• A woman with IP headsetsvoip image by DXfoto.com from Fotolia.com
  
  Many companies have dumped their traditional phone systems for VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol systems. VoIP allows phone calls to be made over the Internet. VoIP benefits companies by allowing them to streamline voice and data network management. Network engineers only have to focus on designing, managing and repairing a single network. There are a lot of components that go into making a successful VoIP network.
  
  

Network Devices

• Network devices are the building blocks to creating a VoIP network. These devices include hardware and software applications. Some of the hardware devices the company will need are switches, computers, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) and VoIP phones. Software applications the company must have include a program that manages all of the network devices and one that routes and forwards calls.
  
  

IP Network

• The IP network manages all of the connections between these devices. An IP network works differently from that of a traditional phone system. Traditional phone systems use circuit-switch technology, which involves setting up a connection between two network devices before they can start transmitting data. With an IP network, however, data is converted into packets and is compressed. Once the data reaches its destination, it is then uncompressed. Voice signals are much more difficult to transport over an IP network than data. This is because voice must not only be compressed, but digitized. Analog technology is signals that move in continuous waves. Digital technology, on the other hand, is signals that move in pulses. When the voice data arrives at a traditional phone, it must be uncompressed and restored as speech that the caller can understand. These must all be done without any delays. Otherwise, the conversations can be garbled or distorted.
  
  

Media Gateways

• Media gateways create the interface between the company's telephone network and the VoIP network. They are responsible for making sure the voice data transports over the IP network smoothly. These systems usually handle large quantities of digital circuits. Some of the functions that media gateways handle are call detection, call originations and creating voice packets. Media gateways also convert voice from analog to digital.
  
  

Session Border Controllers

• Session Border Controllers or media gateway controllers are responsible for handling functions, such as coordinating call signals, translating phone numbers, managing resources and performing host lookup. There are other functions that Session Board Controllers can do.