VoIP and Unified Communications | Telecom Reseller

Internet Telephony and the Future Voice Network

Author: William A. Flanagan

Paperback: 298 pages
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN ? 13: 978-1-118-01921-4
List Price: $59.95; Amazon: $52.31; Kindle: $32.97; Nook: $34.17

Reviewed by Jeff Owen, Independent IT Consultant

Voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP) has been in use for several years in varying degrees.? It has permeated our everyday lives so much that devices and services offering VoIP to our homes are readily available and well known.? VoIP has also gained strong positioning with business and government organizations as the promise to lower telecommunications expenses looms large. Moreover, VoIP is the enabler for the productivity and collaboration enhancements promised by Unified Communications (UC).

In this book, Flanagan establishes a baseline understanding of VoIP and UC for telephony professionals. He starts with a little history, then moves on to comparing technologies, defining and contrasting VoIP/UC to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and setting the stage for the future of telephony. Along the way he provides sufficient detail, charts, block diagrams, photos, and graphics to ensure understanding.

This is a well laid out book clearly targeted towards telecommunications professionals. It will be useful to not only as a learning tool, but as an ongoing reference. Divided into 12 chapters (including Appendices), Chapter 1, ?IP Disrupts Voice Telephony,? provides an overview and history of the voice network evolution from analog and digital circuit switching to today?s digital IP packet switching infrastructure.? Chapter 2, ?Traditional Telephones Still Set Expectations,? is about customer/end user perceptions based on their experience with, and the historic quality of, Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS).? Chapter 3, ?From Circuits to Packets,? discusses the technological evolution moving voice from circuit switching to packet switching.? Chapter 4, ?Packet Transmission and Switching,? is an excellent overview that is sufficiently detailed to serve as a primer on packet switching. Chapter 5, ?VoIP Signaling and Call Processing,? goes into detail on the three primary signaling formats use for VoIP; namely, H.323, (Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and H.225. Chapter 6, ?VoIP and Unified Communications Define the Future,? compares and contrasts POTS to VoIP/UC demonstrating that the VoIP can deliver all that POTS does, but UC brings more features, functions, collaboration and productivity enhancing tools.? Chapter 7, ?How VoIP and UC Impact the Network,? provides an important overview of the common issues face with all VoIP/UC implementations.? Chapter 8, ?Interconnections to Global Services,? discusses the many issues and technologies that must be considered when connecting a VoIP/UC system to the outside world.? Chapter 9, ?Network Management for VoIP an UC,? is an overview the types of tools, methods, and processes used in managing a converged network.? Chapter 10, ?Cost Analysis and Payback Calculation,? serves as a reminder that VoIP and UC are not free and any investment in them should be scrutinized.? Chapter 11 provides numerous Examples of Hardware and Software.? Having given the reader an understanding of the technology and issues of VoIP/UC, Flanagan now discusses several of the components and vendors who make them.? Chapter 12, ?Appendices,? is just what the name states.

This excellent book is clearly written and easy to understand.? Where appropriate, Flanagan has provided, charts, block diagrams, photos, and graphics to illustrate and/or emphasis the topic being discussed.? It?s one of the few books I recommend every telephony professional read.

Jeff Owen is an independent consultant with 30+ years experience in telecommunications/networking and IT. He has worked in engineering, project management, and management positions for major corporations in the telecommunications, finance, aerospace, and IT consultancy industries. As an industry analyst for Datapro and Gartner, Owen authored numerous analytical reports published for international consumption.

Source: http://www.telecomreseller.com/2012/09/10/voip-and-unified-communications/

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