Customer Reviews

Carrier Grade Voice Over IP

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Great book on VoIP, still emerging technology. It did a great job in explaining concepts related to QoS such as RSVP, DiffServ and MPLS. Right from basics such as IP, UDP, TCP and various coding techniques you will find great explanation to each and every item. If you are interested in knowing about VoIP or you if u wanna work on VoIP this is the ONLY book you need. There is very detailed and neat explanation related to MGCP, MEGACO, SS7 and SIP too. The only thing that i felt lacking is testing of voice quality both subjective and objective and how they could be done. No doubt in giving 5 *s to it, great job!

Aimed specifically at designers of public telecommunications networks, this easy to read book provides practical and useful hands-on information. Where necessary, topics are covered in great detail. For example, 120 pages are dedicated to H.323. Softswitch architecture and programming are covered, and 55 pages are devoted to discussing Quality of Service issues.

We believe this book to be an essential read, and recommend it highly.

Daniel Collins has done a great job of explaining the latest VoIP technology. He uses a lot of call flow diagrams, which I find particularly useful in understanding how the various protocols work. In addition, his writing style is very clear, such that he makes it easy to understand what he is talking about. Not only does he address the most recent developments in the technology (eg. SIP, MGCP, MEGACO), he also does a good job of explaining how these technologies can fit with what is already in place (eg. H323 as well as traditional networks). In this regard, the chapter concerning SS7 is useful, although some focus on TALI as well as Sigtran would have been beneficial. - Overall, a good book that I would recommend to anyone who wants to understand VoIP.

Collin's book provides a simple straight forward review of Voice over IP. If you need to understand SIP, H.323, Megaco, or Softswitches this book is a must.

Daniel Collins has written a terrific reference for anyone interested in understanding Voice Over IP. From the very start of the book, it is clear that Collins has the ability to address key areas of interest for technical readers, planners, and executives. Readers with a techincal interest should be very comfortable using this book as their reference for all key issues and questions related to the emerging opportunity of VOIP. Congratulations to Mr. Collins for his eloquent and well organized description of VOIP for anyone trying to understand and/or exploit this emerging communications opportunity.

This book does a very good job of giving an introduction to the VoIP world. As a professional in the telecom domain, I found this book very useful. Application of VoIP to telco domain as in the case of softswitch architecture for backhaul and the QoS issues that carriers have to deal with is also well covered at a good amount of detail. The book also provides detailed discussion on the protocols. However, I skipped passed these sections and unable to comment if such material was covered well.

Overall - a very good book. Highly recommend it.

Top Marks for this highly readable and clear intro to Voice over IP. The subject matter is dealt with in reasonable detail and the author achieves great clarity in explaining difficult technical concepts. He also delves a bit into the history and background which also helps to put the subject matter in context. He even adds a small example of how to go about dimensioning a VOIP network at the end of the book.

Daniel Collins has written a terrific reference for anyone interested in understanding Voice Over IP. From the very start of the book, it is clear that Collins has the ability to address key areas of interest for technical readers, planners, and executives. Readers with a technical interest should be very comfortable using this book as their reference for all key issues and questions related to the emerging opportunity of VOIP. Congratulations to Mr. Collins for his eloquent and well organized description of VOIP for anyone trying to understand and/or exploit this emerging communications opportunity.

IMHO Amazon.com and the Publisher have mis-represented what is available for the Kindle. The clickable (Selectable) Table Of Contents in this book does not work.

I downloaded this for my Kindle, come to find out that the Table of Contents did not work. I called Amazon and was told that not all publishers include a clickable Table of Contents (TOC) and to look in the "Details" section before buying in the future.

I looked there and explained to the Amazon Rep that another book that I have works fine and it also does not mention if there is a clickable Table of Contents or not. I was basically told to pound sand because my order was over 7 days old but I could talk to their web department and ask to have this information added.

So basically BUYER BEWARE. If you own a Kindle, there is NOTHING on the Amazon web site that will warn you if a functioning TOC is included or not. This book does not have one, so don't buy this book if you are expecting one.

FWIW, I ordered the book 8 days ago, I emailed their support 2 days ago and I was still told to pound sand because I am calling on the 8th day of a 7 day limit even though I emailed them on the 5th day. Very frustrating !

I serious think that I should not write this review since I do not understand half of this book, but then again, I have read this and also Cisco Intergrated Voice Data and can in some way be a poor/insufficient abeit enthusastic tour guide. I have noticed other reviewers describing this book as great - but I do not think this book is comparable to monumental classic like Jeff Doyle or Kennedy Clarks books on Routing and Switching - where they display in-depth knowledge on the topic plus an ability to explain thing in the clearest possible way. I rate this book 5 stars for the sole reason that the author do appear to have an overwhelming knowledge of computer telephony - although I cannot quite judge whether they are technically accurate or error free - and has taken his valueable time off to write them down and share with us. While the author definitely has the kindest intention of making it "understanable" to even the not-so-technically-advance group of reader - as is evidenced in the way he start off this book by explaining why bother with IP telephony, and why TCP/IP is inherently unsuitable for IP telephony - I suspect that when it come to harder topics like H.323, SIP etc - there is simply no way or no time to find a more reader friendly way to present it. In the end it is a tough read - so tough that I will have to put it aside for a while as you need to be in the highest state or mental agility and strength to make hard yakka through the book. Nevertheless, this book is a useful reference - and for topics that this author decide not to include - check out Cisco's Integrated Voice and Data.