Customer Reviews

IP Telephony Demystified

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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Camp undertakes the challenge of blending technologically difficult concepts with the business drivers and impacts that organizations face VoIP/IPT. The book is a good resource for those who don't have the desire, need or time to read the voluminous amount of information published in various standards & RFCs. It simplifies the concepts, describes the "whats" and the "whys", and it gives the reader a solid foundation on which to communicate within the arena of VoIP and IPT.

Are you a professional (engineer, manager, director, account executive) who needs to understand the salient issues surrounding IP Telephony quickly? If so, Ken Camp's new book is for you. I've been studying this topic for several years and never before have I come across a volume that is so succinct and approachable, and yet complete in its coverage of this much discussed technology arena. Are you a scientist or software developer who needs a book that covers every last bit of technical minutae, right down to the definition of every bit's function according to every published standard? If so, go get a copy of the standards. This book is for people who need to quickly understand the relevant aspects of IP Telephony and make sound business and technical decisions; if that includes you then you can't do better than Camp's latest work.

Ken Camp's "IP Telephony Demystified" is a valuable resource for anyone comtemplating the deployment of an IP telephony infrastructure. The introductory material in the beginning prepares the reader for discussion of more complex topics to come. Chapters 4, 6 and 7 deal with the details of the technologies involved in an IP telephony architecture. They are written in an easy-to-understand fashion and offer meaningful comparisons among competing IP telephony standards. Whereas most treatments of this subject focus almost exclusively on the technical details, Mr. Camp's approach places equal emphasis on the business aspects of IP telephony implementation. Chapter 5 offers a particularly honest discussion of the potential benefits of IP telephony in a number of business settings. To summarize, whether you're on the technical side trying to make sense of the myriad of details that comprise IP telephony or on the non-technical side trying to make the best business decisions possible for your organization, there's something in this book for you.

Mr. Camp's IP Telephony Demystified does an excellent job of providing the reader with a managerial and "why it matters" look at the issues and reasons surrounding the application of IP Telephony. What I appreciated most was the grace and style of dealing with a myriad of complex interrelated aspects of this complicated subject matter area. I especially found Chapter 7, Gateways between Networks, relevant to sorting out the various ILEC, ITSP and Enterprise Models. In addition, Chapter 8, Premise-based Telephony, contains some keen insights not seen in other related books.

Ken does a great job exploring the business ramifications, as well as technology underlying, IP Telephony. He tackles both the "how does it work" together with the "why we should care" so that those making strategic and technical decisions can make informed ones. Chapter 6 especially helps direct and pose tough questions one should ask for whether this solution is right for you. Ken is honest, straight forward and direct in his discussions. His use of analogies is such that even beginners, new the concepts can understand what is going on. Ken uses simple to understand language in his writing style for as the name implies, it is IP Telephony Demystified. Here is someone who has finally gone beyond just what the technology is and how it works to investigate, explore and uncover the ways to be success implementing it, and why you should or should not do so. To overlook IP Telephony as a new tool for tomorrow, along with Ken's book, would be a serious mistake.

Camp offers explanations of the many ideas and terms in this field. The text is somewhat technical, inasmuch as it goes down into the level of what makes up an Internet packet. This is probably inevitable, in order to have even a qualitative understanding of many of the ideas.

He discusses what a company wondering about switching to IP telephony should be aware of. Various vendors are mentioned. But since this book was written in 2002, there is no mention of Skype. Still, you should get enough of an understanding to intelligently compare vendors.

This technology is complex and difficult to understand. The advantages of IP Telephony can be hard to grasp. Ken Camp's book truly demystifies IP Telephony. Ken explains the technology in ways that keep technical people interested, yet simplifies it for decision makers to implement IP Telephony solutions successfully. I will continue to take advantage of this book as an Internet consultant. More importantly, so will my clients.

As a librarian I am always looking for books that get to the heart of the information and can give the reader implicit information. Camp delivers. As a student in a VOIP course, the book filled in the missing information that was not understood by the professor. I recommend this book as a place to start. Camp explains how the OSI model layers are affected by the implementation of VOIP. Additionally, having had a network course I still did not understood the function of the DNS and the DHCP which are very important to the precise functioning of a network. Camp explains without missing a beat. And Camp erodes the confusion about VOIP being IP telephony. You get more than you bargain for when you read this book.

Less than half of the book had any real information. The balance was fluff and contained no specifics or facts. I got the feeling the goal of this book was to get something out fast and make sure it was 200 or more pages.