[cisco-voip] e911 & Cisco Emergency Responder

[Mike Armstrong]

Check with your local telco to see what the requirement is in your area. 
The 2005 Florida Statutes are a little vague, and give us an out, since we 
installed the AVVID system prior to 2004:

365.175  Emergency telephone number 911 private branch exchange-private 
switch automatic location identification.

(1)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:
(a)  "Automatic location identification" or "ALI" means the automatic 
display at the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) of the caller's 
telephone number, the address or location of the telephone, and 
supplementary emergency services information.
(b)  "Automatic location identification retrieval" or "ALI retrieval" means 
the process of querying the 911 database for ALI records.
(c)  "Automatic number identification" or "ANI" means the telephone number 
associated with the access line from which a call originates.
(d)  "Private branch exchange" or "PBX" means a private telephone system 
that is connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
(e)  "Private switch ALI" or "PSA" means a service option which provides 
enhanced 911 features for telephone stations behind private switches, e.g., 
PBX's.

(2)  REQUIRED ALI CAPABILITY.--Each PBX system installed after January 1, 
2004, must be capable of providing automatic location identification to the 
station level.

Right now, we display the number of the phone at the receptionist/security 
station, which clearly isn't good enough, but is our preferred first contact 
for the emergency responder.  With a few minutes' effort, we can query the 
CDR database and locate the specific DN that dialed 911, then our phone 
database to see where it's supposed to be.  Dynamically locating a given DN 
by its MAC is a gleam in our development eye; for now it's another few 
minutes of manual effort.  We'd also like to automatically notify security 
that 911 was dialed, rather than having them find out by having the police 
knock on the door.

As I understand the e911 architecture, we provide only a telephone  number. 
It's up to the PSAP to be able to (automatically) look this number up in the 
ALI database, which is generally maintained by the LEC, and display the 
detailed location information at the PSAP station.  Since we don't have DID, 
it looks like we'd have to manufacture a bogus DN specifically to match with 
the ALI database.  Maybe Cisco's Emergency Responder does all that; I just 
looked at the price tag and moved on.

The rules are different for wireless phones.  God knows what we would do to 
locate a 7920.

Mike Armstrong
UF/IFAS CREC
Lake Alfred, FL

> Date: Fri, 28 Jul 2006 13:49:03 -0500
> From: TechGuy <techguy+voip at gmail.com>
> Subject: [cisco-voip] e911 & Cisco Emergency Responder ?
> To: cisco-voip at puck.nether.net
> Message-ID:
> <a1b07ea60607281149m5d0ae5e6n6f77f055ea560384 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> I have a basic e911 question, particularly in regards to Cisco
> Emergency Responder.
>
> Is the primary idea behind rolling out e911 is to pin point actual
> physical location, say like all the way down to where a person or
> phone is located in a cube?
>
> Thats what I am being asked to look into.  A solution that provides
> cube location if you will.  We have large locations all over the
> state, some buildings with multi floors, and so on.  I have heard and
> read examples of e911 being used for identifying buildings and
> locations when using VoIP, I have heard of it being used for
> identifying buildings and even floors within in a building.
>
> I am a bit confused however as to how you do this and particularly in
> regards to mapping things all the way down to the cube or something.
> It would be fine I guess in an environment that was not dynamic and
> phones could be locked down so they couldn't move.  Some how match the
> mac of the phone to the port on the switch, which you would have to
> map to the cube or something.  I would think administering this would
> be a nightmare since things can easily change.  Someone could change
> something in a wiring closet, or move phones or something.
>
> Just wondering how people are doing this, if they are?   Its something
> management seems to really want to move on, and I am bit unsure about
> it all.  Guess I need to read a little more on the emergency responder
> product from Cisco and that might help.  We are an all Cisco shop,
> data and telephone.  So emergency responder appears to be the logical
> next step.  Really just don't get how people are managing the
> locations and the changes, guess there is a way to automate some of it
> as long as your wiring closets dont get messed with.  If you know cube
> xyz is always patched to switch abc, port 4 then its not that
> difficult to imagine a way to script pulling the mac table off a
> switch and seeing what mac is associated to what port I guess.
>
> Ah well, just wanted to throw it out there here from others and maybe
> get pointed to some resources others have utilized in this very issue.