Nortel CallPilot 100, Set Up And Operation Manual

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Chapter 2 Setting up Digital Networking 15
CallPilot Message Networking Set Up and Operation Guide
Configuring your system network properties
Configuring your system network properties involves setting up message networking according to
whether you use a DNS server, host names or IP addresses.
When you send a digital networking message, the internet uses the Domain Name System (DNS)
to translate domain names into IP addresses. Domain names, such as www.example.com, are
alphabetic, so they are easy for subscribers to remember. However, the internet is based on IP
addresses, which are numbers such as 198.105.232.4. Every time you use a domain name, a DNS
server translates the name into the corresponding IP address. For example, the domain name
www.example.com can translate to 198.105.232.4.
If you do not use domain names, the internet uses IP addresses. If you use IP addresses your
system does your name mapping for you. Some businesses do not use DNS servers, for example, if
they have a private network.
Configuring your system if you do not use DNS
Digital networking requires consistent name mapping throughout the network of digital sites. The
best way to provide name mapping is by using a DNS server. If you do not use a DNS server you
can use either a hosts file or IP addresses.
If your network contains only Business Communications Manager or CallPilot 100/150 systems
you can use IP addresses and do not have to use hosts files.
If your network contains sites other than Business Communications Manager or CallPilot 100/150
digital sites, you must use hosts files if you do not use a DNS server.
If you use Business Communications Manager as a gateway to an internet service provider and
DNS servers cannot provide name resolution for the Business Communications Manager or other
digital sites, you must use hosts files to provide consistent name mapping throughout the network.
You must do your system network configuration before you can add network sites. You can test
your system’s name mapping with ping and nslookup commands. On CallPilot 100/150 you can
test your system’s name mapping by adding a network site.
Note: We recommend that you use a DNS server. If you use a Business Communications
Manager system and all of the digital sites in your network use DNS, go to “Creating
network sites” on page 43 .
If you use a CallPilot system and all of the digital sites in your network use DNS, go to
“Configuring DNS on CallPilot 100/150” on page 20 , and then go to “Creating network
sites” on page 43 .