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VoIP and Unified Communications: Internet Telephony and the Future Voice Network

VoIP and Unified Communications: Internet Telephony and the Future Voice Network

by William A. Flanagan
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Release Date: March 2012
ISBN: 9781118019214
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Book Description

Translates technical jargon into practical business communications solutions

This book takes readers from traditional voice, fax, video, and data services delivered via separate platforms to a single, unified platform delivering all of these services seamlessly via the Internet. With its clear, jargon-free explanations, the author enables all readers to better understand and assess the growing number of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and unified communications (UC) products and services that are available for businesses.

VoIP and Unified Communications is based on the author's careful review and synthesis of more than 7,000 pages of published standards as well as a broad range of datasheets, websites, white papers, and webinars. It begins with an introduction to IP technology and then covers such topics as:

  • Packet transmission and switching

  • VoIP signaling and call processing

  • How VoIP and UC are defining the future

  • Interconnections with global services

  • Network management for VoIP and UC

This book features a complete chapter dedicated to cost analyses and payback calculations, enabling readers to accurately determine the short- and long-term financial impact of migrating to various VoIP and UC products and services. There's also a chapter detailing major IP systems hardware and software. Throughout the book, diagrams illustrate how various VoIP and UC components and systems work. In addition, the author highlights potential problems and threats to UC services, steering readers away from common pitfalls.

Concise and to the point, this text enables readers—from novices to experienced engineers and technical managers—to understand how VoIP and UC really work so that everyone can confidently deal with network engineers, data center gurus, and top management.

Table of Contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. CONTENTS
  6. PREFACE
  7. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  8. Chapter 1: IP TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTS VOICE TELEPHONY
    1. 1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE PUBLIC SWITCHED TELEPHONE NETWORK
    2. 1.2 THE DIGITAL PSTN
    3. 1.3 THE PACKET REVOLUTION IN TELEPHONY
  9. Chapter 2: TRADITIONAL TELEPHONES STILL SET EXPECTATIONS
    1. 2.1 AVAILABILITY: HOW THE BELL SYSTEM ENSURED SERVICE
    2. 2.2 CALL COMPLETION
    3. 2.3 SOUND QUALITY: ENCODING FOR RECOGNIZABLE VOICES
    4. 2.4 LOW LATENCY
    5. 2.5 CALL SETUP DELAYS
    6. 2.6 IMPAIRMENTS CONTROLLED: ECHO, SINGING, DISTORTION, NOISE
  10. Chapter 3: FROM CIRCUITS TO PACKETS
    1. 3.1 DATA AND SIGNALING PRECEDED VOICE
    2. 3.2 PUTTING VOICE INTO PACKETS
  11. Chapter 4: PACKET TRANSMISSION AND SWITCHING
    1. 4.1 THE PHYSICAL LAYER: TRANSMISSION
    2. 4.2 DATA LINK PROTOCOLS
    3. 4.3 IP, THE NETWORK PROTOCOL
    4. 4.4 LAYER 4 TRANSPORT PROTOCOLS
    5. 4.5 HIGHER LAYER PROCESSES
    6. 4.6 SAVING BANDWIDTH
    7. 4.7 DIFFERENCES: CIRCUIT VERSUS PACKET SWITCHED
  12. Chapter 5: VoIP SIGNALING AND CALL PROCESSING
    1. 5.1 WHAT PACKET VOICE AND UC SYSTEMS SHARE
    2. 5.2 SESSION INITIATION PROTOCOL (SIP)
    3. 5.3 SESSION DESCRIPTION PROTOCOL
    4. 5.4 MEDIA GATEWAY CONTROL PROTOCOL
    5. 5.5 H.323
    6. 5.6 DIRECTORY SERVICES
  13. Chapter 6: VoIP AND UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS DEFINE THE FUTURE
    1. 6.1 VOICE AS BEFORE, WITH ADDITIONS
    2. 6.2 LEGACY SERVICES TO KEEP AND IMPROVE WITH VoIP
    3. 6.3 FACSIMILE TRANSMISSION
    4. 6.4 PHONE FEATURES ADDED WITH VoIP/UC
  14. Chapter 7: HOW VoIP AND UC IMPACT THE NETWORK
    1. 7.1 SPACE, POWER, AND COOLING
    2. 7.2 PRIORITY FOR VOICE, VIDEO, FAX PACKETS
    3. 7.3 PACKETS PER SECOND
    4. 7.4 BANDWIDTH
    5. 7.5 SECURITY ISSUES
    6. 7.6 FIRST MIGRATION STEPS WHILE KEEPING LEGACY EQUIPMENT
  15. Chapter 8: INTERCONNECTIONS TO GLOBAL SERVICES
    1. 8.1 MEDIA GATEWAYS
    2. 8.2 SIP TRUNKING
    3. 8.3 OPERATING VoIP ACROSS NETWORK ADDRESS TRANSLATION
    4. 8.4 SESSION BORDER CONTROLLER
    5. 8.5 SUPPORTING MULTIPLE-CARRIER CONNECTIONS
    6. 8.6 MOBILITY AND WIRELESS ACCESS
  16. Chapter 9: NETWORK MANAGEMENT FOR VoIP AND UC
    1. 9.1 STARTING RIGHT
    2. 9.2 CONTINUOUS MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT
    3. 9.3 TROUBLESHOOTING AND REPAIR
  17. Chapter 10: COST ANALYSIS AND PAYBACK CALCULATION
  18. Chapter 11: EXAMPLES OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE
    1. 11.1 IP PHONES
    2. 11.2 GATEWAYS
    3. 11.3 SESSION BORDER CONTROLLERS
    4. 11.4 CALL-SWITCHING SERVERS
    5. 11.5 HOSTED VoIP/UC SERVICE
    6. 11.6 MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS/WORKSTATIONS
  19. Chapter 12: APPENDIXES
    1. 12.1 ACRONYMS AND DEFINITIONS
    2. 12.2 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS
    3. 12.3 MESSAGE AND ERROR CODES
  20. INDEX