Systems and methods for monitoring, making, managing and controlling
telephone communications with a computer call assistant with an
integrated voice/data communications system are disclosed. A call
assistant computer application preferably runs on a personal computer
("PC") coupled to the integrated system over a packet bus. The call
assistant exchanges control and/or status packets with the integrated
system preferably over a packet bus. The call assistant enables the user
to make, receive and control telephone calls, monitor the status of the
user's extension, voice mail, etc., and preferably operates with
integrated systems capable of transmitting and receiving voice and data
in multiple modes. In preferred embodiments, the computer call assistant
operates with systems that are capable of multiple native mode voice and
data transmissions and receptions with a communications system having a
multi-bus structure, including, for example, a time division multiplexed
("TDM") bus, a packet bus, and a control bus, and multi-protocol framing
engines, preferably including subsystem functions such as PBX, voice
mail, file server, web server, communications server, telephony server,
LAN hub and data router.