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Contents Introduction VoIP Devices Standards and Protocols Customer VoIP Issues MOREnet Network Architecture Conclusion Additional Resources Notes Printer Friendly Version VoIP: Technical Issues (PDF file; 96 KB) Get Acrobat Reader

Voice over IP: Technical Issues

Introduction

As organizations look to deploy Voice over IP (VoIP) in their networks or to take advantage of VoIP offerings from carriers, there are a number of issues that they face. The network must be capable of transporting the VoIP packets correctly, and the devices must use compatible standards. These issues also exist in the service provider network, albeit in a slightly different fashion. MOREnet, as the service provider, must ensure that VoIP packets are carried across the MOREnet network correctly to enable MOREnet's customers to use VoIP technologies.

Organizations see VoIP as many things: a PBX replacement, free long distance, a "natural" blending of voice and data, a cost-saving (or cutting) technology, and more. The value of VoIP technology will vary with each customer site. Issues such as the state of the existing network or PBX as well as the amount of long-distance calling that occurs (IntraLATA as well as InterLATA) will affect VoIP value at an organizational level. Therefore, each site must individually evaluate the cost-effectiveness of VoIP technologies.

The use of VoIP technologies by customers, and the resulting network design issues, are different than the design issues MOREnet faces. The first part of this paper will discuss the devices, protocols, and standards used by VoIP technology vendors, which affect both the customer and MOREnet. The second part will discuss issues relating to VoIP design on a customer network. The third part will focus on the MOREnet network.