Assessment tool aids VoIP installation.

(From Network Computing Asian Edition)

Byline: Greg Teo

Avaya is preparing for more VoIP installations with the help of its ExpertNet pre-deployment assessment tool, which identifies potential bottlenecks during the design phase of an implementation. Stretching over a month, the design phase collects data by loading all SNMP-enabled devices?like routers and switches?and port connections with fake calls (simulated VoIP traffic), while monitoring and recording all activity.

End-to-end statistics such as packet loss, delay and jitter, are collected, time-stamped and stored in a databases for consultants to analyse. Siva Subramaniam, regional director of services in Asia-Pacific and Japan, said VoIP solutions are susceptible to data network performance issues, such as slow and lost connections, especially across WANs.

?By doing assessment prior to any voice or video over IP solution deployment, infrastructure that under-performs can be identified and improved upon without affecting any real voice traffic,? he said.