The Square Vs. Pooled Decision; About Square Systems - AT&T MERLIN 3070 Administration Manual

THE SQUARE VS. POOLED DECISION

For systems that have just been installed, you have to make a decision about a basic
system characteristic— how people access outside lines with their voice terminals.
You have the option of setting your system to be either square or pooled. In a square
system, each outside line can appear on a separate button at each voice terminal.
In a pooled system, outside lines are grouped together so that one button provides
access to several outside Iines. On attendant consoles, however, each outside line
appears on a separate button, whether your system is pooled or square, and you can-
not change this arrangement.
Whether your system should be square or pooled depends on your specific business
needs. If you want to use the Automatic Route Selection feature, your lines must be
pooled and your system must beset for Dial Access to Line Pools. The characteristics
of both configurations are discussed in greater detail in the paragraphs that follow.

About Square Systems

In the MERLIN communications system, Models 1030 and 3070 with Feature Module
5, a square configuration is one in which outside lines are represented by separate
buttons on every voice terminal in the system. A square configuration simplifies call-
handling because people can join in on calls or pickup calls on hold just by touching
the appropriate line button at almost any voice terminal.
You can choose between two kinds of square configurations: standard or custom-
ized. In the standard configuration, you give all voice terminals in the system access
to the same lines. In the customized arrangement, on the other hand, you assign
specific lines or sets of lines to selected groups of voice terminals. You can also assign
personal lines to individual voice terminals in a customized square configuration.
Standard Square Configurations. The standard square configuration is ideal for
offices in which all staff members use the same lines to make and receive calls. In
this arrangement, every line in the system appears at each voice terminal that has
enough buttons to accommodate that number of lines. Depending upon the size of
your system, you can assign up to 30 lines to as many as 70 voice terminals.
You will assign each of your lines to the same buttons at each voice terminal. To get
the most from a standard square configuration, all your voice terminals should have
enough buttons to handle all the lines in your system. If you have smaller capacity
voice terminals, see "Special Information about 5-Button Voice Terminals," page 131.
An example of a standard square configuration appears on the following page. All
six lines in the system are available for general use and appear on the same but-
tons at each voice terminal, as shown.
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