About Pooled Systems - AT&T MERLIN 3070 Administration Manual

About Pooled Systems

In a pooled configuration, you group several outside lines together into a pool that
people can access with a single button on their voice terminals. When they place
a call, they either touch the button assigned to a particular line pool (Button Access
to Line Pools) or touch a Pool Access button and dial the code of the pool best suited
for this type of call (Dial Access to Line Pools). The system then selects a free line
from that pool, and the user dials the number he or she is trying to reach. If your
system has Automatic Route Selection, users simply touch a Pool Access button and
dial the number. The system routes the call automatically to the line pool specified
by you, the administrator, for that type of call.
Your system can have as many as 11 different line pools. Each type of special-purpose
line that your business has, such as WATS or Foreign Exchange (FX) lines, should
be assigned to a separate pool. You should not mix types of lines in a pool because
you cannot control which line people get when they access the pool. If your business
has local lines, in-state WATS lines, and Band 1 out-of-state WATS lines, for exam-
ple, you must set up at least three line pools.
When assigning lines in a pooled system, you can assign all, some, or none of your
lines to a single pool (see diagram below), but you cannot assign any line to more
than one pool. By the same token, you do not need to assign all your lines to pools;
you can also assign individual lines that are not included in any pool to any voice
terminal in your system. A diagram of a pooled system with eight lines appears on
page 21.
Line A
I
20
Line B Line D
Line C
I
l
Lines A, B, C, D, E pooled
Lines A, B, C, D, E
pooled
Intercom-Voice
SIMPLE POOLED SYSTEM
Line E
I