VoSKY Creates SIP Gateway for Skype

If you have a SIP-based VoIP network, you can now interface directly with the Skype network without the need for analog phone connections. Here it is, from the horse’s mouth:

Sunnyvale, Calif., August 19, 2008 – VoSKY, the market leader in developing Skype for business solutions, today announced the industry’s first Skype-certified, enterprise-grade PBX-to-Skype gateway for SIP networks. Designed to enable medium and large-sized enterprises to maximize the value of their IP-PBX, the new VoSKY Exchange Pro VISIP-EX connects an IP-PBX to Skype to dramatically reduce telecom costs up to 90% over traditional telco trunks. This latest addition to VoSKY’s award-winning PBX-to-Skype gateway family is based on the company’s next-generation Linux platform and offers enterprise-grade performance and scalability.

As the industry’s first enterprise-grade PBX-to-Skype gateway for SIP networks to achieve Skype certification, the VoSKY Exchange Pro VISIP-EX delivers unmatched performance and reliability – along with complete interoperability with all Skype features and services. The plug-and-play appliance is also fully certified and endorsed by key PBX vendors to further simplify integration in the enterprise environment.

The VoSKY Exchange Pro VISIP-EX seamlessly integrates with any existing IP-PBX through SIP trunk ports and adds up to 30 lines of Skype. As a result, enterprises can add extra capacity and take advantage of Skype’s cost savings and enhanced business features without overhauling their existing network and phone infrastructure. With a VoSKY Exchange gateway, employees can make and receive Skype calls from their regular office phone – no Skype software, computers, or headsets are required.

By centralizing administration, VoSKY Exchange gives IT managers full control of Skype in their network to help address some of the chief concerns of using the peer-to-peer (P2P) service in the enterprise environment. Administrators no longer have to manage and troubleshoot a mix of computer hardware, operating systems, Skype client versions, and headsets. VoSKY Exchange also minimizes security concerns by removing Skype from the employee’s desktop. And by integrating Skype with the corporate PBX, VoSKY Exchange ensures that all inbound and outbound Skype calls are included in the company’s Call Detail Records (CDR).

VoSKY Exchange Pro VISIP-EX also adds innovative Skype business applications to an IP-PBX. For example, companies can take advantage of Skype’s newly launched Unlimited World plans for ultra low cost international and long distance calls to customers and business partners. Businesses can also enhance their online sales efforts by adding a Skype-powered click-to-call button on their e-commerce site, online support portal, or web banner, as well as expand market presence by adding a local number in any country where global SkypeIn is available.

Furthermore, the VoSKY gateway lets telecommuters and traveling workers connect to the company PBX from wherever they are, allowing them to talk to the office for free or place low cost international calls. To add remote PBX access, companies only need to install a free Skype client on the employee’s laptop or smart phone. Using Skype dramatically simplifies deployment by eliminating common complexities associated with remotely accessing IP-PBXs, such as VPN configuration or NAT/Firewall traversal issues. Additionally, Skype’s private voice network ensures greater voice quality compared with VoIP calls over the public Internet.

“The enterprise market continues to embrace IP-PBXs as a way to lower their telecom costs. According to a report by The Info Pro, 59% of enterprises currently have an IP-PBX in use, while 29% of them include an IP-PBX in their near- or long-term plans,” said David Tang, VP of Global Marketing at VoSKY. “The VoSKY Exchange Pro VISIP-EX was not designed to replace the IP-PBX, but rather enhance its value through Skype’s global reach, enormous user base, robust voice quality, and value-added business applications such as click-to-call.”

The launch of the VoSKY Exchange Pro VISIP-EX rounds out VoSKY’s PBX-to-Skype portfolio to meet the needs of companies of all sizes – from SMBs to large enterprises. VoSKY Exchange gateways seamlessly integrate with legacy and next-generation telecommunications equipment via industry standard analog FX/FXS, digital T1/E1, or IP (SIP) interfaces.

August 19, 2008 | Tags: , , , , , , | 823 Comments »

Head-to-head: Jazinga vs. Asterisk Appliance, Part 1

Jazinga (top) and Asterisk Appliance (bottom)

Jazinga is a Canadian VoIP software startup that offers a small business telephone solution, among other VoIP technology procurements. The solution works with SIP phones and consists of a shiny grey appliance that certainly conjures thoughts of its contemporary, the Asterisk Appliance, another VoIP telephone system from Digium. When I first looked at the Asterisk Appliance, I was mostly impressed–there were a few key things missing, though, and if Jazinga can seize on Digium’s shortcomings with their product, I’ll give ‘em a high-five.

First off, know that the Jazinga product is not yet available to the general public, however the software and hardware I looked at was in a very functional state. So it’s fair to compare with the Digium device, since it too was in a pre-release state when I looked at it.

Let’s talk about the Asterisk Appliance for a minute. It looks great, offers support for up to four analog phone lines, and has a “pretty good” GUI web interface–nothing as slick as Switchvox or Fonality, but functional.

The Asterisk Appliance MUST be directly connected to the Internet in order to act as a VoIP trunk gateway, and this is hugely bad. For one, the Linux under the hood of the Asterisk box isn’t all that easy to keep up-to-date security patch wise, and for two, the underlying routing, NAT, and access functions necessary to the Appliance’s functioning as a router aren’t available via its web interface. That’s why I haven’t actually used an Asterisk appliance in the field yet.

Small businesses don’t have a block of IP addresses to work with, and typically don’t have a DMZ segment to sit their phone system on, so I haven’t been able to recommend it as a production PBX.

Let’s hope Jazinga has solved some of these problems.

The first thing I noticed about the Jazinga box was its inclusion of an antenna, ostensibly making it a wireless access point as well as a PBX. A quick glance at the back panel of the main unit, and I realized it’s also an Ethernet switch and a broadband router, just like the Digium unit. The Jazinga offers 4 LAN ports, one WAN port, two analog phone connections, and one analog phone line connection.

According to the quick-start card Jazinga includes, the Jazinga must act as the Internet gateway, which is somewhat problematic. Like the Digium unit, which frustrates me that it has to be the Internet gateway router, the Jazinga insists on being “directly” connected to the Internet–ie. there cannot be a NAT point in front of the Jazinga as it communicates with hosts on the Internet. This is unfortunately, if excusable. VoIP signaling protocols still haven’t totally bridged the NAT gap, but the Jazinga innovates its way out of that mess by allowing you to disable routing altogether, and by providing support for IAX trunks–which are immune to NAT problems normally imposed on VoIP protocols.

Initial setup was easy. I only had two snags. The documentation I received said to use a URL with a host of jazinga.local, but the DNS obtained from the Jazinga through DHCP didn’t resolve that name. Fortunately a quick ifconfig told me what IP address the Jazinga was on and it was mostly smooth sailing from there. The second issue I ran into was a difficulty with the DHCP client on the WAN side. In this case, I was using the Jazinga with a cable modem, which, after a reboot, got the Time Warner DHCP server back on track. So, pretty easy.

Jazinga is going to offer a branded VoIP trunk service especially for this device. At this point I don’t know where their PRIs sit, but I expect you’ll be able to get a local number anywhere in N. America. So, not wanting to be held up, I got to work connecting the Jazinga to my Gizmo account, with which I have a Gizmo CallIn number.

I’ll post the results of that experiment and the rest of my Jazinga evaluation in a day or two. Stay tuned.

June 24, 2008 | Tags: , , , | 914 Comments »