Switching to VoIP (Paperback)

~ Theodore Wallingford (Author)
Key Phrases: converged network, packet inspection, local firewall policy, Key Issues, Replacing Call Signaling, Quality of Service (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

More and more businesses today have their receive phone service through Internet instead of local phone company lines. Many businesses are also using their internal local and wide-area network infrastructure to replace legacy enterprise telephone networks. This migration to a single network carrying voice and data is called convergence, and it's revolutionizing the world of telecommunications by slashing costs and empowering users. The technology of families driving this convergence is called VoIP, or Voice over IP.

VoIP has advanced Internet-based telephony to a viable solution, piquing the interest of companies small and large. The primary reason for migrating to VoIP is cost, as it equalizes the costs of long distance calls, local calls, and e-mails to fractions of a penny per use. But the real enterprise turn-on is how VoIP empowers businesses to mold and customize telecom and datacom solutions using a single, cohesive networking platform. These business drivers are so compelling that legacy telephony is going the way of the dinosaur, yielding to Voice over IP as the dominant enterprise communications paradigm.

Developed from real-world experience by a senior developer, O'Reilly's Switching to VoIP provides solutions for the most common VoIP migration challenges. So if you're a network professional who is migrating from a traditional telephony system to a modern, feature-rich network, this book is a must-have. You'll discover the strengths and weaknesses of circuit-switched and packet-switched networks, how VoIP systems impact network infrastructure, as well as solutions for common challenges involved with IP voice migrations. Among the challenges discussed and projects presented:

• building a softPBX
• configuring IP phones
• ensuring quality of service
• scalability
• standards-compliance
• topological considerations
• coordinating a complete system ?switchover?
• migrating applications like voicemail and directory services
• retro-interfacing to traditional telephony
• supporting mobile users
• security and survivability
• dealing with the challenges of NAT

To help you grasp the core principles at work, Switching to VoIP uses a combination of strategy and hands-on "how-to" that introduce VoIP routers and media gateways, various makes of IP telephone equipment, legacy analog phones, IPTables and Linux firewalls, and the Asterisk open source PBX software by Digium. You'll learn how to build an IP-based or legacy-compatible phone system and voicemail system complete with e-mail integration while becoming familiar with VoIP protocols and devices. Switching to VoIP remains vendor-neutral and advocates standards, not brands. Some of the standards explored include:

• SIP
• H.323, SCCP, and IAX
• Voice codecs
• 802.3af
• Type of Service, IP precedence, DiffServ, and RSVP
• 802.1a/b/g WLAN

If VoIP has your attention, like so many others, then Switching to VoIP will help you build your own system, install it, and begin making calls. It's the only thing left between you and a modern telecom network.

About the Author

Ted Wallingford is an executive technologist and the co-founder of Best Technology Strategy LLC, a company which helps entrepreneurs and established companies alike in the adoption, integration, and successful use of communication systems and business processes. A global thought leader on the subject of VoIP and Internet Protocol communications, Ted has emerged as an expert in the emerging fields of network convergence and unified business communication. Ted has written two technology books for O'Reilly Media, and has appeared on NPR Science Friday. He also periodically writes for Macworld Magazine and maintains the Signal to Noise blog. He resides in Cleveland, OH.

---

Product Details Paperback: 502 pages Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.; illustrated edition edition (June 30, 2005) Language: English ISBN-10: 0596008686 ISBN-13: 978-0596008680 Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 1.2 inches Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #184,984 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #31 in  Books > Computers & Internet > Networking > Telephony

---

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Ted Wallingford Page

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Search Inside This Book:

---

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
converged network, packet inspection, local firewall policy, legacy trunks, legacy interface cards, telephony apps, analog endpoints, voice endpoints, calling endpoint, codec selection, private trunks, voice mail server, packet interval, inline power, media encryption, call signaling, dedicated trunks, capabilities negotiation, traditional telephony, telephony features, telephony applications, media attribute, calling features, signaling standards, packetization delay

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Key Issues, Replacing Call Signaling, Quality of Service, Traditional Apps, Asterisk Reference, Asterisk Dial-Plan, Asterisk Manager, Replacing the Voice Circuit, Red Hat, North America, Network Infrastructure, Dial-Tone Trunks, Grandstream Budgetone, Two Separate Worlds, Troubleshooting Tools, Marketing Department, Ted Wallingford, Express Router, One Network, Inter-Asterisk Exchange, Call Proceeding, Linux Traffic Control, Circuit-Switched Telephony, United States, Asterisk Channels

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Search Inside This Book:

---

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	73% buy the item featured on this page: Switching to VoIP 4.1 out of 5 stars (9) $18.40
	10% buy Asterisk: The Future of Telephony, 2nd Edition 4.6 out of 5 stars (7) $29.69
	7% buy VoIP Deployment For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech)) 5.0 out of 5 stars (1) $19.79
	6% buy VoIP Hacks: Tips & Tools for Internet Telephony 4.6 out of 5 stars (5) $19.77

Explore similar items

---

Tags Customers Associate with This Product  (What's this?) Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people. Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below.  asterisk(2) sip(2) iax(1) internet(1) network administration(1) networking(1) pbx(1) telephony(1) voip(1) See all 11 tags... Your tags: Add your first tag

Search Products Tagged with   See most popular tags

---

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

---

 

Customer Reviews

9 Reviews 5 star:  (5) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (1)           Average Customer Review 4.1 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 16 of 16 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Good choice for investigating VoIP for your organization..., August 22, 2005 By  Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)       It seems like Voice over Internet Protocol, aka VoIP, is starting to become much more mainstream. Not only are businesses switching over, but now you can set up your home phone access to use VoIP (aka "broadband") technology. Ted Wallingford has done a nice job in explaining the business side of the possibilities in the book Switching to VoIP - A Solutions Manual for Network Professionals. Contents: Voice and Data - Two Separate Worlds?; Voice over Data - Many Conversations, One Network; Linux as a PBX; Circuit-Switched Telephony; Enterprise Telephone Applications; Replacing the Voice Circuit with VoIP; Replacing Call Signaling with VoIP; VoIP Readiness; Quality of Service; Security and Monitoring; Troubleshooting Tools; PSTN Trunks; Network Infrastructure for VoIP; Traditional Apps on the Converged Network; What Can Go Wrong?; VoIP Vendors and Services; Asterisk Reference; SIP Methods and Responses; AGI Commands; Asterisk Manager Socket API Syntax; Glossary; Index I think the biggest thing to keep in mind when approaching this book is the target audience. While there are a few books out there on "internet telephones" that talk to the consumer, this isn't one of them. The tag line of "for Network Professionals" is the key here. While you don't have to be a network guru to read this book, some level of familiarity with network and telephony concepts would help. Someone either working with the communication systems in a company or heading up a communications department would be a perfect match here. You'd probably even do alright if you just have an interest in the subject, as Wellingford does a good job taking what can be complex material and making it understandable. An admirable task in itself... What makes this book stand out from other books I'd expect to see is that it doesn't just dwell on jargon and theory. There are a number of projects included in the book so you can get your hands dirty actually working with the technology. Add to that the fact that the author uses an open source PBX system called Asterisk for the exercises. So now you have no reason in terms of cost for not diving right in. Although I'm not necessarily the target audience for this book, I'd have no problem recommending it to someone looking for material that covers this subject. The book is very well written, and after finishing it you should have a very firm grasp of the essentials. You might even know enough to start yourself on your next career path... :) 15 of 15 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good, August 4, 2005 By  Darin Rand (Stayton, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    As the telcom manager for a rather large enterprise (45,000 users) I try to keep up on the various books on VoIP and this one is pretty good. It is designed towards someone who is knowledgeable about voice and data but not necessarily someone how is an expert in either subject. It also does a very good job of not focusing on any one type of technology but covers H.323, SIP and Cisco amongst many others and gives you a good sense of each flavor that is available. I would recommend it for anyone looking to deploy VoIP. 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A very thorough introduction, January 23, 2007 By  orangekay (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews    Amazon Verified Purchase I can't say this book will answer every question you might have about every piece of VoIP hardware on the market today, but it does a pretty good job of building an understanding of the core concepts shared amongst all the brand names so that you can make the jump from general to specific without too much hair pulling. If any specific product is given more attention than others, it's Asterisk, but that's not only welcome, it's unavoidable given the subject matter. The treatment it receives here also beats the everloving tar out of the O'Reilly book dedicated to Asterisk exclusively.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 3.0 out of 5 stars Lots of information Since I'm starting with a knowledge base of zero there is a lot of good information in this book. For technical information it is realtively easy to read. Read more Published 4 months ago by Wiggdog 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Guide for a VoIP Migration Project I enjoyed this book a lot and also read Cisco Press's "Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project" by Walker and Hicks. Read more Published 6 months ago by W. Sears 1.0 out of 5 stars Phone Power is EVIL! I signed up for PHONE POWER on a promotion for 10 a month or something. I paid $44 to send the adapter. I never got the damned thing to work and they were NO HELP. Read more Published 14 months ago by DAT 5.0 out of 5 stars Nice introduction to VoIP provided me a smooth introduction to the various components that make up a VoIP network...the projects at the end of the chapters were very good to guide you through the domain. Published on June 23, 2007 by Rajeev Pokkyarath 5.0 out of 5 stars Great Intro to VoIP I teach VoIP & SIP Hands on training classes to clients all over the World for TrainingCity.com. Every week I'm asked what books to buy and I always recommend "Switching to VoIP"... Read more Published on May 31, 2007 by John Downing 5.0 out of 5 stars Great book This book provides a comprehensive look at not only VoIP, but all related legacy telephony systems it may interact with or replace. Read more Published on August 11, 2005 by Jeffrey G. Fanelli Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

---

Customer Discussions

This product's forum Discussion Replies Latest Post No discussions yet Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight Start a new discussion Topic: First post: Receive e-mail when new posts are made Prompts for sign-in   Guidelines Active discussions in related forums Discussion Replies Latest Post textbook Textbooks for Kindle DX? 61 7 hours ago networking Wireless routers-which one is the best? 10 21 hours ago internet Amazon search problem and How to report a web site problem to Amazon? 0 4 days ago textbook textbook scam 66 5 days ago networking Range booster 28 10 days ago internet Can't be simple/absolute for DickandJane! 0 13 days ago voip VOIP 1 14 days ago Search Customer Discussions Search all Amazon discussions

The VoIP community Latest activity 1 day ago 1,450 customers have contributed 387 products, 14 discussions and more... › Explore the community The Networking community Latest activity 9 hours ago 3,568 customers have contributed 1,926 products, 73 discussions and more... › Explore the community The Internet community Latest activity 17 hours ago 2,616 customers have contributed 1,806 products, 140 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community Related forums asterisk internet (10 discussions) networking (73 discussions) oreilly books (2 discussions) sip textbook (18 discussions) voip (14 discussions) Explore more › See all Customer Communities › Your communities

---

Listmania!

Be a REAL hacker: start to finish.: A list by Jeremy NeeDLE   VoIP Books: A list by Jared K. Smith "WebSmith"   What I've been reading since 7/31/06: A list by David Richard Koch "An Interested Party" Create a Listmania! list

Search Listmania!

---

So You'd Like to...

Become a Computer Security Expert: A guide by GuitarPlayer   Supplement the Cisco Networking Academy CCNA Curriculum: A guide by Timothy Walker Create a guide

Search Guides

---

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Be the first person to add an article about this item at Amapedia.com.

› See featured Amapedia.com articles

---

Look for Similar Items by Category

• Books > Computers & Internet > Home Computing > Internet
• Books > Computers & Internet > Networking > Networks, Protocols & APIs
• Books > Computers & Internet > Networking > Telephony
• Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Telecommunications

---

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:
Computers - Communications / Networking
Computers / General
Computers / Networking / General
Computers / Networking / Network Protocols
Networking - Network Protocols
TECHNOLOGY / Telecommunications
Technology & Engineering / Telecommunications
Telecommunications
Internet - General
Computer networking & communications
Networking standards & protocols
Telephone technology
Computers
Computer Books: Internet General
Internet telephony
Tâelâephonie Internet
Computer Communications & Networking


i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Ad feedback

 

Feedback If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? Is there any other feedback you would like to provide? Your comments can help make our site better for everyone. Please note that we are unable to respond directly to all feedback submitted via this form, but we'll ask you to sign in so we can contact you if needed.

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

› View and edit your browsing history

Get to Know Us Careers Investor Relations Press Releases Amazon and Our Planet Make Money with Us Sell on Amazon Join Associates Self-publish with Us › See all Let Us Help You Shipping Rates & Policies Amazon Prime Returns Help

Canada | China | France | Germany | Japan | United Kingdom  And don't forget: Amazon Windowshop | AmazonWireless | Askville | Audible | DPReview | Endless | IMDb | Shopbop | SoundUnwound | Warehouse Deals by Amazon | Zappos Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

Product Details

• Paperback: 502 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.; illustrated edition edition (June 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596008686
• ISBN-13: 978-0596008680
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #184,984 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #31 in

  Books > Computers & Internet > Networking > Telephony

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good choice for investigating VoIP for your organization..., August 22, 2005

By	Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

It seems like Voice over Internet Protocol, aka VoIP, is starting to become much more mainstream. Not only are businesses switching over, but now you can set up your home phone access to use VoIP (aka "broadband") technology. Ted Wallingford has done a nice job in explaining the business side of the possibilities in the book Switching to VoIP - A Solutions Manual for Network Professionals.

Contents: Voice and Data - Two Separate Worlds?; Voice over Data - Many Conversations, One Network; Linux as a PBX; Circuit-Switched Telephony; Enterprise Telephone Applications; Replacing the Voice Circuit with VoIP; Replacing Call Signaling with VoIP; VoIP Readiness; Quality of Service; Security and Monitoring; Troubleshooting Tools; PSTN Trunks; Network Infrastructure for VoIP; Traditional Apps on the Converged Network; What Can Go Wrong?; VoIP Vendors and Services; Asterisk Reference; SIP Methods and Responses; AGI Commands; Asterisk Manager Socket API Syntax; Glossary; Index

I think the biggest thing to keep in mind when approaching this book is the target audience. While there are a few books out there on "internet telephones" that talk to the consumer, this isn't one of them. The tag line of "for Network Professionals" is the key here. While you don't have to be a network guru to read this book, some level of familiarity with network and telephony concepts would help. Someone either working with the communication systems in a company or heading up a communications department would be a perfect match here. You'd probably even do alright if you just have an interest in the subject, as Wellingford does a good job taking what can be complex material and making it understandable. An admirable task in itself...

What makes this book stand out from other books I'd expect to see is that it doesn't just dwell on jargon and theory. There are a number of projects included in the book so you can get your hands dirty actually working with the technology. Add to that the fact that the author uses an open source PBX system called Asterisk for the exercises. So now you have no reason in terms of cost for not diving right in.

Although I'm not necessarily the target audience for this book, I'd have no problem recommending it to someone looking for material that covers this subject. The book is very well written, and after finishing it you should have a very firm grasp of the essentials. You might even know enough to start yourself on your next career path... :)

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good, August 4, 2005

By	Darin Rand (Stayton, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As the telcom manager for a rather large enterprise (45,000 users) I try to keep up on the various books on VoIP and this one is pretty good. It is designed towards someone who is knowledgeable about voice and data but not necessarily someone how is an expert in either subject. It also does a very good job of not focusing on any one type of technology but covers H.323, SIP and Cisco amongst many others and gives you a good sense of each flavor that is available. I would recommend it for anyone looking to deploy VoIP.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very thorough introduction, January 23, 2007

By	orangekay (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

I can't say this book will answer every question you might have about every piece of VoIP hardware on the market today, but it does a pretty good job of building an understanding of the core concepts shared amongst all the brand names so that you can make the jump from general to specific without too much hair pulling. If any specific product is given more attention than others, it's Asterisk, but that's not only welcome, it's unavoidable given the subject matter. The treatment it receives here also beats the everloving tar out of the O'Reilly book dedicated to Asterisk exclusively.