FoIP Interoperability Portal

Commetrex has led the industry effort for T.38 interoperability since January 2002 when it launched the T.38 Interoperability Test Lab. Cisco, Lucent, NMS, Sonus, Ricoh, and Excel, were among the T.38 Interop Test Lab users. However, over time, scheduling a mutually convenient time for our test engineers and that of our testing partners became a major obstacle. Consequently, the no-charge Test Lab was closed in 2004.

Recently, however, extensive testing has been done in the field with Commetrex’ T.38 Fax Relay and TerminatingT38 products. Here are a few of the vendors we have field-tested with:

• Asterisk
• Avaya
• Cisco
• Grandstream
• Quintum
• Siemens
• Sonus

As a replacement for the T.38 Interop Test Lab, Commetrex has introduced the BladeWare Fax Interop Test Suite (FITS), which allows the OEM to perform the same testing in-house as the T.38 Interop Test Lab. BladeWare FITS is a ready-to-test system comprised of a client application based on the BladeWare stand-alone IP-based media server. This provides the developer with a T.38 and G.711 pass-through interoperability testing facility. Over three years of interoperability testing in the T.38 Interop Lab produced 16 tests that, if passed, yield a high probability of interoperability in the field. With BladeWare FITS, a developer can perform the same tests with the same reference platform to his own schedule.

FITS uses BladeWare to place and accept SIP calls and to send-receive faxes for testing purposes. BladeWare’s fax capability supports both T.38 and G.711 pass though fax. FITS may also be used to test IP-based networks for T.38 and G.711 pass-through robustness. FITS is based on Commetrex’ TerminatingT38, which is the same technology that became the industry’s T.38 reference standard through its use in the T.38 Interop Lab, and Commetrex’ fax modems, which have been in the field since the mid-‘90s. TerminatingT38, which Commetrex invented in 2000, is the integration of Commetrex’ T.38 Fax Relay and T.30 protocol engines. And, the fax modems include V.34.

BladeWare may also be used to test PSTN-IP gateways and fax-capable media servers. BladeWare’s interface with the balance of the test environment can be both the IP and TDM/PSTN connections. This means that it can directly test an IP-fax-capable media server without additional network elements being required. It can also connect with the IP side of a gateway under test that has a connection with a fax terminal, fax board, or a TDM loop back to a PSTN-IP gateway, with the IP connected back to BladeWare for a complete loop-back.