An SBC or Session Border Controller is a device (virtual or not) that is often deployed in VoIP networks to achieve greater control over the signaling and the media streams. The term «Session» refers to the conversation between the two parties that includes media streams including voice, video, and data.
The term «Border» refers to the point of separation between various points in a network. For example, at the edge of the organization network, firewalls separate local information from the rest of the internet. The term «Controller» refers to the influence that a session border controller has on the data streams in each session. More precisely, this device is the point of separation and the junction between your telephony devices and your VoIP provider(s). Think of a SBC as a network element that works in combination with VoIP to improve connectivity and address the different safety concerns. The following are some of the benefits of the SBCs.
Benefits of Session Border Controller (SBC)
1. Quality
Using the Session Border Controller helps in enhancing call quality. Because of SBC companies can locate the PBX on the LAN with a private IP address. It also ensures interoperability of VoIP, monitoring call quality, testing VoIP lines, include a QoS (Quality of Service) enforcing CAC policies (Call Admission Control) and type of service marking, just to name a few. If your enterprise has to deal with a lot of missed and dropped calls, poor voice quality, or both, integration of SBC with VoIP can increase the quality resulting in better consistency.
2. Security
SIP attacks can occur from a variety of sources for several different reasons. This can significantly impact the revenue and productivity of businesses. Denial-of-service attacks (DOS) and distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) are specially designed to bring the business network down. A SBC also helps against registration floods and brute-force attacks to help avoid phone calls being made from your network. To ensure security from such attacks, businesses need an SBC to protect the network and to ensure consistent information flow between secure and non-secure endpoints. Common firewalls are not designed to handle SIP traffic. You could open a dedicated port to allow SIP traffic flow, however, you might just create a breach in your network.
Having a SBC between your PBX and your firewall will prevent this by enforcing real-time security and policies.
3. Intelligent Control
Apart from making SIP sessions and VoIP networks more secure, a SBC also ensures that every enterprise has the optimal route to deliver its call to its final location. In the age of customer experience, the call-routing process is becoming increasingly important. With an intelligent call-routing process, businesses can ensure that the right conversations are reaching the right person.
4. Scalability & Interoperability
At VoIP.ms, we truly understand the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) philosophy. It’s been part of our mindset since the creation of the business and, with an increasing number of businesses looking for flexibility and adopting the Bring Your Own Device model, SIP communication traffic will rise even more. Having the right Session Border Controller gives businesses the ability to better handle the growing traffic requirements. Therefore, invest in an SBC that is easy to scale and is also cost-effective.
A SBC allows the integration of a large variety of devices and offers the ability to integrate your favorite VoIP provider(s) to a custom business communication solution. For instance, it is possible to use a SBC to integrate VoIP.ms to Microsoft Teams. For this specific usecase, we have worked with a couple of SBCs manufacturers to achieve it such as Call2Teams, AudioCodes and Anynode. It is also possible to consolidate isolated various phone system from different brands to unify that equipment. Having a SBC do not restrain a business in the deployment of the variety of devices and technology available on the market. This component act as the bridge between all those solutions and give organizations the flexibility they need.
Final Thoughts
VoIP communication is now more popular than ever before. As you already know, millions of businesses were forced to work from home overnight and the situation has boosted the popularity of VoIP even more. Therefore, apart from ensuring better security and connectivity, the use of SBC can also help businesses to improve their control over SIP sessions, headcount growth needs and cost control of their communications.
For more information about our latest partnership with Call2Teams, click here.
