SBC or session border controller works in the background. Users of VoIP technologies may not even know what it is or what it does but if they enjoy seamless call quality and connects the SBC is responsible for the smooth experience. Communication is the key to building, establishing and leveraging the customer connection.
VoIP issues that hinder call quality and customer experience
Today VoIP call quality has improved thanks to faster internet and better grade of softswitches as well as the session border controller. Still, VoIP does pose a few issues such as propagation delays, dropped packets and slow internet speeds. SBC, in a way, normalizes everything and none of these issues ever create hindrances to call quality.
SIP and other protocols
Were it not for the session border controller you would face plenty of issues due to protocol and codec mismatches in VoIP communications. SBC takes care of all the different flavors of SIP, H.323, WebRTC and video codecs. Calls connect regardless of codecs and protocols at originating and destination points.
SBC also takes care of security
VoIP network vulnerability lays you open to attacks like Denial of Service (DoS), malware injection and others due to vulnerabilities. Your network could go down causing a communication blockade. SBC stands guard and assures continuity.
SBC manages traffic
Were it not for session border controller you would face traffic and prioritization issues in your voice data packets. This directly affects audio quality. The SBC acts as a back to back user agent and takes care of the signaling traffic and media traffic. The back to back user agent function is important in VoIP communications. It acts as a server on the side facing the user agent client. When it faces the user agent server it works as a client. The back to back user agent also maintains information about calls and once a call is over that information is deleted. It maintains smooth traffic flow in two sides of the conversation.
The SBC wears many hats, one of which is that it acts as a traffic controller. Enterprises may have protected networks in which case the SBC enables VoIP calls and the use of VoIP protocols otherwise calls would be blocked.
It is a complex world made simple by SBC
The world of telephony has become complex. Today there is PSTN as usual, VoIP with its set of protocols, mobile 2G/3G technologies and VoLTE. Video also forms part of the communication package. The SBC handles and deals with various video and audio codecs like GSM, AMR, G.711, G.729, WB-AMR and H.264 to name a few. Video complicates the issue with its high amount of data generation. A typical VGA format generates 1 MB data per second. This is 40 times as much as that of an HD voice call. SBC software has capacity to handle concurrently hundreds of calls that may be a mix of audio and video.
The importance of session border controller in your enterprise simply cannot be stressed enough. If you care about customer experience then SBC in your VoIP network is indispensable.
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