<div>
<div class="content wysiwyg-content">
Some of my customers use VoIP phones and/or Microsoft Lync for communication, including Instant Messaging and video calls. &nbsp;I want to recover their servers in my data center and allow them to continue using VoIP and/or Microsoft Lync.<br />
<br />
I have everything in place to restore all servers, but I'm concerned that just the servers won't be enough -- what network gear or circuits, if any, would be required to make the above work? &nbsp;I already have redundant Internet connectivity and firewall protection, but I don't want to have to pay to have a SIP circuit run to my data center, and I prefer not to have to host a lot of customer-specific network gear.<br />
<br />
In order to provide proper MS Lync and/or VoIP functionality, would I have to have a handoff with the Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) or other carrier into the data center? &nbsp;What might such a handoff look like (such as what equipment would facilitate this handoff, if required)?
</div>
</div>


Some of my customers use VoIP phones and/or Microsoft Lync for communication, including Instant Messaging and video calls.  I want to recover their servers in my data center and allow them to continue using VoIP and/or Microsoft Lync.

I have everything in place to restore all servers, but I'm concerned that just the servers won't be enough -- what network gear or circuits, if any, would be required to make the above work?  I already have redundant Internet connectivity and firewall protection, but I don't want to have to pay to have a SIP circuit run to my data center, and I prefer not to have to host a lot of customer-specific network gear.

In order to provide proper MS Lync and/or VoIP functionality, would I have to have a handoff with the Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) or other carrier into the data center?  What might such a handoff look like (such as what equipment would facilitate this handoff, if required)?

Voice over IP (VoIP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and Microsoft Lync

Voice over IP (VoIP) is a methodology and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. Other terms commonly associated with VoIP are IP telephony, Internet telephony, broadband telephony, and broadband phone service. The term specifically refers to the provisioning of communications services (voice, fax, SMS, voice-messaging) over the public Internet, rather than via the public switched telephone network (PSTN).  Examples of the VoIP protocols are H.323, Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), H.248 (also known as Media Gateway Control (Megaco)), Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP), Real-time Transport Control Protocol (RTCP), Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP), Session Description Protocol (SDP), and Inter-Asterisk eXchange (IAX).

Voice Over IP

Cisco PIX is a dedicated hardware firewall appliance; the Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) is a firewall and anti-malware security appliance that provides unified threat management and protection the PIX does not. Other Cisco devices and systems include routers, switches, storage networking, wireless and the software and hardware for PIX Firewall Manager (PFM), PIX Device Manager (PDM) and Adaptive Security Device Manager (ASDM).

Cisco

IP telephony (Internet Protocol telephony) is a general term for the technologies that use the Internet Protocol's packet-switched connections to exchange voice, fax, and other forms of information that have traditionally been carried over the dedicated circuit-switched connections of the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Using the Internet, calls travel as packets of data on shared lines, avoiding the tolls of the PSTN. The challenge in IP telephony is to deliver the voice, fax, or video packets in a dependable flow to the user.