Session Border Controller is Indispensable For All Enterprises Using SIPs and VoIP

The trend in enterprises is to move towards Voip for communications and they rely on VoIP service providers to provide the appropriate solutions. VoIP mainly relies on class 5 and class 4 softswitches that are deemed sufficient and are cost effective. However, it is not sufficient to have only these two and rely on usual network firewall for security. This is where the session Border Controller steps in and does more than provide security. It is indispensable for environments where VoIP is in use. It is useful at the carrier end and equally necessary at the user end.

There are reasons to include SBC solution in a VoIP service though it may add to the cost.

Simple firewall security is not enough. The session Border controller acts as a sentry and works as a SIP firewall. It does what the normal firewall cannot. The VoIP SBC inspects data packets to make sure these are in the right format and that they do not carry any virus signatures by maintaining a list of SIP viruses and carrying out a comparison. SBC stands in the front line in case of a DOS or DDOS attack.

That is not the only function of the session border controller. Call admission control is part of its duties and this applies to audio as well as video calls. SBC ensures call clarity and quality are the highest.

How much the SBC solution is indispensable can be gleaned from the fact that it caries out the function of network address translation. In short, it hides the true IP address and prevents any snoopers from trying to tunnel through by generating its own IP.

If that is not sufficient enough there are still more cogent reasons for VoIP SBC one of which is that it enables communication between disparate systems using different protocols, software, applications and versions. Without SBC users would complain about connections and call quality. SBC makes it a smooth and seamless experience. It goes further to serve as a WebRTC gateway with its transcoding and translation functions that enables automatic communication between H.323 to SIP or G729 to G711, from IPV6 to IPV4 and so on. SBC becomes even more vital when one considers that it routes signals through the best pathways to make efficient use of networks and assure perfect call quality.

Any enterprise that considers implementing VoIP needs to include and budget for SBC solutions to ensure they get the quality and performance they expect.