What is a Gatekeeper and what does it do?

Client Identification and Registration

H.323 clients have three forms of identification: IP address, user alias, and E.164 address. A Gatekeeper provides a common point of registration for all H.323 clients and tracks each client's identifications.

Single Connection

Clients that are registered to a gatekeeper can connect to each other by dialing any one of the three forms of identification. Clients that are not registered to a gatekeeper can only connect to each other by dialing an IP address.

Gatekeepers also provide:

• Bandwidth management - enables H.323 clients to control network usage of video traffic

• Admission control - allows H.323 clients to connect to MCUs and Gateways

• Error logging - for diagnostics