Cassidian Communications, an EADS North America company, released its next generation (NG) 911 call processing solution, Sentinel Patriot 3.1 service pack (SP) 1 solution. It provides twelve significant enhancements that improve the flexibility, usability, configuration and security of theproduct and increase interoperability with third-party systems.
The Sentinel Patriot solution is the industry’s fastest growing NG9-1-1 IP call processing platform. The 3.1 SP1 release further solidifies the Sentinel Patriot solution as the industry’s benchmark NG911 emergency communications solution.
Significant new features and capabilities included in the SP1 release provide for improved high-volume call processing with redundancy and resiliency. The added blind transfer support for emergency calls allows administrators to set permissions for call takers to perform unsupervised "cold" transfers for situations that do not require a "warm" handoff to another call taker, as is the case with non-emergencycalls, estimated to comprise 40 percent of calls made annually to 911 centers in the U.S.
With the enhanced Priority Queue Overflow, priority queues can transfer excess calls to overflow queues. Overflow conditions apply to priority queues as with any other automatic call distribution (ACD) queue, assisting in efficient organization and prioritization during high call volumes.
Another key enhancement supports the manual switchover of the Patriot Communications Server (PCS) without requiring a database resynchronization-aiding in upgrades, testing and diagnostics with minimal site impact.
Additional enhancements include added support for a dual network interface card at the Sentinel 911 workstation; new IP phones and improved IP networking; improved connectivity options with the AudioCodes Mediant 1000 Gateway; enhanced CIM radio bypass features that simplify call management; dual firewall support for the Sentinel CommandPOST call processing solution; and improved functionality for the Software Development Kit (SDK).
The Sentinel Patriot solution’s IP architecture, designed expressly for NG911 applications, is based on current and evolving critical communications technologies and standards. This allows for the sophisticated design of backup, disaster recovery, and overflow operations with the assured ability to provide reliable service under unexpected conditions. The Sentinel Patriot solution’s geo-diverse deployment model provides maximum system survivability, and the efficient network architecture design minimizes data traffic and bandwidth usage for ongoing cost savings.
