This document will lay out the requirements for implementing the ClearlyIP’s VoIP Failover Gateway for Fire Panel use. The focus will be on the following requirements defined as providing a Managed Facility Voice Network (MFVN) in the NFPA 72 standard.
Requirements Table
| Requirement | Notes | Action Required for Compliance |
| Loop Start Interface | Gateway standard feature | None |
| Line Seizure | Gateway standard feature | None |
| Central Office Standby Power Capacity | The Central Office, Clearly IP in this case, is required to have 24-hours of standby power. ClearlyIP’s data centers have redundant power feeds, battery backup and diesel generators. | None |
| Physical Access. | The gateway needs to be installed with safeguards to prevent unauthorized access to the equipment and its connections. | Installer needs to verify that the device is installed with access safeguards such as changing the default password for login. |
| Gateway Standby Power Capacity and Monitoring | The gateway requires 8 hours of standby power supply capacity for MFVN communications.
Abnormal ambient conditions and battery aging can always have a potentially adverse effect on battery capacity. The MFVN field-deployed equipment typically monitors the condition of the standby battery and signals potential battery failure to permit the communications service provider to take appropriate action. | Installer should leverage the same power supply as the fire panel. ClearlyIP provides a power cord option with 2 leads that can be terminated to the battery post or power terminal used by most fire panels.
In lieu of using the fire panel power supply, the installer should leverage a managed battery-backup solution that will alarm the installer when the battery is operating below needed capacity. |
| Sufficient Call Paths | It is essential that location be configured with sufficient call paths to handle an alarm call even in the case where all the other POTS connections are in use. | Add call paths to the location to equal the maximum number of concurrent calls possible by the box. |
| Path Reliability | The network needs to function reliably. In addition to failover from LAN/WAN to 4G, the gateway registers against a DNS SRV record that provides redundancy across trunking paths and data centers. | Once the Gateway is operating in production, open a ticket with Support (mailto:support@clearlyip.com) with the location information and request that production monitoring is enabled. Connectivity will be tested every 15 minutes and if it fails, a ticket will be generated for ClearlyIP customer service. |
DTMF Considerations
Some monitoring systems will only work with in-band DTMF. Please test your installation. If test calls are going out but the monitoring system is not recognizing the information, reset to in-band signaling and retest.
Requirements Summary
The ClearlyIP VoIP Failover Gateway can meet the standard compliance requirements as specified in the NFPA-72 guidelines. Installers need to:
- Safeguard the device from unauthorized access.
- Meet the standby power and power monitoring requirements.
Uploading ....