VoIP 101
Author: Christine Hancock

The buzz for this new phone system technology is reaching a
fever pitch yet, many people still have limited knowledge.
There are many terms that you need to understand when searching
for a VoIP provider so that you may take advantage of this low
cost technology. I am going to list them here.

AS - A group of networks under mutual administration that share
the same routing methodology. An AS uses an internal gateway
protocol and common metrics to route Packets within the AS, and
uses an external gateway protocol to route packets to other AS.

ASP (Application Service Provider)
An independent, third-party provider of software-based services
delivered to customers across a wide area network (WAN).

ATA – Analog Telephone Adapter A device that connects between
an analog telephone and an Internet connection port, and allows
you to use a standard phone to make and receive VoIP calls over
the Internet.

Average Hold Time - The average length of time between the
moment a caller finishes dialing and the moment the call is
answered or terminated

Bandwidth The maximum data carrying capacity of a transmission
link. For networks, bandwidth is usually expressed in bits per
second (bps).

Broadband
Descriptive term for evolving digital technology that provides
consumers a single switch facility offering integrated access
to voice, high-speed data service, video demand services, and
interactive delivery services.

Codec - Short for coder/decoder, a piece of hardware or
software that automatically encodes/compresses and
decodes/decompresses voice signal data packets. A codec is used
to minimize bandwith usage while preserving voice quality.
Although many proprietary compression schemes exist, VoIP
networks typically incorporate at least one of several
standardized audio CODECs for the sake of interoperability.

Compression
compression is used at anywhere from 1:1 to 12:1 ratios in VOIP
applications to consume less bandwidth and leave more for data
or other voice/fax communications. The voice quality may
decrease with increased compression ratios.

Find-me/Follow-me Lying at the heart of the "unified messaging"
or "ubiquitous communication" concept, Find me/Follow me is a
feature that routes incoming calls to a user no matter where he
or she roams or what type of device is being used (home,
business or mobile phone). This "presence" feature, which rings
multiple phones simultaneously, is offered by many IP PBXs and
some hosted services. The feature is typically activated by
pressing a softkey.


Firewall
A system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a
private network. Firewalls can be implemented as hardware,
software, or a combination of both. All messages entering or
leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines
each message and blocks those that do not meet the security
criteria specified on the firewall.

FXO - Foreign Exchange Office. A device that connects with a
Central Office (CO) or PSTN analog line.

FXS - Foreign Exchange Station. A device that connects with an
"end-user" device such as a telephone or fax machine.

Gatekeeper - The central control entity that performs
management functions in a Voice and Fax over IP network and for
multimedia applications such as video conferencing. Gatekeepers
provide intelligence for the network, including address
resolution, authorization, and authentication services, the
logging of Call Detail Records, and communications with network
management systems.

Gatekeepers control bandwidth, provide interfaces to existing
legacy systems, and monitor the network for engineering
purposes as well as for real-time network management and load
balancing, .
Internet Telephony – Any method of transmitting voice over the
internet. A multimedia PC with special client software will
digitalize your voice.

IP PBX - IP Private Branch Exchange. A business phone system
that offers advanced phone services between VoIP and PSTN
networks, such as music-on-hold, automatic call-routing,
voicemail, and call transfer.

IP phone - also called an Internet phone or broadband phone. An
IP phone plugs into a broadband Internet connection to make and
receive VoIP calls over the Internet.

Packet – A logically grouped unit of data. These packets of
data are distributed over the internet, and then are
de-constructed to voice when they reach their destination.

PSTN - Public-Switched Telephone Network, is the commonly-known
telephone network. PSTN is a circuit-switched network.

PSTN Failover - an optional port on an IP phone or ATA device
that connects to the PSTN network in case your Internet
connection or electrical power goes down. This configuration
requires you to have a regular telephone line and service.

Route - A set of parameters predefined by Voip provider to
facilitate routing of traffic between the Gateways/Gatekeepers
controlled by a Voip provider Member either via ownership or
via a partnership with the owner. Along with specifying other
parameters, a Voip provider Member using the Gatekeeping
Service assigns to a Route values specifying the details of
both originating and terminating Gateways/Gatekeepers.

SIP - Session Initiation Protocol. One of the newer, more
common signaling protocols used for VoIP.

Softphone - a "software" phone on a PC that can send and
receive calls over the Internet.

VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol, which is a technology that
allows you to make and receive phone calls and faxes over the
Internet instead of through the telephone or cellular network.

VoIP Gateway - device that converts analog voice signals to
digital IP packets for communication over an Ethernet (LAN or
WAN) network.

VSP - VoIP Service Provider

In order to use VoIP, both sender and receiver need to have a
broadband connection. This is a high-speed Internet connection
usually provided by cable or a DSL modem. Broadband modems are
usually used to connect computers to the Internet, but in the
case of VoIP, computers are not necessary, because now there
are telephones that connect directly.


About The Author: Christine is the owner of
http://onlinevoipinfo.com/ which deals specifically with PC to
Phone and PC to PC VoIP. The site includes a comprehensive
information on VoIP.