
This book was written for the thousands of IT professionals—from CIOs to circuit-switched telecom engineers—who are now responsible for deploying and maintaining secure VoIP networks. The book explains the impact on your VoIP network of PSTN, SIP, H.323, firewalls, NAT, encryption, and the regulatory environment. Coverage includes evaluation, design, integration, and management of VoIP networking components, including IP telephones, gateways, gatekeepers, registration servers, media servers, and proxy servers. Throughout the book, the authors rely on their extensive real-world experience to provide readers with practical applications and solutions.

Fed up with the high tolls charged by your ordinary telephone service? If you’re itching to cut the copper cord with your costly, traditional phone service, you need Talk is Cheap, the new, easy-to-understand guide to understanding and using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and other Internet telephone options.
The authors of Voice over IP Fundamentals–three packet-voice specialists at Cisco Systems–initiate their exploration of next-generation technologies for supporting conversations across large distances: the switched telephone network as implemented on large (intercontinental) and small (building and enterprise) scales. They then point out problems with the old way of doing things and illuminate the standards and regulatory conditions that have made Internet telephony attractive. Signaling System 7 (SS7) gets particularly insightful coverage, with ample graphical support for the clear, fact-rich, example-laden prose.
If you’ve heard about Skype–and who hasn’t with all the recent media attention devoted to internet telephone services–chances are you’ve been mighty tempted to try it out. Skype Hacks tells you what all the Skype hype is about, explains the basics, and shows you more than 100 clever tips and tricks for tweaking and tuning Skype to make it do just what you want and more.
“…shows you how to get the biggest bang for the buck using Internet telephony.”
– Mike Berman, Jocgeek.com
“I found most of the hacks clearly written, with enough examples to explicate the descriptions, and there is a good balance among tools that could run on Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X…definitely a book for the beginner- to-intermediate VoIP enthusiast.”
— Heison Chak, ;login:
Telephones have truly become an integral part of our daily lives, serving as our communication lifeline to the world. However, there have been very few advances in the basic technology of phone service – until now. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) offers consumers a cost-effective alternative to traditional phone service. “Cut the Cord! The Consumer’s Guide to VoIP” gives you the knowledge you need to decide if VoIP is right for you. It offers tips for selecting a VoIP service and advice for setting up your new service. It is packed with checklists, Web site resources, tips, and notes, and even provides examples of services that you can try before committing to VoIP.