISDN BRI network-interface and terminal-interface cards

The ISDN BRI network-interface card and ISDN terminal-interface card each have eight ISDN BRI ports. (Figure 1-5.) You can install a maximum of four ISDN BRI network-interface cards in the MAX.

Figure 1-5. ISDN BRI network-interface or terminal-interface card

Note: Not all Ascend units support all Ascend slot cards. You must install a slot card in a unit that supports that specific card. Ascend's slot cards are only supported in Ascend devices.

Multiband inverse-multiplexing card

The Multiband inverse-multiplexing card (Figure 1-6) has two or six user-selectable RS-449, V.35, or X.21 serial host ports with inverse-multiplexing and RS-366 capability, V.25bis, or control-lead signaling.

Figure 1-6. Multiband inverse-multiplexing two-port card

Series56 digital modem card

The Series56 digital modem card (Figure 1-7) supports eight, twelve, or sixteen digital modems per card. Digital modems support V.90, K56flex, V.34 and all lower modulations. You can install a maximum of 96 digital modems in the MAX.

Figure 1-7. Series56 Digital modem card

V.110 card

The V.110 card (Figure 1-8) supports up to eight V.110 WAN sessions. You can install a maximum of six V.110 cards in the MAX.

Figure 1-8. V.110 card

PIAFS-16 card

The PIAFS-16 card (Figure 1-9) provides up to 16 PIAFS WAN sessions. You can install a maximum of six PIAFS-16 cards in the MAX.

Figure 1-9. PIAFS card

IDSL card

Ascend's ISDN Digital Subscriber Line (IDSL) card (Figure 1-10) appears as BRI/LT in the VT100 menu screen and supports incoming and outgoing voice calls. To support outgoing voice calls, the connected Terminal Equipment (TE) must use Q.931 en-bloc dialing to send all dialed digits to the MAX in one block (the ISDN Call Setup message), rather than send one digit at a time.

The MAX receives outgoing call requests from attached ISDN TE and routes voice calls to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) over a T1 line or ISDN PRI line. The MAX receives incoming voice calls and uses Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS) to route them to TEs connected to IDSL cards.

Figure 1-10. IDSL card

DRAM card

The DRAM card is a proprietary Ascend card (Figure 1-11). It is not hot-swappable and should not be removed while the MAX is running. The DRAM card attaches directly to the CPU bus, and damage might occur if you attempt to remove it.

Figure 1-11. DRAM card

PCMCIA flash card

The PCMCIA flash card (Figure 1-12) is a standard card that extends existing flash memory.

Figure 1-12. PCMCIA card

Interfaces

The MAX has a number of interfaces on the base unit, and others are available on expansion cards.

Interfaces on the base unit

Figure 1-1 on page 1-1 and Figure 1-2 on page 1-2 show the physical interfaces on the MAX base unit.

Interfaces on expansion cards

AIM/BONDING

The DCE interfaces in Figure 1-4 on page 1-3 and Figure 1-6 on page 1-4 provide AIM/BONDING inverse-multiplexing services to devices connected to them. (For details about cables that connect to these ports, see Serial host interface specifications.)

PALMTOP

The palmtop port connects to a hand-held palmtop control terminal, although it can also connect to a VT100 terminal. The palmtop port provides access to the menu-driven user interface of the MAX. It runs at 9600 bps (configurable through the user interface), 8 bits per character, no parity, no flow control, 1 stop bit. (For details about cables that connect to these ports, see Cables and Connectors.)

ISDN BRI

ISDN BRI ports (Figure 1-5 on page 1-3) are a group of either eight DTE or eight DCE ports providing point-to-point ISDN BRI connections between the MAX and other devices. Int he MAX manuals, these ports are called the Net/BRI and Host/BRI ports for the DTE and DCE interfaces, respectively. From the point of view of the MAX, pins 3 and 6 transmit on the Net/BRI interface and receive on the Host/BRI interface. Pins 4 and 5 receive on the Net/BRI interface and transmit on the Host/BRI interface. (For details about cables that connect to these ports, see ISDN BRI interface specifications.)

IDSL

The IDSL ports (Figure 1-10 on page 1-6) are a group of eight DCE ports providing point-to-point IDSL connections between the MAX and other devices. An IDSL port has the same pinouts as a Host/BRI port. (For further information, see IDSL specifications.)

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