How you connect to the internet will impact your VoIP phone system
Because SIP trunks leverage the WAN technology used to connect to the internet, it is imperative to understand how the choice of WAN technology will impact the functionality of the SIP trunk. There are different ways to connect to the internet, and each has implications for voice traffic.
In this article, we discuss the main considerations to take into account when choosing between MPLS, metro Ethernet, LTE and SD-WAN.
Topics: Business Telephone System, VoIP, SIP, Network Design
Review of the EdgeMarc 2900a and 2900e Enterprise Session Border Controllers
Update: Since this article was published, in 2018, Edgewater Networks was acquired by Ribbon Communications.
Edgewater Networks has added to its line of enterprise session border controllers (eSBCs) with its EdgeMarc 2900A and 2900E models. These are designed to enable enterprises and service providers to future-proof their SIP trunking and Unified Communications (UC) deployments. With built-in mechanisms for both QoS and security, they provide intelligent mechanisms allowing for both hosted PBX services as well as SIP trunking applications.
They have several features that differ from other EdgeMarc SBCs.
Topics: QoS, VoIP, SIP, Peripherals, Network Security, Network Design, Product Review
An SD-WAN can be up to 2.5 times less expensive than traditional WAN architecture.
One of the most challenging situations for networking professionals over the years has been how to interconnect remote sites and branch offices so users at all locations can enjoy the same quality of network and telephony services in a secure and timely manner. One way to do this is to duplicate all services at each location. However, this can become administratively unwieldly, not to mention prohibitively expensive.
The solution is the use of wide area networks (WANs), where centralized services like voice and data reside at headquarters and can be provided to the remote users as if they were all physically located inside the headquarters’ LAN (local area network). In this article, we look at the different ways to deploy WAN, as well as the problems solved and business benefits to be gained by using software-defined WANs (SD-WANs).
Topics: QoS, Total Voice Solution, Trends, Network Design, Cloud
It seems like everyone is talking about digital transformation these days. Technology is changing the way business is done at a mind-boggling pace, and making sure their companies are able to adapt to this change is a top priority for today’s business leaders – 81% of CEOs said keeping up with new technologies was their chief concern in a recent KPMG survey.
As a telephony dealer, you can help your customers on their digital transformation journey by intelligently leveraging their VoIP telephone system. And the good news is, it’s easier than many people think.
Topics: Customer Service, IP PBX, Business Telephone System, VoIP, Total Voice Solution, Software Integration, Trends, Network Design, Cloud
Quantum-leap technology advancements will enable on-demand services anytime, anywhere, with ubiquitous connectivity.
by Laureen R. Cook, Principal Telecoms, Media and Technology Advisor, IFC (World Bank)
Nordic Mobile Telephony (NMT) was introduced as the first 1G system in the Scandinavian countries in 1982. 2G was commercially deployed in 1992 and 3G launched commercially in 2001, allowing mobile data as a mainstream service. 4G has been deployed since 2012, and is still being deployed around the world in developing markets, and 5G is on the horizon for the early- to mid-2020s. On average, we deploy a new generation of mobile communications every 10 years. In 25 years’ time, we will have deployed 7G and be well underway with design of the specifications for 8G, where wireless high-definition video streaming and virtual reality are part of the everyday norm. We will have transformed ourselves from the Digital Era of the 1990s to 2020, to the Digital Era of Automation from 2020 and beyond, which will be an all-immersive, high-definition user experience, taking us seamlessly from Gigabytes GB = 109 of data to Zettabytes ZB = 1021.
Topics: Wireless, Business Telephone System, Trends, Mobility (including remote work), Network Security, Mobile, Network Design
Voice over IP networks can be challenging to implement efficiently and securely. This is in part because voice packets require specialized management and must be treated differently than normal data packets. Quality of Service (QoS), security and flow control are just some areas in which the required handling of voice traffic differs from conventional data traffic.
The good thing is that with the proper expertise and care, many of these issues can be successfully dealt with within the corporate network. Such networks are under the complete control of the network administration team and thus can be fully customized for the needs of the voice being transmitted.
However, what happens when voice packets are routed beyond the corporate network, either for voice calls to the PSTN or mobile network, or for employees who use internal voice network services remotely? Here we look at various network edge mechanisms that can be used to monitor and manage data traveling in and out of the LAN.
Topics: QoS, VoIP, Total Voice Solution, Trends, Network Security, Network Design
