Tutorials

Tutorials

• Explore the different types of video conferencing systems

  From back-end services to multiple endpoints, enterprises need to consider many variables when shopping for different types of video conferencing systems.  Continue Reading

• Video conferencing codec primer

  This codec primer explores video and voice codecs and explains their essential role in video conferencing setups, allowing participants to see and hear each other in real time.  Continue Reading

• Unified communications 2013 recap: Top news, tips and what we learned

  In this unified communications 2013 recap, we count down the year's top tips, news highlights and go over what we learned.  Continue Reading

• VoIP protocol listing: A glossary of VoIP protocols and standards

  This VoIP protocol listing covers all the specialized protocols needed to deliver voice communications between all parties on a call made over IP.  Continue Reading

• Unified communications cloud provider survey

  Get a taste of the UC cloud providers available in the market offering Unified Communications as a Service, or UCaaS, to enterprises.  Continue Reading

• The year in review: Unified communications highlights from 2012

  Check out our UC review of the top trends, news, advice and tips from 2012.  Continue Reading

• DHCP basics: Understanding the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

  What is DHCP, and why is this technology important? Look at our guide, and any confusion over the DCHP basics you've been feeling can be put to rest.  Continue Reading

• Expert answers to your voice certification questions

  This guide gives expert advice on how to pursue voice certifications that complement your career and help you learn about your company's equipment.  Continue Reading

• Guide to session border controllers: Inside IP telephony's traffic cop

  This learning guide to session border controllers details the role that session border controllers play in IP telephony infrastructure, how they foster interoperability and more.  Continue Reading

• Enterprise social software primer: Next-generation collaboration

  This primer offers everything you need to know to get started with enterprise social software, including key features and functions, business benefits and adoption challenges.  Continue Reading

• What to expect from video service providers

  Here are the general operation services to expect from video service providers, and tips for adapting your network to work well with video service providers.  Continue Reading

• Security on the line: Evaluating session border controller vendors

  Session border controllers provide security and QoS to IP telephony links. Learn how to pick a session border controller and review our list of session border controller vendors.  Continue Reading

• Guide to evaluating video conferencing service providers

  Evaluating conferencing service providers means asking the right questions based on the requirements and preferences of your company. Here are the topics to cover.  Continue Reading

• Enterprise UC tablets create new class of mobile device

  Enterprise UC tablets give enterprises a new option for mobile UC deployments. Treated as a UC endpoint, these enterprise UC tablets offer integration that an iPad cannot achieve.  Continue Reading

• Video conferencing bandwidth management and planning guide

  This video conferencing bandwidth management and planning guide explores how to ensure your network can handle the bandwidth demands of an enterprise video conferencing deployment.  Continue Reading

• Migrating from PSTN to SIP trunking: A primer

  Replacing traditional voice circuits with SIP trunking offers cost benefits, but success requires the right SIP trunking provider and collaboration between network and UC teams.  Continue Reading

• Unified communications tutorials

  SearchUnifiedCommunications.com’s tutorials provide information technology (IT) professionals with the latest technical advice and expert tips on UC deployment and integration strategies, security, applications, platforms, architectural models and ...  Continue Reading

• Session border controllers ensure safe IP telephony links

  Session border controllers (SBCs) deliver both external telephony services and remote platform connectivity to the enterprise IP telephony platform. The role of an SBC is one of translator and protector, providing a secure link to the outside world ...  Continue Reading

• UC and IP telephony integration: Understanding the challenges

  IP telephony integration with collaboration applications can boost productivity and streamline workflow. But integration can be challenging, thanks in part to complex UC and IP telephony protocols.  Continue Reading

• IP telephony infrastructure basics

  Moving to an IP telephony infrastructure represents a significant shift from more traditional voice services. An understanding of the fundamental differences between circuit- and packet-based communication systems is key to successfully leveraging ...  Continue Reading

• Hosted unified communications and managed service providers: UC in the cloud

  Enterprises are turning to managed service providers (MSPs) or pursuing fully outsourced hosted unified communications (UC) in the cloud to reap UC's benefits without major risk or investment. Learn the pros and cons of MSPs and hosted UC.  Continue Reading

• Primer: Understanding Avaya's Aura application sequencing

  This primer details how Avaya's Aura™ Session Manager and application sequencing works. Avaya's application sequencing is a core feature for creating and enhancing unified communications and communications-enabled business processes (CEBP).  Continue Reading

• Tutorial: Evaluating and managing telecom carrier services

  Without proper telecom services analysis and strategy, telecom carriers can drain your company's budget. This tutorial will help you identify your company's telecom needs, use that data to find the right service provider for you, and more.  Continue Reading

• Tutorial: Connecting and leveraging VoIP islands

  The creation of VoIP islands is prevalent among many VoIP networks and can hinder the benefits of VoIP. In this tutorial, you will learn what VoIP islands can do to a VoIP network and how to connect them, and you will examine a business case for ...  Continue Reading

• Video conferencing: ROI, TCO and QoS

  Despite, or even because of, the economic recession, the enterprise video conferencing market is growing. Whether it's room-based, desktop, telepresence, or an integration of all three -- the business value of video conferencing is undeniable.  Continue Reading

• Tutorial: Mobile unified communications (UC)

  Mobile unified communications (UC) is an integral part of a UC system. Learn about the benefits of mobile UC and implementing mobile UC, and discover what's available in terms of mobile UC products.  Continue Reading

• Tutorial: Unified communications strategy

  For a smooth unified communications (UC) deployment, a thoughtful UC strategy must be carefully laid out. In this tutorial, we identify key criteria to include in your unified communication strategy. You'll find a best practices check list along ...  Continue Reading

• Tutorial: VoIP ROI

  It is important to understand the elements of VoIP ROI before investing in an expensive VoIP system. This tutorial walks you through VoIP ROI basics, VoIP deployment and implementation costs, and how to build a business case for VoIP.  Continue Reading

• VoIP implementation study guide

  Our study guides consist of quizzes packed with helpful resources to help you understand the answers. Test your knowledge of VoIP implementation and key concepts like echo and security in this VoIP implementation study guide.  Continue Reading

• Writing solid unified communications RFPs and negotiating with VARs: A complete guide

  Read our step-by-step guide to writing and developing an RFP for your unified communications deployment, as well as negotiating witih UC VARs.  Continue Reading

• Mobile unified communications (UC) study guide

  If you're going to make the jump to mobile unified communications (UC), make sure you have the proper know-how before you begin. Test your knowledge of mobile UC in this study guide with our interactive quiz on mobile messaging, mobile security and ...  Continue Reading

• Instant messaging (IM) tutorial

  Instant messaging (IM) has become the communication vehicle of choice for many enterprises. A real-time communication application, IM is essential to unified communications (UC) systems. This comprehensive tutorial details the ins and outs of IM ...  Continue Reading

• Videoconferencing tutorial

  Videoconferencing is becoming an increasingly viable tool in the corporate world. Better technology, green IT initiatives and cuts in company travel budgets have contributed to the rise of videoconferencing as a collaborative solution. This ...  Continue Reading

• SIP tutorial

  Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is becoming the signalling protocol of choice in the IP telephony, VoIP and unified communications (UC) industries. This comprehensive tutorial details the ins and outs of basic SIP operation, security, ...  Continue Reading

• VoIP: SIP, security and testing for your network

  Ensuring that your business is getting the most from VoIP can sometimes require a back-to-basics approach. In this series, each guide is focused on the fundamentals of a specific task that makes VoIP work for you -- not the other way around.  Continue Reading

• Understanding VoWLAN

  Like VoIP, VoWLAN contributes to cost efficiency. Because calls can be routed over the data network internally or over the Internet externally, mobile telephony costs can be eliminated or decreased significantly. In the long term, VoWLAN deployment ...  Continue Reading

• Voice over IPv6: Architectures for Next Generation VoIP Networks

  VoIP technolgies are not immune to system failures, from hacking to jitter, and these issues can present problems for companies who depend on their network. This chapter examines some of the issues that are faced by VoIP systems, focusing on those ...  Continue Reading

• VoIP models and services: Complete guide

  With clear, concise explanations of existing VoIP business models and deployment methodologies, this guide will enable you to weigh the pros and cons of each based on your needs.  Continue Reading

• Hosted and managed VoIP fundamentals

  Adoption rates of hosted VoIP and managed VoIP are increasing as more companies look to reduce the costs and complexities of deploying VoIP in house. Enterprises are factoring revenue growth, enhanced productivity and communication services into ROI...  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery and business continuity fundamentals

  The importance of disaster recovery and business continuity planning has been underscored in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Avian flu and 9/11. As important as maintaining continuous communications in a disaster is staying connected when random,...  Continue Reading

• SIP fundamentals

  Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) will allow true interoperability, eventually enabling every IP-based device and application to communicate seamlessly with one another. This guide discusses some of the basics of SIP, including vulnerabilities, ...  Continue Reading

• How to master VoIP bandwidth fundamentals

  No VoIP deployment is complete without first calculating how much bandwidth voice calls will usurp on your network. This guide explains the fundamentals of VoIP bandwidth.  Continue Reading

• VoIP security testing fundamentals

  Testing your VoIP security system against all the threats that exist on the network can be a full time job. This guide documents how a VoIP system can be tested and suggest some of the available tools to use -- with a focus on fuzzing tools and ...  Continue Reading

• VoIP performance testing fundamentals

  VoIP network performance testing can mean the difference between a VoIP system working at a high level QoS and a weak system that runs so poorly customers could take their business elsewhere. This guide discusses why it is important to run regular ...  Continue Reading

• VoIP security fundamentals

  VoIP security is a challenge for IT staff because IP telephony brings with it not only the security problems of data networks but also new threats specific to VoIP. In this fundamentals guide, learn about network security threats and emerging IP ...  Continue Reading

• VoIP on MPLS

  While MPLS technology has been around for several years, businesses are now taking advantage of service provider offerings and beginning their own corporate implementations. It's a good idea for network architects and engineers to get a head start ...  Continue Reading

• Cisco VoIP management guide: Recommendations and summary

  Enterprises now have solid choices of management solutions for their Cisco VoIP deployment. The short list for any enterprise should include Prognosis, Infovista, or Cisco.  Continue Reading

• Cisco VoIP management guide: Enterprise VoIP management solutions

  Enterprise VoIP management solutions require two considerations: the scale of production environment and the need to extend support resources with a systems integrator or service provider.  Continue Reading

• Cisco management guide: Selecting a VoIP solution

  Selecting a VoIP solution means deciding on independent VoIP tools or a VoIP solution suite of integrated products.  Continue Reading

• Cisco VoIP management guide: VoIP management lifecycle

  VoIP lifecycle management enables enterprises to safely pursue large production deployments. The management lifecycle includes the following four elements.  Continue Reading

• Cisco VoIP managment guide: Required management tasks

  Comprehensive VoIP management includes the basic network management tasks, but also includes monitoring services such as dial tone delivery, call success rates, telephony delays and impairments, as well as call quality. VoIP telephony management is ...  Continue Reading

• Cisco VoIP management guide: Cisco requires proactive management

  Managing Cisco VoIP solutions means network managers must rely on credible, experienced vendors to some extent. Fortunately, many vendors have emerged as trusted, viable partners that can offer an end-to-end management solution for Cisco VoIP ...  Continue Reading

• Learning guide: VoIP protocols and standards

  The Israelis are credited with placing the first computer-to-computer call in 1995. Though the audio quality was poor and likened to the "voice sounds" that were transmitted during the first historical call made in 1875 by Alexander Graham Bell, ...  Continue Reading

• Fast Guide: VoIP encryption

  Most enterprise organizations encrypt critical or sensitive data that transverses the public network. It's a no-brainer. Thus, encrypting voice and data packets transmitted over a VoIP network is also a given, right? Turns out, not so much. By and ...  Continue Reading

• Planning for the IP call center

  Call centers are critical to business operations. Until recently, however, most enterprises have been dubious of VoIP quality, reliability and the soft benefits that make it so difficult to project and quantify ROI. Staying competitive demands ...  Continue Reading

• Power over Ethernet Crash Course

  Discover what Power over Ethernet is, how it works, and whether it's right for your network with these tips and resources.  Continue Reading

• Vendors -- VoIP for the call center

  Use this section to browse vendors for VoIP in the call center.  Continue Reading

• Learning Guide: How does VoIP work?

  Section 3 of Roger Freeman's VoIP series shows the basic operational elements of a VoIP network.  Continue Reading

• All in one Guide: Locking down VoIP ROI

  To accurately forecast the ROI of VoIP deployments, implementers must weigh savings on hard benefits like local and long distance charges and quantify the more elusive soft benefits like increased productivity, less complicated adds, changes and ...  Continue Reading

• Crash Course: Asterisk

  Open source PBX software Asterisk is more than just a footnote in the enterprise voice arena. Get up to speed on how Asterisk is at the forefront of open source VoIP development and how it can even save you money with our collection of resources.  Continue Reading

• VoIP Learning Guide

  This guide explains what VoIP is, how it's used, and how it fits into the enterprise. Check back often for updates and new additions.  Continue Reading

• VoIP Security Resource Guide

  Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) implementations are becoming more common and keeping it secure is no easy task. This guide is a compilation of resources that review the importance of VoIP security, protocols and standards, LAN security, ...  Continue Reading