The history of telephony begins with the public switched telephone network (PSTN), which is the worldwide circuit-switched telephone network made up of public and private networks. Voice over IP (VoIP) is the latest telephone technology which is able to provide advanced services to both consumers and businesses at a reduced cost. In this course, you will cover the history and operation of the PSTN and VoIP and compare the two technologies. You will learn about basic signaling technologies used in the PSTN, and you will explore the expansion of VoIP in the immediate future and the coming years.

There are a variety of technologies required to make VoIP work. Standards, protocols, and devices all need to be voice capable and, in many instances, compatible with both third-party devices and the PSTN. You will review the TCP/IP protocol and basic routing and cover such VoIP elements as analog and digital interfaces, numbering and dial plans, gateways and gatekeepers, and the various protocols used in VoIP operation.

With the proliferation of VoIP in both home and business environments, concerns such as quality of service and security are being given more attention. In this course, you will consider ways to address major quality issues, such as delay and jitter, as well as security issues such as confidentiality and spoofing.

What You'll Learn

• PSTN and VoIP fundamentals
• VoIP technologies
• VoIP quality and security

Who Needs to Attend

Established IT professionals with an understanding of networking technology who are also familiar with VoIP technology

Prerequisites

A basic understanding of networking technologies

Follow-On Courses

There are no follow-ons for this course.

Course Outline

1. PSTN and VoIP Fundamentals

• Fundamentals and components of the PSTN
• Circuit-switched vs. packet-switched networks
• PBX and PSTN operations
• PSTN signaling methods
• Similarities and differences between the PSTN and VoIP
• Considerations when integrating legacy PBX applications and IP PBX systems
• Aspects in the evolution of VoIP and future developments of VoIP
• Challenges facing the widespread adoption of VoIP

2. VoIP Technologies

• Function of each layer in the OSI reference model
• Basics of IP addressing
• Distinguish between TCP and UDP usage in VoIP networks
• Basics of the routing process
• Main components of a VoIP network and their functions
• Factors in VoIP enterprise implementation
• Functions of VoIP gateways and gatekeepers
• Numbering used in the North American Numbering Plan and international public numbering plan
• Routing operations in a VoIP network
• Deploying VoIP in an enterprise
• Operating the UCI and PUA
• Basic operation and functionality of H.323 network, SIP, MGCP, and MEGACO

3. VoIP Quality and Security

• Common VoIP QoS issues and their solutions
• Network architecture and protocol solutions to VoIP QoS issues
• Compression techniques used in VoIP
• Solve VoIP quality issues and secure VoIP networks
• Security threats and security technologies
• Planning a security policy for a VoIP environment