Monthly Archives: July 2013
A Guide to Implementing SIP Trunks
Over the past few weeks I’ve written several articles on SIP trunks. I laid out the basics in Introducing SIP Trunks and took it a little further in Choosing a SIP Trunk Provider. I’ve also written extensively about Session Border Controllers which go hand-in-hand with any SIP trunk implementation. A week or so ago I […]
Cloud Communications
Who among us doesn’t use cloud services every single day of his or her life? I no longer download music to my iPhone. Why should I when I can hear just about everything I want from Pandora, Spotify, or Amazon Cloud Player? I’ve been using cloud-based email since the 1990’s. I am an amateur photographer […]
The Road to SIP
My job is to work with enterprises around the country as they make their journey to SIP. Some are doing little more than dipping their toes in the water, while others have plans to change nearly every aspect of their communications system. The following six steps are my thoughts on how an enterprise should plan […]
Avaya Aura Sequenced Applications
At the core of SIP is its ability to support media of different types. This is a significant improvement over previous VoIP protocols like H.323 which only support voice and video for its media streams. SIP doesn’t care if you are creating a voice call between two telephones, publishing a presence update, engaging in a […]
An Interview with an Andrew — Top Trends in Communications
This morning I was interviewed by a representative of the International Avaya Users Group (IAUG) as part of an effort to review and identify opportunities for improving their educational offerings. As someone who has spoken at many of their conferences and presented even more topics at their regional and chapter gatherings, I go back a […]
If it Ain’t Broke…
Sometimes the best choice is to do nothing. This is true for life in general and it’s also true for SIP. While the big picture benefits of SIP are substantial, there are times when it’s not the best fit for your particular needs. This blog will explore a few of the most important areas where […]
No Shirt, No Shoes, No Quality of Service
You wouldn’t spend $300,000 on a Ferrari and then drive it to Discount Tires for the cheapest tires you could find, would you? I thought not. Aesthetics aside, the wrong set of tires would diminish the entire driving experience and lessen the value of your significant cash outlay. The same holds for your communications system. […]
Living (and Working) the Good Life with SIP
Please don’t tell my boss, but I woke up really early this morning and drove to my lake cabin. I didn’t take a vacation day, but I am not playing hooky. I started working minutes after pulling into the driveway and setting up my PC. A lot of my time has been spent working on […]
Move it on Over — SIP Redirection
A few weeks back I wrote about my favorite SIP request message. It should come as no surprise that I also have a favorite SIP response. Actually, it’s two responses, but since they essentially do the same thing, I’ll count them as one. Before I tell you what it is, I want to remind you […]
Andrew’s Session Border Controller Checklist
A Session Border Controller (SBC) is an integral part of any SIP solution that has a public edge. It might be easiest to think of it as a firewall for SIP, but it’s so much more than that. An SBC can perform Network Address Translation (NAT) between an enterprise’s private to public IP space (and […]
Tao, Zen, and Tomorrow 