Managing VOIP effectively. Without the right tools, fixing one problem can mean causing another.
Network managers running voice applications across their IP networks know a thing or two about juggling. Daily they must track the performance of IP phones, voice gateways, call managers and IP PBXs against that of such data network components as routers, switches, hubs, servers and client machines.
They must determine whether a staticky line is due to a physical problem such as a bad cable or overextended cord, or whether no phone service on a user's desktop means two IP phones were assigned the same IP address. With VOIP adoption growing, network managers' need for management tools has grown beyond monitoring device availability to fine-tuning voice application and service performance. Ensuring top performance on a converged network typically requires a blended management approach, which couples voice-specific monitoring tools that detect jitter, packet loss, delay and call quality, with traditional network management products providing a picture of device health, port configurations and network availability.
Bringing such tools together gives users a more complete picture of how voice applications impact the data network - and vice versa. "The VOIP network is highly reliant on how well your data network is performing," says Garrick Sobeski, manager of networks at The Institute for Transfusion Medicine, Pittsburgh. The organisation has about 400 IP phones in its six-month-old Cisco IP telephony system. "We had to make sure our routers and switches were running in tip-top shape, both pre- and post-voice deployment. And we need to monitor the quality of calls in real time." more >>>