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Voice over IP (VoIP) means telephony technology that sends voice traffic across a network using Internet Protocol (IP) protocols. A key advantage of VoIP is its ability to help reduce expenses due to the fact that telephone conversations take place over the data network rather than the phone company's network. IP telephony covers the full range of VoIP enabled services including the interfacing of phone sets for communications; associated functions including billing and dialing plans; and basic capabilities including group calls, call transfer, call forwarding, and hold. These features were often once handled by a Private Branch Exchange (PBX).

VoIP is the basis for unified communications solutions. Cisco's Unified Communications system of voice, video, mobile, and Internet Protocol communications offerings delivers the tools for creating a single converged network that can handle multiple types of traffic simultaneously. Cisco allows this capability while sustaining an outstanding degree of network resilience, Quality of Service (QoS), and security. Major benefits of IP telephony technologies are:

• A flexible, standards-based upgrade strategy that allows you to select IP products that meet your existing need, while providing a seamless path for accelerating IP integration
• Quality of Service mechanisms that provide excellent voice quality by means of strict management of latency, drop out, and distortion
• Network management tools that facilitate system administration, operations, troubleshooting, configuring, problem monitoring, and element management

The architecture of the Cisco IP Telephony solution is made up of communications endpoints, processing agents, and IP telephony applications.

Call Endpoints
A communications endpoint is a user device, either a desk phone or a soft phone application powered by a PC. In the IP world, every VoIP phone is Ethernet connected. VoIP phones have all of the features that an ordinary phone handset provides. IP phones can also have extra features including being able to connect to Websites or run productivity-enhancing software. Cisco Unified IP handsets include the Cisco feature-rich IP Phone 7931G, Cisco's Wireless IP Phone 7921G, and the Cisco IP Phone 7985G video phone.

In a Cisco IP communications environment, you can also choose Cisco's IP Communicator product, a PC--enabled telephony application. When using the Cisco IP Communicator remotely, you carry your virtual office with you and also have access to the same phone features you have in the office. System managers can set up the IP Communicator as they do any other Cisco IP Phone, significantly simplifying IP telephony management.

In contrast to ordinary PBX systems, in a Cisco IP communications environment you can implement almost instant relocations, adds, and modifications. You merely take the IP handset to your new spot, plug it into an Ethernet jack, and the IP phone announces itself with Cisco Communications Manager. All client privileges and settings are automatically replicated, doing away with the cost and hassle of dispatching support personnel to rewire connections. An additional useful capability is extension mobility, which enables you to log into any Cisco IP phone and get your own phone number and privileges.

Centralized and Remote Call-processing Agents
The call-processing agent is the center of the Cisco IP Communications solution. To meet your business requirements you can choose to install a central call-processing model, a decentralized model, or a mix of both. In a centralized approach, Cisco Communications Manager expands enterprise telephony features to packet telephony products such as IP phones, media management appliances, VoIP gateways, and multimedia applications throughout the network. Cisco Communications Manager supports extra mixed media functions including unified messaging, multimedia conferencing, and collaborative client communication networks.

When a centralized Cisco Communications Manager cluster also takes care of call management for customers at remote sites, IT managers can help ensure non-stop phone service through Cisco SRST, an IOS Software image for Cisco routers. If a WAN connection breaks, Cisco SRST incorporated in the router offers core Communications Manager capabilities until the connection is restored.

For small offices or loosely coupled small enterprise branch locations that do not need the full, enterprise-class feature set available from Cisco Communications Manager, Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express provides a cost-effective alternative that handles the requirements of sites with as many as 240 users. Since Unified Communications Manager Express is built into the IOS Software running on a Cisco multiservice access router, smaller organizations can rapidly and easily implement a combined voice/data solution.

Internet Protocol Phone Applications
Under Cisco's Unified Communications architecture, Internet Protocol phone applications are physically separate from the call-processing and voice-processing mechanism, and they may be at any location within the network. A cohesive connectivity infrastructure provides an open environment for powerful applications, and acts as a solid basis for future convergence-based software.

Cisco works with leading technology vendors to offer a wide selection of independent IP telephony applications and devices. Cisco also supports the ability to create and administer customized applications.

Cisco Unity Solutions for Unified Messaging
The Cisco Unity platform offers powerful voicemail plus unified messaging functions that transparently operate with Exchange, Domino, and Groupwise. Cisco Unity scales to handle the needs of large enterprises and provides versatile upgrade utilities and a broad array of efficiency increasing functions.

The Cisco Unity product portfolio supports both Cisco Communications Manager and popular PBX systems to allow your organization to move up to Internet Protocol telephony at your own pace and get the most from your current network investments. The solution also includes a variety of networking modules that support advanced message exchange with popular voice-mail products. When you are moving to the Cisco Unity framework, these modules promote a smooth migration by offering you the capability to trade messages with internal subscribers who reside on an older messaging system.

Unity Connection combines unified messaging, voice recognition, and call transfer rules into an easy-to-manage system for medium-sized businesses with up to 3000 users. For businesses with 500 users, Unity Connection is offered as a single-server solution with Unified Communications Manager Business Edition.

Cisco Unity Connection is a highly functional solution built on a platform that is straightforward to deploy and maintain. With Cisco Unity Connection users can access voice messages using Cisco Unified Personal Communicator, utilize the screen on their Cisco Unified IP Phone to review, search, and file voice mail. and can even use the voice recognition interface of Unity Connection to access and participate in Unified MeetingPlace Express conferences. Unity Connection also provides resilient automated attendant functions that include smart call switching and easily personalized call display and message alert options.

Unity Express, offered in certain Cisco Integrated Services routers, provides affordable voicemail, integrated messaging, IVR, and automated-attendant functions for small to mid-size businesses (SMBs) and corporate branch locations with as many as 250 workers.

How Progent's Engineers Can Assist You with Cisco's IP Telephony Technology
Progent can provide a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert or Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) to assist you to implement and support Cisco IP telephony products. Progent's programmers can build specialized unified messaging applications that will enable your company to integrate the telephony capabilities of Cisco Unified Communications Manager into your company processes for enhanced productivity. Progent can evaluate your existing network and Internet access architecture to determine whether your environment is optimized to accommodate VoIP, help you to choose and integrate Cisco products that make sense for your current needs and future expansion plans, and interface your Cisco VoIP products with technology from other suppliers.

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