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Network Design

VoIP QoS in practice: About Network Congestion

October 26, 2011

My previous two articles explored QoS tagging of voice data packets using ToS/DiffServ values and of Ethernet frames using CoS or Priority values. QoS is often advocated as an essential part of any self-respecting VoIP solution and there is no doubt it can make a big difference in the right circumstances. However, it would be [...]

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VoIP QoS Settings – part 1

June 17, 2011

The QoS settings on VoIP phones and related equipment can be perplexing. Here, I will attempt to explain what parameters like CoS, ToS, DiffServ and DSCP really mean and offer practical suggestions for the values that should be assigned to them. What is QoS? QoS (Quality of Service) is a somewhat all-encompassing term and means [...]

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Clustering OpenSIPS for High Availability – Part 3

December 8, 2010

In this, part 3, we examine how a virtual IP address can be switched between two Linux servers to provide an active/standby failover and how this impacts on OpenSIPS. Part 2 investigated the implications for far-end NAT traversal of clustering two OpenSIPS servers and concluded that the best solution is the use of a virtual IP address. [...]

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Clustering OpenSIPS for High Availability – Part 2

November 23, 2010

In this, part 2, we investigate the implications of using more than one IP address on an OpenSIPS server and how this impacts on far-end NAT traversal. We will also see how the use of a virtual IP address can overcome these problems when clustering two OpenSIPS servers. Part 1 reviewed why we might want [...]

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Clustering OpenSIPS for High Availability – Part 1

November 16, 2010

Why cluster OpenSIPS? Unlike Asterisk, a typical OpenSIPS server is able to handle a very large number of simultaneous SIP calls. It is generally very reliable and will keep running for many months, or even years, with little or no attention. As a consequence, it is the preferred choice for many VoIP service providers who [...]

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Asterisk behind NAT

August 23, 2010

Scenarios in which NAT may adversely affect Asterisk SIP connections The Asterisk Server is behind NAT The Asterisk server could be on the LAN (or in a DMZ) with a NAT firewall between it and the Internet. When it communicates with external peers or devices, the network connections have to pass through the local NAT [...]

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Using SIP Devices behind NAT

August 23, 2010

SIP Devices behind NAT: What solutions are available? When an IP phone is installed behind NAT, problems can be created by the NAT device itself, by the phone’s inability to correctly understand its own networking environment or from a combination of the two. Because it is such a common problem, most IP Phones have built-in [...]

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SIP and NAT: Why is it a problem?

August 23, 2010

Why is it a problem using SIP Clients behind NAT? What is NAT? To understand why SIP Clients behind NAT are a problem, you need to first have some understanding of what NAT is and what it does. NAT stands for Network Address Translation. Unless you are using One-to-one NAT, then a NAT device may [...]

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High Availability and Failover options for SIP and Asterisk

May 29, 2009

Overview What’s the disaster we are trying to avoid? The assumed scenario is this: Some kind of centralised VoIP service is being offered to a number of users; the service operates on servers located at a data centre or office and the users each have a SIP client device, such as an IP phone, that [...]

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About IP Packet Communications – TCP and UDP

February 20, 2009

Devices communicate data to other devices on the Internet using certain recognised protocols that involve routing and transmission of packets of data to a remote device identified by an IP addresses. The most widely used protocols on the Internet are TCP and UDP. The differences between these two protocols are of a highly technical nature [...]

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