“These two protocols provide different alternatives for initiating, modifying, and terminating an interactive user session that involves multimedia elements – or setting up a Voice over IP telephone call as it’s more commonly known. Support for SIP, which has its roots in the IP community (it’s similar to HTTP and shares some of its design principles) from both manufacturers and service providers is growing. On the other hand, H.323 is more mature protocol and has its basis in ISDN. Both H.323 and SIP use the Real Time Transport Protocol (RTP) to carry the actual media (voice or video) stream once the call has been set-up.
This fully integrated support for SIP within maximiser allows both SIP and H.323 devices to be concurrently supported across a single system, with calls being passed seamlessly between both types of terminals. SIP Desktop Phones from Polycom, Grandstream, Elmeg & Safecom have been tested with maximiser, alongside SIP WiFi phones from Hitachi & UTStarcom.
H.323 and SIP Trunk services are also supported on maximiser through the use of IP Trunk Licences. Although these Next Generation trunk services are currently in their infancy, maximiser has already been successfully tested with Gamma Telecom’s IP DirectConnect offering, one of the first commercially available SIP services. Testing has also been successfully completed with Border Gateway Controllers (BGCs) supplied by Hipcom. maximiser embraces ISDN, H.323 and SIP trunks as equals, providing true one-world communications without the need for additional Gateways, delivering both choice and future-proofing.”