AES Encrypted E1 Voice and Data over IP
The Black•Tube E1 provides organizations with the ability to securely interconnect PBXs, Cellular Base Stations, Telecom Switches and E1 based communication systems over flexible bandwidth lines that are used to carry data, voice, and video. The Voice Only Leased Line Toll charges assessed by long distance and local carriers are eliminated or dramatically reduced by transporting voice traffic via LANs, WANs, MANs, Satellite and Wireless Ethernet.

The Black•Tube E1 encapsulates full and fractional E1 circuits, along with their framing and signaling bits, into AES encrypted IP packets. Encryption of the packetized E1 protects vital information from eavesdropping, tampering and regulatory compliance violations. 
Black•Tube E1s secure the Critical Infrastructure utilized by highly competitive businesses, government operations, banking and finance, telecommunications, emergency services, gas and oil, electric and energy, water, and transportation.

The Black•Tube E1 ships with two E1 interfaces with either 1, 2 or 3 active and two 10/100 BaseT Ethernet Interfaces. The E1 interfaces have configurations that for provide independent protocol, compression, packet sizing, buffering, clocking, framing, coding and channel settings. The inactive E1 Ports can be activated via a software-based license key for a pay as you grow option.

Transparent Interconnect
The Black•Tube E1's transparent operation maintains the proprietary signaling required to support PBX features such as call conferences, call forwarding, caller ID and SS7. Legacy phone equipment investment is preserved.

Signaling Support
PRI ISDN, SS7, and Proprietary out of band are supported. Transparent support for Data, Modem or Fax. Voice quality is not compromised.

Assured Delivery Protocol
In order to assure high quality communications over links with intermittent or noisy performance, such as Wireless or Broadband over Power Line, the Black•Tube E1 employs Engage’s robust Assured Delivery Protocol with the following benefits: 

• Packet out of sequence detection and re-sequencing
• Duplicate skipping,
• Lost packet retransmission with configured delay.

Dual LAN Interfaces
All Black•Tube E1 models ship with dual 10/100BaseT Ethernet LAN ports. The dual Ethernet interfaces provide for: 

• Management interface on LAN port 2 when LAN port 1 is connected to a VPN tunnel 
• The LAN ports can be configured to support connections over 2 opposite ADSL links 
• Alternator Option for load balanced SDSL interconnects 
• Protector Option for Redundant Packet Path connections with Constant or Switch Over Criteria

Service Quality Packet Prioritizing 
The Black•Tube E1 uses the Type of Service byte in the IP packets or 802.1p/q mac levels for prioritization of the encapsulated E1 frames. QOS is used to ensure that the real time Circuit data from the Black•Tube E1 is ensured high priority.

Full E1 Connection Across Two ADSL Lines
The Black•Tube E1's two Ethernet interfaces are able utilize two ADSL Ethernet Modems, that have opposite high speed direction, to transport an E1’s symmetrical bandwidth.

Virtual Private Network Support

Interconnecting the Black•Tube E1 through a Virtual Private Network with sufficient real time committed information rate ensures that the required quality of service is provisioned. The second Ethernet interface provides a management port. Each LAN interface features independent IP network configurations.

DS0 Time Slot Multiplexer OPTION -MUX
The Black•Tube E1-MUX maps DSOs from a central site to as many as 31 remote locations via an IP/Ethernet connection. Get maximum use of expensive DS1 interfaces on PBX, Channel equipment and datacom gear. Also provides Virtual DACS Over IP capability. Mesh DS0s one-to-many or many-to-many.

                  • Remote Control of E1 Connection to Telco or E1overIP
   • Installation performed by a single Technician 
           • Quick reversion to Telco during debug of E1overIP

  • Automatic Protection Switch for E1 Circuit
         • Deliver on Stringent Service Level Agreements
• Back Up for Mission Critical Connectivity
      • Disaster Recovery for Public Safety Network

Lossless Data Compression OPTION -C 

The Black•Tube E1-C continuously detects idle and redundant data within each E1 Voice circuit resulting in as much as a 40 to 1 bandwidth savings. TDM over IP WAN bandwidth is not consumed by silent or redundant circuits.

Alternator Load Balancing OPTION -ALT 
The Black•Tube E1-ALT Alternator option alternatively sends the IP packetized E1 frames on LAN 1 and LAN 2. The Alternator option enables fractional and full E1 circuits to be split over two IP WAN connections such as xDSL. The Lossless Data Compression option can be combined with the Alternator option to minimize the bandwidth required from the alternative paths.

Rate Limiter OPTION -RLM
The Black•Tube E1-RLM Rate Limiter option limits the WAN bandwidth utilized by the LAN1 to LAN2 bridge. Rate Limiting the traffic enables the reservation of the WAN bandwidth for time the sensitive E1 Over IP real time connections. Great for Wireless WAN E1 applications. Rate Governing is only applied in the direction to the WAN to minimize latency. The data rate governor utilizes Time Division Multiplexing based clocking to provide for Nx64, NxE1 and NxFT3 bandwidth regulation that is configured from 64 kilobits up to 45Mbits.

Protector OPTION -PRO 
The protector option utilizes the second LAN interface as a redundant path for the interconnection of the IP encapsulated E1 Circuit. The extension of the E1 circuit has a fault tolerant link that is configured to always on, or with switch over criteria. 

Protector OPTION -EnPRO
The Enhanced version has configuration parameters that enable a secondary packet path with high relative delay to primary path be synchronized. The packet sequence delay synchronization ensures concurrent redundancy with a high degree of error tolerance. Error free operation is accomplished when a primary or secondary Packet is not received and a redundant duplicate packet is available. The Black•Tube also supports the transmission of multiple duplicate packets to support Mission Critical Circuit extension with redundancy that is only limited by the bandwidth provisioned. 

Pay-As-You-Grow Field Upgrades
The Black•Tube E1s are designed for Pay-As-You-Go growth from 1 E1 to 3 E1s. Customers can elect to economize initial installations, buy purchasing a single active E1 port and enable additional E1 Ports via a software-based license key.

Field Upgrade benefits are extended to our Industry-Best Lossless Data Compression. Just as E1 ports are field upgrade able, so is Lossless Data Compression. At any time, each E1 port on the Black•Tube E1 can be upgraded to Lossless Data Compression with a simple software-based license key installation. If you determine that your Black•Tube E1 is best deployed with Loss less Data Compression, you're still in business with the per port field upgrade!

Rack Mount Kit
The Black•Tube family is ready for your most demanding central office or data center environments. With the Rack Mount Kit, Black•Tube products are easily installed in 19" and 23" racks. Easy access to both front and rear sides facilitates technician maintenance procedures.

E1 Private Line Services over IP

Multi-Site Enterprises, Cellular Service Providers, Education Districts, Universities, National, State and Local Government, and Municipalities incur significant recurring monthly costs for rigid-bandwidth leased lines used only for the interconnection of PBXs and Telecom switches.

The BlackTube E1 provides organizations with the ability to securely interconnect their existing phone systems over flexible bandwidth lines that are used to carry data, voice, and video. The Voice Only Leased Line Toll charges assessed by long distance and local carriers are eliminated or dramatically reduced by transporting voice traffic across LANs and WANs.

LANs
The most compelling option for the interconnection of E1 based systems is when it can be accomplished over a Local Area Network. The deployment of Fiber based LANS such as FDDI and Gigabit Ethernet, provides organizations with high performance and high quality bandwidth that is especially well suited for the interconnection of PBXs and Telecom Switches.

WANs

Wide Area Networks that have sufficient bandwidth and Quality of Service provisioning result in very significant cost savings especially for Multinational corporations. The BlackTube E1-C with lossless data compression, detects idle and redundant data within each voice circuit resulting in a 56 to 1 bandwidth savings. WAN bandwidth is not consumed by silence or redundant samples.

Wireless Ethernet

Connecting phone systems across a wireless Ethernet connection has a return on investment that is measured in weeks. Eliminating the wired connection for the E1 based communication equipment is made possible with the IP Tube’s E1 Over Ethernet capability.

UnEncrypted interconnection of PBX connections across Wireless is able to be eavesdropped with Shareware Packet Capture programs. The BlackTube E1  ensures that private branch connections across wireless networks remain private.

Cellular Base Station Backhaul

BlackTube E1s are used to provide transparent interconnection of the Base Stations, Base Station Controllers and Mobile Switching Centers over IP Ethernet packet-switched networks.

Cellular phone service providers are able to save substantially by converting to a packet switch network from circuit based TDM leased lines. The Loss Less Data compression option provides a 40 to 1 compression, which minimizes the bandwidth required to interconnect, is especially well suited to Cellular communication links. 

Engage's first product deployment, in the Spring of 2000, was for an international interconnection of a Cellular Base Station to a Base Station Controller. 

Broadband Service Providers

Companies, that are able to provide IP Ethernet access networks generate new revenue by offering traditional E1 leased line and private line services, such as:

Cable Operators

Cable operators connect traditional E1 leased line and private line services over their hybrid fiber coax (HFC) cable networks.

Metropolitan Area Networks

Metropolitan carriers with IP or Ethernet access networks deliver traditional leased line and private line services.

Utilities

Utilities generate new revenue by offering traditional E1 leased line and private line services over their fiber or power line networks.

Incumbent Carriers

Telcos reduce costs by delivering profitable leased and private line services over their flexible Ethernet infrastructures.

CLEC PBX Back Haul

The BlackTube E1-Ecan provides CLEC's with a way to back haul E1 DSO's from a customer's phone systems over their Internet connection. The back hauled DSOs are connected to the CLEC's phone switch for connection to the Public Switched Telephone Networks. Local Exchange Carriers are able to offer an economical alternative to the local Phone Company.

International Toll Bypass

The BlackTube E1's most dramatic cost savings is when it is used for the international interconnections of TDM based telecommunication equipment. The BlackTube E1's are interoperable with the European TDM standard E1.