FEATURES
Marching
Towards The Core: Board Level Platforms Enter The
Network
Ron Kennedy, Pika Technologies
CTI platforms are
making their way to the core of the service provider
network, thanks to increases in processing speeds and
onboard coprocessors sharing the load. With such
developments, next-gen service providers stand to make
their networks more flexible when it comes to
allocating resources, in addition to being able to
offer greater numbers of enhanced services at higher
quality.
Call
Density In Carrier-Grade Systems
Josh Adelson, Brooktrout Technology
Port density versus
call density -- what’s the difference, and why is it
important to measure multiple attributes of a platform
before deploying it?
A
Bridge For SS7 Offload To IP: Optimizing SS7 Between
Now And The All-IP Future
Reg Cable, Performance Technologies
Remember that scene
from The Graduate, where the eponymous hero,
played by Dustin Hoffman, is enjoined to hear the call
of the future? Then, the call was distilled in a
single word: plastics. And today? Well, right now, the
word is "offload." Use IP to circumvent
limited and expensive public network facilities,
including traditional, dedicated signaling links. The
key step in this delicate dance between traditional
and next-gen networks? In a word, SS7.
NEWS AND VIEWS
Breaking News
Letters To The
Editor
Corporate
Solutions
Carol Drzewianowski, Managing Editor
A Phillips Group
study indicates that the emergence of IP telephony as
an alterative to PBX technology has had a great impact
on purchase decisions. Read up on the latest news, as
well as a case study from Shoreline Communications and
the TIA’s outlook on the IP-PBX market.
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PUBLISHER’S OUTLOOK
Convergence
In My Hand
Rich Tehrani, Publisher
Rich Tehrani pities the
fool who clings to the PC-as-phone -- unless it’s a
shiny new pocket PC. While gaudy enough to out-flash
any number of gold chains, Rich’s iPAQ may be
destined to achieve more than a fashion statement. The
iPAQ, and other handheld computers, thanks to wireless
links to distant networks and data stores, may even
assume real-time, interactive communications
capabilities. Find out how you and your handheld
computer may join the A-team of intelligent voice/data
communications. Don’t you love it when a plan comes
together?
TOM KEATING'S CC:
Get
Thin (Computing) Now!
Tom Keating, Executive Technology Editor
Someday Tom will be
able to say “Back in my day, IT staff didn’t have
it so easy. We suffered with scrapes and scratches
from troubleshooting sharp PC cases.” Thin computing
just might spoil a new generation of IT support staff.
Tom explains how.
REVIEWS
Altigen's
AltiWare Open Edition 4.0
Sun
Microsystems' Sun Ray
Computer
Instruments' e-IVR
DEPARTMENTS
Analytical Views: LAN
Telephony: What's The Point?
Brian Strachman, Cahners In-Stat Group
LAN telephony products offer
some exciting applications. This month, Brian
Strachman discusses some of them.
Inside Networking: Storage
Steps Into The Light
Tony Rybczynski, Nortel Networks
Where
communications goes, data will follow, as it did years
ago, when CTI allowed phone conversations to summon
customer profiles to the desktops of call center
agents. Nowadays, with IP-based voice/data networking,
communications and computing are considerably more
pervasive, and the logic of instituting more
intelligent data exchange is more compelling than
ever, especially since we’re witnessing incredible
growth in data storage. Find out how data storage and
retrieval, together with high-speed (optical)
networking, will meet the demands of an e-world.
At Your Service: Selecting
The Right SIP Proxy Server
Jonathan Rosenberg, dynamicsoft, inc.
Webster’s
dictionary defines “proxy” as 1. A person
authorized to act for another; an agent or a
substitute. 2. The authority to act for another. 3.The
written authorization to act in place of another.
However, the technology community has adopted this
term to refer to any software or hardware agent that
acts on behalf of another. Jonathan Rosenberg spells
out the distinctions between different proxy servers.
Compass: Bus,
Bus, Interconnect
Jeff Lawrence, Intel Communications Group
The computing
and communications industries are about to enter a
transition period, where several different
technologies will battle it out. Jeff Lawrence
discusses the promises of next-generation networking.
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