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The server is the central component of a hardware infrastructure designed to offer Unified Communications. It's a physical / virtual machine with an Internet connection to which all computers and phone terminals are connected. Linux (CentOS and Rhel RHEL are also supported by VoipNow) and your PBX should be installed on this server. The hardware specifications vary depending on network capacity and expected performance.

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Your server resides in a remote data center. It's vital important that you choose a data center that is 's geographically close to most of your customers . The quality of the service relies on this.to provide redundant, low-latency connectivity.

In the cloud

Some organizations offer infrastructure as a service. For instance, you can rent a server from Amazon Web Services.com.

You need to make sure your hardware configuration meets your network's needs. You can decide on the performance of your sever server taking into consideration the maximum number of concurrent calls you expect to be made on the server. The general formula is that for every concurrent call (with a ulaw codec - G711G.711 uLaw codec), your server will use the resources detailed approximately the resources listed below.

How extensions affect the server

The total number of extensions on your server will have a great impact on the server simultaneous calls impact the performance. For example, if your server will provide VoIP service to residential clients, most of the extensions will probably be Phone Terminals, which do not require many resources. But if you resell towards businesses, things like IVR, Queues and other costly extensions will require more powerful hardware.

How the server handles PSTN

Another issue that needs to be addressed is that of connecting your server to a public telephone network. This issue becomes especially important if you have an in-house server. To connect to such a network, you will need a physical gateway that routes and translates calls between the two networks for the VoIP user. The telephone company provides the customer with one or several trunk lines to ensure the connection to the customer's PBXSIP trunks can route calls to/from PSTN networks on their own, no need for a physical gateway. You might be required by law to have a PSTN connection.

What about codecs

Codecs are designed to enhance VoIP calling sound quality. However, these codecs influence your server’s or your network’s performance.

For instance, G711u and G711a do  G.711 uLaw and G.711 aLaw do not compress packages upon sending them. This means that they will improve your call quality, but they will consume bandwidth. On the other hand, if you use G729 – which is one of the most used codecs – the packages will be compressed and your call quality will be amplified, but this action translates into more CPU workload.

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VoipNow is a platform that includes an IP PBX, billing engine, a browser interface,  a web-based administration interface and multi-tenant managementtenant management.

At the core of the VoipNow system lays the IP PBX, or Internet Protocol Private Branch Exchange, which is a private telephony network used within a company. It is a software application that implements the basic functions of a traditional hardware PBX as well as next-generation digital services.

Basically, it acts like an automatic switchboard that connects users. In addition, it offers new services that traditional telephony lacks because of insufficient technologylacks due to technology limitations or high cost.

Am I safe?

A major worry concern for most VoIP users is whether it is prone to hacking or not. Internet the system's security. Internet telephony may seem liable to hacking at first. In fact, all internet solutions are. The risks of using VoIP do not exceed those that have already been accepted by businesses integrating the Internet with all their activities.

The truth is that open-source PBXs tend to have a deficit in security. On the other hand, VoipNow has not been subject to any hacking incident in 9 years of existence. However, troubles did come up along the way, but they were either caused by the customer's difficulty in keeping their password private or by the use of other PBX software besides VoipNow. In these cases, the hacker was able to get inside the system through them, affecting the VoipNow accounts as wellCompromised user accounts can be easily detected with basic monitoring solutions and damage is usually restricted to a few international calls placed on the user's behalf, without affecting the system's integrity.

Call your colleague

All you need is a phone. While most features of Unified Communications solely require a computer with internet access, VoIP calls are a little more pretentious. You will need a phone terminal to be able to make and receive calls, and there's a sea of options to choose from these days.

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SIP carriers operate an infrastructure that can route and connect the calls originating from to/from from your system to phone numbers on other infrastructures (IP networks or PSTN). They own media gateway machines that act as an interface between different types of networks by converting between the different transmission and coding technologies.

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