Gateway IP Network Tutorial: In the case of voice over IP, packets are usually created as a VoIP gateway receives a voice stream. The gateway compresses the voice and digitizes it into a packet payload, adding a header with destination information. With conventional gateways, packets are created as each individual voice stream hits the gateway. Read this article to learn more.

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Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) offers a wide range of benefits to both enterprises and communications/network service providers. These include lower costs, unified management of voice and data infrastructure, and – perhaps most importantly – the ability to deploy a new generation of converged voice/data applications.

Although use of VoIP is growing rapidly, several factors have inhibited more rapid adoption across all market segments. These factors include concerns about maintaining consistent voice quality over IP networks, especially during periods where other types of traffic on the IP network suddenly “spike� – potentially putting the squeeze on voice packets and momentarily threatening voice quality.

Quintum Technologies has directly addressed this issue with its multi-switching VoIP architecture, which instantaneously re-routes voice traffic from the IP network to the public switched network if conditions on the IP network threaten to compromise call quality.

Now, Quintum has gone a step further in ensuring the quality of VoIP with its innovative new PacketSaverâ„¢ technology. PacketSaver multiplexes multiple individual VoIP sessions into consolidated IP packets, significantly reducing the total amount of bandwidth needed to support voice calls over IP networks. This more efficient approach to transporting VoIP results in three key benefits:

1. By minimizing the bandwidth required for VoIP traffic, PacketSaver lowers the likelihood that other congestion on the network will threaten voice quality.
2. Because PacketSaver reduces the total number of packets used for VoIP traffic, it also reduces the chances of packet loss – another factor that can affect voice quality.
3. In minimizing the amount of bandwidth required for VoIP, PacketSaver contributes to the overall efficiency of the IP network – reducing congestion and lowering overall infrastructure costs.

This last benefit is particularly appealing to VoIP service providers, whose profitability is largely contingent on their ability to deliver high-quality voice services over IP networks at the least possible cost.

Quintum’s PacketSaver technology is equally applicable to fax-over-IP (FoIP) traffic, enabling enterprise customers and service providers alike to achieve similar cost-efficiency gains for document-based communications.

How PacketSaver Works

In the case of voice over IP, packets are usually created as a VoIP gateway receives a voice stream. The gateway compresses the voice and digitizes it into a packet payload, adding a header with destination information. With conventional gateways, packets are created as each individual voice stream hits the gateway. This results in the creation of tremendous header overhead. The network – which usually has lots of data packets flowing over it already – can easily become saturated, causing congestion and even lost packets. This can compromise the voice quality, as well as the overall health of the network.

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