VOICE OVER INTERNET PROTOCOL - VOIP :

INTRODUCTION

At this point, most people have probably heard of VoIP, and many may
have used it, but they may not fully understand the basics of this rapidly
expanding technology. This Tech Tip will take a look at some of the basic
features, modes of operation, and other background information on one of
the latest ways technology can be used to connect people.

The acronym VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, and the basic
concept of the term can be fairly well understood by just looking at the
words that make up the acronym. For a more complete definition, VoIP can
be described as a means of converting analog audio signals (your voice) into digital data that can be
transferred over the Internet.

Getting Set up

When many people think of VoIP, they instantly think of services like Vonage orPacket8 that are in
business to become your full feature telephony solution. In fact, these companies usually use terms
such as “Broadband Phone Service” to refer to their full range of products. Although these
companies do offer VoIP services, the term can be used to describe something much simpler than a
full-fledged telephony service.
Taking a look at the basic definition again, we can see that we only need to be able to capture the
audio and transmit it digitally in order to have VoIP. This can be done without subscribing to a
service and without a specialized telephone or other equipment. Basic VoIP can be accomplished by
an internet connected PC with a soundcard sporting a microphone and speakers. Keeping that in
mind, let’s look at the three basic ways people implement VoIP.
The first way to implement VoIP is the PC to PC version of VoIP as
described in the previous paragraph. With a fairly typical computer
connected to broadband internet, and some kind of software for
managing the communications, anyone can be up and running with a
basic version of VoIP that may be totally free. Such software is available
as a free download, andSkype is one of the more popular applications in
use. Skype allows members to make free PC to PC calls regardless of
distance and, for an extra fee, they can send/receive calls from standard
telephones. As mentioned, you only need a PC with a soundcard,
amicrophone and a decent set of speakers, but there are also
specialized USBVoIP telephones that make it even more convenient.
Using a USB VoIP phone not only makes the communication seem a bit
more traditional, but it also frees up the soundcard for typical audio applications (MP3s, games, etc),
while the phone's circuitry handles all audio processing for phone calls.
The second way is by using an ATA, or Analog Telephone Adaptor (such as this
one from Cisco, which may be the most common form of VoIP in use today. With
an ATA, a standard telephone can be plugged into the adaptor just as you would
plug it into a phone jack in the wall. The ATA is then connected to your network, or
directly to your broadband internet gateway, in order to convert the analog audio
into digital data for transmission over the internet. Vonage and other similar services use ATAs to
implement VoIP, as it is a simple approach for people with existing phone equipment that they would
like to continue using. In addition, it can allow for a home pre-wired for multiple phone jacks to
continue operating as is, with the only new piece of hardware required being the ATA.

The third way to implement VoIP is via IP phones. An IP Phone may appear to be much like your
standard telephone, with the only physical difference being that the (RJ-11) phone jack has been
replaced by an (RJ-45) Ethernet connector. Internally, there will be some
differences in the circuitry in order to allow the conversion from analog to digital
to happen right in the phone. An IP phone is then connected directly to your
network or broadband internet gateway, with no adaptor required.Packet8 is
one service that offers IP phones to their customers, in addition to the more
typical ATA VoIP service. The downside to IP phones is that the
implementation requires all new telephones designed solely for use with VoIP.
Any existing analog equipment can not be used.

Data Transmissions

Your standard phone line uses the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network – also sometimes
called POTS (for Plain Old Telephone Service) for connecting the parties involved in a phone call.
Although this system is reliable, it is not very efficient, and considering it has been operating under
the same basic principles since the invention of the telephone, it might be surprising to realize we
have such an antiquated system. A call made on this system is referred
to as “circuit switched”, sincethe two parties are constantly connected
throughout the duration of the call like a circuit. A VoIP call doesn’t use
the PSTN, and it does not keep the two parties connected throughout the
conversation. A VoIP conversation is referred to as “packet switched”, as
the data is transmitted in packets (or smaller chunks) and the connection
is made only as these chunks of data need to be transmitted. One benefit
of this method is that packet switching lets the data travel from caller to
caller over the most efficient path on the Internet, and not over one
dedicated line. Additionally, because there isn’t a dedicated connection
for the conversation, bandwidth is conserved, and more phone calls can
be placed in the space typically required by one PSTN call. Even greater
efficiency can be achieved through VoIP’s use of data compression,
which is equivalent to Zipping-up the data before transmitting (and
unzipping it at the other end).

VoIP Protocols

Just as with most other means of communicating data over the Internet, there are a few VOIP
protocols that have been developed by various groups and companies. Some of the current
protocols include SIP, IAX, H.323,MEGACO, and MGCP. Let’s look at some details of the first three,
as they may be the ones you are most likely to encounter. SIP, or Session Initiation Protocol, is the
most commonly used VoIP protocol and was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF). One issue with SIP is that it is not particularly NAT (Network Address Translation) friendly.
NAT is what allows a local area network to manage one set of IP addresses for internal
communications, and a second set of IP addresses for external communications.IAX, or Inter-
Asterisk eXchange, is another VoIP protocol that is used with free Asterisk software for managing a
PBX (Private Branch eXchange). IAX (or more recently IAX2) deals better with NAT than SIP, but its
implementation is limited to Asterisk servers only. A PBX is private phone network used within an
organization that can connect all internal lines to each other, as well as using a central access point
for connecting to any outside line. H.323 was originally developed by the International
Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) for use with
multimedia conferencing over local area networks (LANs), and was later applied to VoIP
applications. This is an older protocol that isn’t commonly used.

Benefits

VoIP offers many benefits over traditional telephone

service, which has it poised to become the phone
system of the near future. Many traditional long
distance carriers actually use VoIP themselves, as
it makes routing long distance calls more
convenient than over traditional lines. So, even if
you don’t subscribe to a VoIP service personally, it
is likely that you have already used it, whether you
know it or not.
One of the main benefits of VoIP is the flexibility.
You can take your phone, and your same phone
number, with you anywhere in the world where a
broadband internet connection is available. This can be extremely useful for business travelers who
cannot count on their mobile phone to work internationally, and appreciate the presence of a
dedicated phone number to use for staying in contact with associates/clients. This flexibility is made
easier through the use of a PC-based or IP-based telephone, but even a typical ATA can be packed
up and stored in a brief case.

Another key benefit is the price. Taking a look at the offerings from services
like Vonage or Packet8 shows that the traditional phone company may not be able to compete. In
addition to offering local and long distance for lower rates, they also bundle in all the extra calling
features that people have grown to rely on (such as caller ID, call waiting, three-way calling, etc).

VoIP also allows some more advanced features not available with your typical land line. Many
services offer the ability to check voice mail via the web, or to even have voice messages sent to
you as an attachment in an e-mail. The service’s web interface may also allow for a detailed calling
log to be reviewed, for customized messages that can be applied to certain callers, and for special
call forwarding settings to be applied.

Source : http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2005/techtips-AUG25-05.htm