When we talk about the KX-TDA100 or KX-TDA200, it’s usually a thought that they were the same product, i.e. KX-TDA100/200. The reason for this is that they share the same feature list and same compliment of cards. What is different, is the "number of cards" that can be installed in each cabinet and usually the size of the power supply. The KX-TDA100 has 6 card slots while the KX-TDA200 has 11 slots. Either of these products are perfect choices for those who are planning for growth but do not now exactly how much growth. Someone outgrowing a KX-TDA100 can simply upgrade the chassis to a KX-TDA200 and continue to use all of the original expansion cards. Neither the KX-TDA100 or the KX-TDA200 use expansion cabinets so when these cabinets are full, they’re full. So if you know in advance that the KX-TDA200 will be too tight, then the KX-TDA600 is a much better choice since it is basically a KX-TDA200 with expansion cabinets.
When the KX-TDA100 made its debut it was described as being a PBX of approximately 100 ports. However, the later software releases allow for DXDP, which can double the station capacity. DXDP stands for Digital eXtra Device Port. Translate that into English and you have the ability to plug one Digital Telephone into the back of another Digital Telephone and create two totally separate extensions. This feature is huge where you have clusters of employees working as teams or in cubicles. It saves on wiring costs and on PBX hardware.
The KX-TDA100 is well suited for small estates, medium size businesses, hotels, and luxury motor yachts. The PBX supports several trunking options including conventional analog phones service (POTS), ISDN-PRI, T1 and H.323 IP Gateway Service.
VoIP Phones and VoIP Gateways require physically adding option cards. This fact keeps the price of the KX-TDA100/200/600 systems low because you can upgrade to the options later if needed.
The station capacity of a KX-TDA100 is 96 (192 using DXDP and a Memory Expansion Card). It is important to note that even though these maximum station capacities could be reached, it is highly unlikely that it would be done in a real world application because this would mean that there would be little room for outside lines (trunks). For instance, in order to reach 96 stations in a KX-TDA100, it would require installing six (6) 16-circuit highest density station cards (6x16=96). Since there are only six (6) total slots in a KX-TDA100, there would be no room for outside lines (trunks). You would essentially end up with one very large intercom. A more realistic configuration would be to back one of those cards out and install trunk card in its place. So five (5) 16-circuit, high-density station cards (5x80) with one (1) T1 card (for instance) would yield a "station heavy" configuration of 24 x 80 (or 160 using DXDP).
The maximum number of phone lines (trunks) from a dial tone provider is 96.
There are two ways of reaching 96 phone lines. One is to use all POTS (analog) service. You would reach 96 by using six (6), 16-port analog trunk cards (6x16=96). The other way is to use four (4), 24-channel digital T1 trunk cards (4x24=96). You can of course use other technologies besides POTS and T1. For instance, you can use up to four (4), 16-prt H.323 IP trunk gateway cards (4x16=64) or up to four (4), 23-channel ISDN-PRI cards (4x23=92) or up to four (4), 24-channel T1 cards (4x24=96). You can also mix trunk technologies but the maximum number of trunks cannot exceed 96. If you need more than this, you should be looking at the larger KX-TDA200 or the even larger KX-TDA600.
In summation, the KX-TDA100 is a very good choice for most small estates or medium size businesses since it offers an upgrade path to the larger systems such as the KX-TDA200 or KX-TDA600.
The KX-TDA100 might not be the best choice if you plan to implement IP features immediately. Instead, the KX-TDE100 system should be considered because VoIP Extensions, VoIP Gateways and SIP Trunking are already built into the processor. Activating these resources is as easy as plugging in an inexpensive DSP (Digital Speech Processor) card and purchasing a one-time license. IP on the KX-TDE Series PBX systems is easier and less expensive than on the KX-TDA Series.
The KX-TDA100 and the KX-TDE100 may be upgraded to the larger KX-TDA200 or KX-TDE200. Or ... for even greater growth spurts, the KX-TDA100 or KX-TDE100 can be upgraded directly to the KX-TDA600 or KX-TDE600 since most of the circuit cards are interchangeable.
