Part 1: Establishing a Knowledge Base
The first three chapters of the course are devoted to understanding the essentials: VoIP buzzwords and jargon, components, standards, architecture choices, and call flow in the IP world.
1. voip systems, components, STANDARDS, jargon and buzzwords
In the first chapter, you'll understand VoIP jargon and buzzwords, basics of communicating voice in IP packets, what the components of VoIP systems are and what each does: soft switches, media servers, gateways and terminals, plus the main standards and protocols used in VoIP systems.
A. The Big Picture
B. VoIP System Components
1. Terminals
2. Voice in IP Packets
3. Softswitches / SIP Servers / Call Managers
4. Media Servers and Unified Messaging
5. Gateways
6. LANs and WANs
C. Key VoIP Standards
D. Where All of This is Headed: Broadband IP Dial Tone
2. voip ArchitectureS and implementation choices
“Voice over IP” can happen in many different ways. One by one, we'll review the many flavors of VoIP, comparing and contrasting the various implementations and architecture choices. Progressing through Internet telephony, Managed IP Telephony, PBX replacement with distributed call manager systems and IP Centrex / Hosted PBX, you'll gain the knowledge to confidently differentiate VoIP architectures and discuss pros and cons of options.
A. Internet Telephony
1. Computer to Computer VoIP over the Internet; Skype and IM
2. Computer to Phone (DS0 Interconnect to LEC)
3. Phone to Phone over the Internet
B. Managed-IP Telephone Service
1. MIPT from Telephone Companies
2. IXCs and IP-based backbones
C. VoIP for Businesses and Organizations
1. VoIP-Enabled PBX
- Migration Options
2. PBX Replacement
- Softswitches and Application Processors
- Distributed Call Managers
- Survivability Options
3. Hosted PBXs
- Financial Options
4. IP Centrex
- Multisite Support
5. Open-Source IP-PBX Software Solutions
D. IP Phone Features and Uses
3. SIP and call flow in the ip world
SIP has emerged as the dominant method of establishing communications in the VoIP world. Here, you'll understand what SIP is, how it works, demystify jargon like proxy server and location server, understand how SIP fits in with softswitches and call managers, and trace the establishment of an IP phone call step by step. At the end of this, you'll understand call flow in IP telephone systems – maybe worth attending the course all by itself!
A. What SIP is and What it Can Do
1. SIP URIs: “Telephone Numbers”
2. Registration and Location
3. Proxy servers
B. How calls are set up using SIP
C. The SIP Trapezoid; SIP Message Example
D. How SIP relates to softswitches and call managers
E. ENUM: relating SIP to NPA-NXX-XXXX phone numbers
Part 2: Applications
In the next two chapters, we'll take a closer look at why VoIP is such a good idea, identifying more than 12 ways VoIP can increase productivity and 15 ways VoIP can save money, and highlight some of the truly “neat” applications emerging that use VoIP and SIP.
4. A Whole new World of communication services
Here, we'll identify concrete reasons why VoIP should be implemented, with examples and case studies showing how communications service and productivity can be radically improved. You'll understand convergence and the increasingly important concept of Presence, enabling sophisticated call handling. We'll also take a look at IP in the Call Center, enabling virtual contact centers, hosted contact centers and new ways of communicating with customers. This chapter finishes with an overview of IPTV: cable TV from the phone company.
A. Convergence
1. One network service, one infrastructure, one bill
2. Multiple media communications during a conversation
3. Device-agnostic communications
B. Presence: beyond Instant Messaging
1. Automatic registration for location independence and improved reachability
2. Sophisticated call handling to improve productivity
C. What Happens When We Have Convergence and Presence?
- Geographic Independence
- Media Independence
- Network Independence
- Device Independence
- Address Independence
D. Unified messaging
E. Group Communications: Mixed Devices
F. Group Communications: Personal Communicator
G. Applications Running on IP Phones
H. Virtual Contact Center
I. Hosted Contact Center Services
J. IP Call Center Application Example
K. Video over IP and IPTV
5. HOW VOIP CAN SavE money
Aside from productivity-enhancing communication applications, there are plenty of other reasons why VoIP as a way of implementing converged communications is a very good idea. In this chapter, you'll learn 15 concrete ways that VoIP can save money, both in the short and long term.
A. Benefits to Cable TV companies
B. Benefits to telephone companies
C. Large Organizations: Merging the Voice and Data Infrastructure
1. Capital expense
2. In-building wiring infrastructure
3. WAN consolidation
4. Maintenance: spare parts
D. How VoIP Can Be Used More Effectively to Carry Voice and Data
1. Dynamic bandwidth allocation - access
2. Improved voice coding (compression)
3. Integrated Access Device (IAD)
4. Centralization of multisite systems and applications
E. Merging the Support Systems
1. Help desk
2. Installation and repair technicians
3. Planning and provisioning
4. Procurement
F. Avoiding Switched Access Charges and Regulatory Fees
G. Avoiding Proprietary Hardware and Software
H. The End of Geography
Part 3: Nuts and Bolts
With a good understanding of “what”, “how” and “why”, the next two chapters drill into VoIP technology, enough to understand the fundamentals, fill in gaps in your knowledge and explain jargon and mainstream practices without bogging down on details.
6. Understanding packetized voice
In this chapter, you'll understand what exactly packetized voice is, how it happens and the standards and protocols used. You'll learn about codecs and compression, and the factors affecting sound quality. We'll listen to sound clips of impairments, and provide you with a practical checklist of tips and recommendations for ensuring success.
A. Voice Packetization
B. Measuring Voice Quality
C. Factors Affecting Voice Quality
D. Codecs, Compression and the G.729 codec
E. Network Delay and Jitter
F. RTP and UDP
G. IP Networks: Layers 1-3
H. The VoIP Protocol Stack
I. In-Class Demo: Impairments and Effects on Sound Quality
J. Tips for Maximizing Voice Quality
7. carrier VOIP networks, Services and interconnect
Completing our technology overview, we'll examine carriers' IP network technologies and services and connecting to networks. We'll cover the important topic of MPLS as a way of implementing Quality of Service (QoS) and VPNs for security. You'll learn about connecting to the VoIP carrier and the significant differences in cost between connecting at the DS0 level vs. the IP level. We'll complete the topic identifying seven critical areas any potential service provider must be evaluated on.
A. Carrier Services Offered
1. MPLS and Quality of Service
2. VPNs and secure call paths
3. Session Border Controllers
4. Megaco/H.248 services
5. Types of managed services available
B. Accessing the VoIP Carrier
1. DS0-level connectivity: existing/legacy systems
2. Gateway configurations and options
3. IP-level connectivity: cost savings
4. SIP trunking: on-net/off-net calling
5. Fall-back to PSTN options
C. Selecting a VoIP Carrier
1. IP equipment and systems support
2. Legacy Frame Relay and ATM migration support
3. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Guarantees
4. Global access and connectivity
5. Carrier Service Level Interconnect Agreements
6. Remote and mobile worker support
7. Business continuity support
Part 4: The Practical
The last part of the course is the practical. First the Readiness Assessment to identify potential issues, then case studies to cement your understanding what architecture choice is appropriate for what kind of organization, a survey of the top vendors and finally detailed project management guidelines.
8. Readiness assessment
With the nuts and bolts in place, we're ready to tackle the Readiness Assessment. Step-by-step, we'll walk through issues that must be considered, and finish with a practical Readiness Assessment Checklist you can put to immediate use. This will allow you to plan for change, rather than having hidden issues become a series of career-limiting surprises.
A. Readiness Assessment: Issues That Must be Reviewed
B. Implications for the Organizational Structure
C. VoIP's Implications for the LAN
D. LAN Cabling
E. Phone Powering: AC, PoE, UPS
F. Recommended LAN Configuration for VoIP
G. VoIP's Implications for the WAN: Capacity / Scalability Assessment
H. Comparing Transmission Choices: T1, Frame Relay, ATM, MPLS, Internet
I. Redundancy and Disaster Recovery
J. IPv6
K. End-user Equipment
L. Readiness Assessment Checklist
9. case studies: VoIP in-building
Continuing with the practical, to cement your knowledge, we'll present mainstream solutions for deploying VoIP in a series of interactive, class-participation case studies. In groups, the class will develop profiles for the kind of organization that would select each strategy – and why, then discuss each case. This is an ideal opportunity for you to compare and contrast different strategies, share practical implementation experience, and understand which approach may be best for your situation. The first case studies are VoIP inside the building:
A. Case Study: Network-based VoIP Service (IP Centrex)
B. Case Study: PBX-based VoIP
C. Case Study: Softswitch-based VoIP
10. case studies: VoIP long-distance
The second set of case studies are VoIP for long-distance communications. Again, this is an ideal opportunity for you to compare and contrast different strategies, share practical implementation experience, and understand which approach may be best for your situation.
A. Case Study: Private Network
B. Case Study: Over Legacy Data Networks (Frame/ATM)
C. Case Study: VoIP over the Internet
D. Case Study: Internet VPNs (CPE-based IPsec)
E. Case Study: Carrier VoIP Service: VPN + QoS
11. VoIP vendor profiles
Touching base with the marketplace, we'll take a survey of vendors: “hardware” vendors, softswitch vendors and service providers, chosen to be representative of all of the vendors in their category. You'll learn about the different philosophies of major players, their key products, latest trends and developments.
A. Hardware Vendors
1. Avaya, Nortel and Cisco
B. Soft-switch Vendors
1. Broadsoft
2. ShoreTel
C. Service Providers
1. AT&T, Verizon, Qwest
2. McLeod USA
3. Vonage et al.
12. VoIP project management
We complete the practical with a comprehensive template for managing a VoIP project. You'll learn how to do it the “right” way, from analyzing requirements to running trials, evaluating and selecting a vendor, rollout, acceptance testing and more. This project management guide is packed with practical tips and checklists that can be put to immediate use. If you are about to embark on a VoIP deployment, this might well be worth the price of the course all on its own.
A. The Need for a Process
1. Requirements before design before product purchase
B. Dealing with Vendors
1. Who is in charge here?
2. Sales techniques to beware of
C. Step 1: Internal Requirements Specification
D. Step 2: Identify Potential Vendors
1. Generating a Request for Information (RFI)
2. Checklist: Who is providing what?
E. Step 3: Qualify Vendors
F. Step 4: Evaluate Qualified Vendors
1. Setting up a captive test environment
2. Trial their system
3. Procedure: How to run tests and evaluate the results
G. Step 5: Vendor Selection
1. Generating a Request for Quote (RFQ)
2. Reconciling the RFQ and the responses
3. Dealing with unwanted features
H. Step 6: Close the Deal
1. Checklist: Core contract clauses and items that must be specified
2. Negotiating the price
I. Step 7: Roll Out the System
1. Structured roll-out
2. Leaving room for a roll-back
J. Step 8: Maintenance
1. Template: Trouble categories and response standards
