Definition of Station Devices

A station device, as opposed to a gateway device, is any device that is characterized as a terminal endpoint. A terminal endpoint is a device or software application that provides real-time, two-way communication for a single user. The remainder of this chapter often refers to a station device simply as a station.

Software applications that act as station devices include the following:

• Cisco applications
• Third-party applications
• Cisco Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
• Auto attendant
• Voice mail/unified messaging

A station device and a gateway device provide similar yet contrasting functionality. A gateway provides real-time, two-way communication between the packet-based network and other stations on either another packet-based network or a circuit-switched network. A gateway provides service for multiple users or provides access connections for simultaneous use by multiple users. A gateway can provide protocol support to terminate multiple stations attached to the gateway device or it can be used to interconnect CallManager with other packet network systems. Gateways can also be used to terminate trunks attached to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or to a corporate switch, such as a Private Branch Exchange (PBX).

In contrast, a station usually supports a single user at a time, although one station can support multiple users who log in and out of the station at different times. Although a station can consist of multiple lines and might have the capability of terminating multiple connections, stations typically have only a single connection active at a time and provide only a single media stream to a user. Figure 3-2 shows examples of various stations and a sample gateway device.

Figure 3-2. Station Devices