VoIP Defined - An A-Z of VoIPS- VoIP Defined SBC (Session Border Controller) - An SBC is a piece of equipment used within a VoIP network used to exert control over the signaling and media streams involved in setting up, maintaining, and terminating a call. Without an SBC, the media traffic travels directly between the VoIP phones. The key use is that the owner of the network can control the type of media that passes through their network, and therefore overcome some of the problems caused by firewalls which will automatically block VoIP calls. Signaling – in telecommunications, signaling refers to everything EXCEPT the transfer of user information. In this case, it includes the set up and management of a call, as well as the control of the network. DTMF is an example of signaling within the PSTN, where the signaling uses the same channel that the telephone call itself uses. SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) - A protocol designed to initiate, maintain and terminate a session involving multimedia streams such as voice, data and video. All SIP messages are either a request or a response to a request. More on SIP Soft-Switch - A soft-switch sits at the edge of a network and connects phone calls from one line to another. It serves a similar function to a traditional voice switch – however, the key difference is that a soft-switch itself is not physical hardware, but actually software running on a central computer. Soft-switch units sold nowadays may also contain hardware capable of doing the job of the Media Gateway, ie. To convert data from one network format into another. STP – Signal Transfer Point - This is a type of switch that relays SS7 messages to the appropriate outgoing signaling link. They are set up in pairs to ensure reliability. T- VoIP Defined TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) – this is the means by which many different signals can be carried on the same transmission path by interleaving these portions of signals over time. This means that circuit switched networks can be used more efficiently. This technology is used on traditional networks such as the PSTN and GSM mobile networks. The main difference to packet switching is that the time slots are pre-allocated to the channels rather than being allocated on a per-time slot basis. Transcoding - This is the direct conversion from one CoDec to another. It involves decoding and decompressing the data to its original format, and then re-coding it to be sent on. U- VoIP Defined URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - This not only identifies the appropriate resource (in this case the location of the web address) but also provides a means of locating it. V- VoIP Defined VoIP - Voice Over IP is the technology that provides the capability to break voice streams down into small pieces, group them together in an IP Packet, and then send them over an IP network to the far end caller. VPN (Virtual Private Network) - is a private network used within a company, that sits on a publicly accessible network. Given its nature, the VPN is a secure network which can assure confidential communication. W- VoIP Defined WAN (Wide Area Network) – this is simply a wide network of machines covering a large geographical area. The best example of a WAN in its extreme form is the Internet. WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) - is the description used to describe the technology of wireless local area networks. It was originally intended to be used just for local computer networking, but nowadays, anybody with a wireless router can connect their network locally without requiring numerous leads and connections. It is also possible to use another wireless network and temporarily ‘join’ this network in order to gain access to the internet and other media. Click here for detailed article on WiFi. WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) - rather than being a technology, WiMax is a certification mark used for stamping approval on technology that delivers ‘the last mile of wireless broadband access instead of cable or DSL’. WiMax is gradually being established as a powerful concept, in that it can offer local access over a fairly wide diameter (up to 70 miles), which inevitably offers a lot of opportunity to service providers who do not own or find it uncompetitive to access the local loop. X-Y-Z- VoIP Defined Navigate From VoIP Defined to Home Page
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