Important Components of Critical Paging Systems
Timely and clear communication is paramount in maintaining public safety. One way to achieve it is with a robust, reliable paging system that clearly and consistently communicates with the public. Important aspects of a system in a high-reliability environment include:
1. Sufficient paging stations in each critical location that are monitored continuously and automatically by the system
2. Amplifiers with channel or device failover, network redundancy, speaker line monitoring, ambient noise compensation and built-in emergency message storage
3. An Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) for amplifiers, servers, switches and other critical equipment
4. Redundant, mirrored servers to ensure the critical functions of those devices (e.g., message playback and VoIP paging interface)
5. A life safety interface with built-in redundancies (if the paging system is connected to an emergency or fire alarm system)
6. A fully redundant and robust Ethernet network that utilizes Managed Ethernet Switches, Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) principles and a fault relay output. The network should also be kept separate from other network traffic
7. Devices with appropriate Ingress Protection (IP) ratings that can be easily swapped out by maintenance staff
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