SIP trunk installations take just minutes with an Ingate SIParator at the customer edge. With that one device a whole new world of opportunities for Unified Communications is also instantly available.
The Ingate SIParator E-SBC resolves interoperability between the ShoreTel PBX and the ITSP. This makes connecting the ShoreTel to virtually any SIP trunking service provider a simple process. Ingate’s SIParator even offers a startup tool that will automatically configure the SIParator for deployments between the ShoreTel and the selected ITSP, speeding up your deployment so you can begin benefitting from SIP trunks within minutes.
The E-SBC adds critical security — security that’s bypassed in installations that take a sidestep approach like tunneling or assigning a public IP address to the PBX. Hackers have found ways to exploit Voice-over-IP to their own advantage. News reports of Denial of Service attacks or hackers exploiting unprotected SIP trunking installations to make expensive long-distance calls are becoming more common.
These vulnerabilities can be eliminated with an E-SBC. Like a firewall, the E-SBC is designed to allow access only to authorized users and to specifically protect against attacks on SIP installations. The Ingate E-SBC also includes Intrusion Detection /Intrusion Prevention System (IDS/IPS) solutions to protect against attacks targeting SIP. It can also be configured to require user authentication to avoid the unauthorized use of the SIP trunking implementation. Encryption for privacy using TLS and SRTP, features not available with traditional telephony, are also possible. All of this and more is part of the E-SBC’s arsenal to protect voice, video or any UC application, as well as the network.
There are other approaches to enabling SIP trunking such as tunneling to a service provider network. This could be over an MPLS network or some other service, but as security professionals will tell you any network outside of your own should be considered untrusted and measures should be taken locally to protect your assets and services. The E-SBC should be a part of the design of every SIP installation.
Besides increasing security risks, the tunnel approach also locks you in to using just one service provider, leaving you vulnerable to high service prices and unable to make a switch without further hardware investments. Additionally, these service providers may not be able to offer support for Unified Communications services or, if they do, may charge high fees to route that traffic. The ability to use multiple service providers offers the greatest economic advantage when adopting SIP communications.
Finally, the E-SBC is a great diagnostic tool. Ingate’s SIParator generates MOS scores as well as jitter and delay statistics to provide metrics on call quality. It can also generate extensive logs and traces that can be analyzed to isolate the cause of any reported issues.
The E-SBC future-proofs your network to be “cutting edge” for years to come allowing not only SIP trunking but all current and future Unified Communications features and services to be delivered easily and securely.
***
Steven Johnson is president of Ingate® Systems. Simplifying SIP trunk and Unified Communications deployments, Ingate® Systems’ Enterprise Session Border Controllers (E-SBCs) work seamlessly with ShoreTel’s Unified Communications solutions to speed up installations for rapid ROI while providing maximum security – all at an attractive price point.
Some of the individuals posting to this site, including the moderators, work for ShoreTel, Inc. Opinions expressed here and in any corresponding comments are the personal opinions of the original authors, not of ShoreTel. The content is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to be an endorsement or representation by ShoreTel or any other party.
The post SIP Trunking with an an Ingate SIParator® Enterprise Session Border Controller appeared first on ShoreTel Blog.