VOIP jargon

Jargon

Image from SIPTrunk.org.

-- A --

Asterisk

Asterisk is a free and open source framework for building communications applications and is sponsored by Digium. Asterisk turns an ordinary computer into a communications server. Asterisk powers IP PBX systems, VoIP gateways, conference servers and is used by small businesses, large businesses, call centers, carriers and governments worldwide. In short, it is an open source Linux PBX.

-- B --

BRIC-Link

Broadcast Reliable Internet Codec.

Point-to-point IP audio conversion.

BRIC-Link provides for an elegant way of moving Linear or Compressed audio with very low delay. BRIC-Link may be used over a range of IP links, is very simple to use, and doesn’t require the expense of more full-featured codecs.

-- D --

Digium

Digium is the creator, maintainer and sponsor of the Asterisk project. Digium offers products and services that extend the power of Asterisk. A portion of every Digium sale goes to fund Asterisk development. Support Asterisk: Buy Digium.

-- F --

FXO, FXS

FXS and FXO are the name of ports used by Analog phone lines (also known as POTS - Plain Old Telephone Service) or phones.

FXS - Foreign eXchange Subscriber interface is the port that actually delivers the analog line to the subscriber. In other words it is the ‘plug on the wall’ that delivers a dialtone, battery current and ring voltage.

FXO - Foreign eXchange Office interface is the port that receives the analog line. It is the plug on the phone or fax machine, or the plug(s) on your analog phone system. It delivers an on-hook/off-hook indication (loop closure). Since the FXO port is attached to a device, such as a fax or phone, the device is often called the ‘FXO device’.

FXO and FXS are always paired, i.e similar to a male / female plug.

-- L --

LOA

Letter of Agency. This authorizes a company to take over our telephone numbers and re-route them over the internet.

-- M --

MAC address

A Media Access Control address (MAC address) is a unique identifier assigned to network interfaces for communications on the physical network segment. MAC addresses are used for numerous network technologies and most IEEE 802 network technologies, including Ethernet. Logically, MAC addresses are used in the Media Access Control protocol sub-layer of the OSI reference model.

MUX

Multiplexer: combines several data streams into one. Shares expensive resource among many users.

-- N --

NATed LAN

NAT is short for Network Address Translation, an Internet standard that enables a local-area network (LAN) to use one set of IP addresses for internal traffic and a second set of addresses for external traffic. A NAT box located where the LAN meets the Internet makes all necessary IP address translations.

-- P --

PBX

Private Branch eXchange

PRI

Primary Rate Interface

The Primary Rate Interface (PRI) is a standardized telecommunications service level within the Integrated Services Digital Network () specification for carrying multiple DS0 voice and data transmissions between a network and a user.

PRI is the standard for providing telecommunication services to offices. It is based on the T-carrier (T1) line in the US and Canada, and the E-carrier (E1) line in Europe. The T1 line consists of 24 channels, while an E1 has 32.

PRI is a connection used for carrying multiple voice and data transmissions within an Integrated Services Digital Network, or ISDN.

POTS

Plain Old Telephone Service

PSTN

Public switched telephone network

-- S --

SBC

Session border controller

SIP trunking

Session Initiation Protocol service

siptrunk.org: "What Is SIP Trunking?"

"What is a SIP trunk?"

- PBX with SIP-enabled trunk side

- enterprise edge device understanding SIP

- Internet telephony of SIP trunking service provider (Internet Telephone Service Provider [ITSP])

- One trunk needed for each call.