Recent Articles
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VOIP Versus Net Security
There are no two ways about it: Network security complicates voice-over-IP implementations. But in tests at eWEEK Labs, we have seen that it is possible for VOIP to coexist at least with Secure Sockets Layer VPN security technology. Typically, SSL VPN products enable an encrypted, user-initiated connection to a network resource, such as a file…
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Ready to Roll Your Own?
The Asterisk ecosystem has improved significantly in 2006, with a wide range of tools, modules and utilities coming to light that improve the open-source PBX’s usability and manageability. Trixbox, previously known as Asterisk@Home, represents the ultimate Asterisk starter’s kit, bundling many of these applications and a full operating system with the underlying PBX software. While…
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Switchvox SMB Has Goods—and Gaps
One of several asterisk-based appliances now available, Four Loop Technologies’ Switchvox SMB provides a good overall IP telephony experience. However, potential customers should evaluate the long-term potential of the appliance, which is lacking in redundancy and the latest Linux components. The Switchvox SMB, which is priced starting at $2,495, is delivered on a desktop PC…
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Another Option: Virtual PBXes
Are you an IT manager at a small business who is looking to leverage VOIP benefits but doesn’t want to go through a wholesale hardware replacement? Do you also have geographically dispersed offices? And are you looking to put a more professional front on your company’s public telephone presence? Then you may want to look…
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D-Link Gear Is a Mixed Bag
D-Link has long provided affordable, relatively consumer-friendly network devices. That’s not necessarily the case with its new VOIP products aimed at the small-business market: The products can be confusing, and, when fully licensed, are not as inexpensive as they seem at first glance. Indeed, D-Link will rely on its network of resellers to promote, sell…
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Cheap VOIP Beckons for SMBs
Open-source telephony technologies have recently blown open the VOIP market, creating a fertile breeding ground for new solutions built from the ground up for small businesses. Indeed, with a vast number of choices, falling prices and improving applications, IT managers at small and midsize businesses may struggle to identify the right voice over IP solution…
