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Technology Stocks : VocalTec (VOCL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: David Wiggins who wrote (1867)	2/21/1999 1:22:00 PM
From: David Wiggins	Respond to of 2349

Gatekeepers - part 1 Internet Telephony - February > >GATEKEEPERS - CONDUCTING THE IP SYMPHONY > >BY LIOR HARAMATY > >> Gatekeepers are creating a seismic shift in the Internet telephony >industry. By serving as the intelligent control point for Internet >telephony networks, gatekeepers are transforming a technology once thought >of as synonymous with low cost international phone calls into a platform >for a new era in communications. > >But just what are gatekeepers and why are they essential components for >Internet telephony networks? > >NEW MARKET COMPETITION >Before detailing the need for gatekeepers, the rise of the Internet >telephony industry needs to be put in proper perspective. The >telecommunications industry is currently undergoing a massive >transformation due to larger industry forces, namely deregulation and >globalization, resulting in increased competition and rapidly dropping >calling rates. To compete in this new market, carriers need lower cost, >lower maintenance, and more efficient networks to support calling plans. > > Coinciding with declining calling rates is the increase in the number of >sophisticated users and dispersedglobal operations demanding more powerful >communications solutions. Although the PSTN is a reliable and stable >network, it is not conducive to the addition of a new generation of >communications services. > >Upgrades are expensive and complicated because the intelligence of the PSTN >is buried in the center of the network. Legacy networks are also based on >proprietary technology that inhibits rather than inspires the >entrepreneurial development of new applications. > > WHY IT WORKS >As a result of this changing marketplace, Internet telephony is emerging as >a dominant platform for communications. According to James Crowe, CEO at >Level 3 Communications, Internet telephony can provide voice services for >1/27th the cost of today's circuit-switched networks. Savings are achieved >through toll-bypass, lower equipment costs, and greater network efficiency. > >But with call rates dropping, carriers and corporations need more than >lower rates to achieve an > advantage over their competition. Here is where the true value of Internet >telephony lies. By supporting open standards and the convergence of voice, >video, and data, Internet telephony provides an ideal medium for new >multimedia and advanced communications applications. > > Recognizing the advantages of this new technology, carriers and >corporations began to deploy Internet telephony networks. Early networks >consisted of scattered gateways linking the PSTN and IP networks, >supporting limited phone-to-phone and PC-to-phone services. Driven by the >growth of corporate and carrier networks and the entrance of progressive >major carriers, such as Deutsche Telecom, it became clear that gateways >alone were not sufficient to enable global services. > >Manageability and scalability were at the heart of the problem. Early >gateways contained all the network intelligence, and as a result, all >changes and upgrades in an Internet telephony operation (such as the >addition of new users or services) had to be made one by one on each >gateway. It proved physically impossible for a network administrator to >effectively configure each individual gateway in a global Internet >telephony network to accurately track, bill, secure, and route traditional >and multimedia traffic flowing among thousands of gateways and specialized >servers - connecting millions of users calling from traditional telephones, >PCs, and other intelligent end unit devices. >

To: David Wiggins who wrote (1867)	2/21/1999 1:24:00 PM
From: David Wiggins	Respond to of 2349

Gatekeepers - part 2 GATEKEEPERS TO THE RESCUE >Gatekeepers are the intelligent elements that bring sophisticated >management capabilities to IP networks for commercially viable services. >By serving as the chief control center, gatekeepers allow managers to grow >their networks gradually, starting from a limited rollout of low cost >phone-to-phone service that can scale to meet a global customer base and >support new services. Gatekeeper functionality can include: > > Authentication and authorization of users; > Authentication and authorization of network >elements, such as telephony > gateways; > Call routing, determined by factors such as >quality of service (QoS), > communication media capabilities, and user ID; > Least cost routing; > Load balancing; > Accounting and call log capabilities; > Address resolution; and > Call forwarding to a variety of endpoint devices >like pagers, fax machines, > and PCs. > >One such intelligent element - the VocalTec Gatekeeper - acts as the brains >of the network, threading traditional and mixed media calls through >gateways and specialized servers dispersed in multiple domains all over the >world. It includes an Accounting, Authorization and Authentication >Applications Program Interface (AAA API) layer, enabling carriers and >service providers to open up their networks to preferred billing and >security solutions. This API layer allows for the integration of new >enhanced services into the network, such as several levels of QoS. It also >allows for integration into SS7 networks. The Gatekeeper works in >conjunction with the VocalTec Network Manager to give network >administrators the ability to configure gateways, servers, and endpoints >from a single interface. > >The Gatekeeper is also capable of advanced address resolution functions >that enable it to resolve dynamic IP addresses and PSTN numbers. Its >flexible management features allow communications networks to recognize >users with a new level of intelligence. Today's communications users are >challenged by a revolving door of calls to their home and work numbers, >pagers, cell phones, and PCs. The Gatekeeper can reduce these numbers to a >single virtual identity, and direct calls to an end unit device designated >bythe user. >

To: David Wiggins who wrote (1867)	2/21/1999 1:25:00 PM
From: David Wiggins	Respond to of 2349

Gatekeepers - part 3. NETWORK TOPOLOGY >The Gatekeeper is an important part of the VocalTec Ensemble Architecture >(VEA), a standards-basedplatform for global Internet telephony services. >This architecture is designed to maximize the capabilities of the >Gatekeeper in conjunction with other network components including gateways, >specialized servers, network managers, and other gatekeepers. In a VEA >environment, the Gatekeeper is the genie of the communications service. It >acts as the grand orchestrator of all services by fielding queries from the >other Internet telephony network components regarding the direction, >tracking, and billing of traffic. > >For example, the gateway would receive an incoming call from an endpoint >(either a PC or telephone), forward the call to the gatekeeper, and act >according to the Gatekeeper's instructions. The Gatekeeper would track the >call from the beginning to the end, and reference programs plugged into its >AAA API layer to assure that users are authorized, authenticated, and >accurately billed for services such as video, QoS, and conference calls. >The Gatekeeper would perform address functions resolving a virtual identity >with a user designated endpoint, connecting dynamic IP addresses to regular >phones, and opening up calls to incorporate specialized server >capabilities such as multipoint audio and data conferencing. Multiple >Gatekeepers make up a single network to support the growth of increased >traffic and redundancy - and in case of a gatekeeper failure - to maintain >uninterrupted service. > >We can think of two examples of VEA-based network topology. The first >exemplifies a simple single service provider network, where authentication, >authorization, billing, network control, and network monitoring are all >done in one central location using the Network Manager in conjunction with >theGatekeeper. > > The second exemplifies an intradomain network with multiple service >providers. With only limited information revealed between domains, calls >would be terminated between providers and billing created across the board. >

To: David Wiggins who wrote (1867)	2/21/1999 1:26:00 PM
From: David Wiggins	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2349

Gatekeepers - part 4. SUPPORTING THE STANDARDS > The maturity of international standards and their evolution toward >service-oriented views continues to be one of the most important factors >driving growth in the Internet telephony market. Standards-based >technologies make wide-scale deployment possible, giving customers the >freedom to choose the best solution from a field of competitors. Without >open standards, networks are no more than "islands" of communication, >dependent on a single vendor and inhospitable to new solutions. > >The Gatekeeper is defined by the International Telecommunications Union >(ITU) H.323 standard. H.323 is the leading industry standard for shipping >products, and VocalTec pushed the H.323 recommendation in its second >version toward greater scalability, network intelligence, and security, >known as H.323 Registration, Administration, and Status (RAS) Version 2. > > As an H.323-compliant system, VEA supports Simple Network Management >Protocol (SNMP). By doing so, network administrators can manage and monitor >all nodes on their IP network including Internet telephony gateways and >gatekeepers. VEA is manageable from any SNMP-compliant platform such as HP >OpenView. > > In order to enable carriers and corporations to build multivendor Internet >telephony networks whilestandards are still in development, VocalTec has >been developing interoperability based on H.323 between its Internet >telephony product suites and those of Lucent, Ascend, and Cisco. > > Internet telephony is no longer about cheap phone-to-phone services - it's >about the advanced services that can be supported. In order to realize this >value, Internet telephony networks must have the intelligence and >management functions that gatekeepers deliver. Providing standards-based >end-to-end solutions is critical. Complete solutions that support global >enhanced services, and interoperate with other leading Internet telephony >vendors, will enable corporations and carriers to use Internet telephony to >communicate and compete more effectively today and in the future. > > Lior Haramaty is vice president of technical marketing and a co-founder of >VocalTec Communications