If you are a voice network engineer, then it has probably happened to you. Your SIP server is all set up and you have plugged in your IP phone. Its lights come on, its screen is activated, you see the loading icon rotating, and then… nothing. For some reason, the phone will not register.

IP phone registration issues are, unfortunately, not uncommon. In this article, we examine the most common causes of registration failures, and best practices for troubleshooting and resolving them.

Wouldn’t it be great to have superhero X-ray vision that allows you to understand, in a single glance, what is going on with the voice traffic on your network? In fact, it is possible to do so using the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). In this article, we take a look at this protocol and highlight the special features it has up its sleeve to help you with your VoIP monitoring needs.

Part 2 of 2

When it comes to VoIP signaling, SIP is by far the most widely-used protocol. But, there are other protocols, as well, and being familiar with them is helpful when establishing interoperability between systems or deploying specialized installations. In this article, we’ll discuss the H.323 protocol suite and the media gateway control protocol (MGCP), and look at applications for which they are best suited.