A VoIP gateway can be loosely defined as a mechanism that takes circuit-switched voice from a traditional PBX, converts it to IP and transfers it across a LAN or WAN to another gateway where it is reconstituted back into a format that is understood by the receiving phone system.
Gateway functionality can be obtained through stand-alone boxes, modules or chassis cards for proprietary boxes; also expandable routers or software and expansion cards for Windows NT servers.
One of the front-runners in VoIP, Cisco is taking a modular approach with a voice-over-IP card that fits its routers. Cisco says all of its products can easily be equipped for voice and that voice packets can be guaranteed via quality-of-service (QoS) policy implementation on a Cisco-switched network.
Lucent, Nortel Networks and Siemens offer similar strategies for providing VoIP gateway capabilities in some form or another.
While gateways are the most popular VoIP products on the market -- available from at least 30 vendors -- the key point here is that you have voice packets running over IP. However, the packets are not running on the Internet, and you're not gaining any of the features and capabilities you get by converging voice and data networks.
You can find a list of gateway vendors Here
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by KeysCapt  edited by Macy
last modified: 2006-09-06 11:50:29 |
