Switching to VoIP

This is the Title of the Book, eMatter Edition

Copyright © 2007 O’Reilly & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.

VoIP Service Providers

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TFTP Servers and Tools

TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol) is the means by which IP phones obtain firm-

ware loads and, sometimes, their operating configurations. This basic, insecure file-

transfer system allows you to store a repository of VoIP-related files—like SIP phone

config files, firmware patches, XML user directory files, and ring tones—in a central

place. Your DHCP server can tell IP phones the IP address of the TFTP server so they

can download the files they need.

Linux, FreeBSD, and Mac OS X have the common TFTP server tftpd. A fantastic GUI

add-on for the OS X version of tftpd is TFTPServer, which you can download from

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/18561.

Windows users with Cisco CCO accounts can download a good TFTP server from

http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/tftp, while other Windows users can get a

shareware one from http://www.tftp-server.com.

VoIP Service Providers

Service providers sell dial-tone or call-origination applications, bulk voice trunking,

or wholesale interexchange signaling. Some provide all three.

Dial-Tone and Call Origination

Companies that offer dial-tone service or call origination are often called telephone

service providers. Next-generation TSPs are using broadband Internet links to

replace ...