In the world of session border controllers and network architecture, one question comes up repeatedly. What is the best way to configure an SBC?
After all, every deployment is different. Each provider has its own configuration settings and each SBC has thousands of parameters that have to be configured. The complexity of configuring these SBCs not only takes up a huge chunk of time, it also requires well-trained – and therefore highly paid – people to do it.
Unsurprisingly, when confronted with the reality of this situation, the next question is invariably this. Why isn’t there a way of configuring SBCs that takes an axe to all this complexity?
Well, now there is.
The Eureka Moment
At AudioCodes, our eureka moment was recognizing that approximately 80% of all SBC installations only use about 20% of the possible configuration parameters. We also realized that any differences between two installations containing the same PBX and SIP trunk service types were usually pretty minor.
Taken together, these two factors showed us where to look for an elegant yet highly effective solution.
A Big Round of Applause for the SBC Configuration Wizard
The AudioCodes Mediant SBC Configuration Wizard was designed with one thing in mind – to make the whole process of configuring AudioCodes Mediant SBCs as quick and as easy as possible.
Using the SBC Configuration Wizard is simplicity itself. You start by selecting one of over 40 IP-PBX models and one of over 120 service provider SIP trunk services. After that, the Wizard walks you through a handful of straightforward and intuitive configuration screens.
We’ll Let You Into the Template Secret
The SBC Configuration Wizard works with a set of interoperability templates for different PBX models and SIP trunk services. The AudioCodes template database currently contains over 240 popular templates. We routinely create brand new and updated templates which are then stored in the AudioCodes cloud. These are available for you to access freely whenever you use the Wizard.
Once you’ve finished filling in the Wizard screens, you’ll see a summary of all the configuration details. If you’re happy with everything you’ve done so far, you can go ahead and create a configuration file. You then send this file directly to the SBC or save it for later if you haven’t yet installed the SBC on site.
It’s as simple as that.
Ready, Steady, Go!
In many cases, the SBC will now be fully operational. In other cases, although you will be able to route calls through the SBC, you might also need to configure a few additional parameters on the device’s web GUI.
Available on the SBC Web GUI and as a standalone Windows application, the AudioCodes SBC Configuration Wizard has been used by our customers on literally thousands of installations. It is a field-proven way of significantly reducing the length of time it takes to configure an AudioCodes Mediant SBC, and you can usually expect to have the first calls going through the SBC in less than five minutes.
In addition, because the Wizard is a breeze to use, you can quickly set up the connection to your SIP trunk provider without having to wait for the provider’s technical support to do it for you.
Just Like Magic
If you’re deploying AudioCodes Mediant SBCs in a customer’s network, why not make the configuration part as simple as possible? The AudioCodes SBC Configuration Wizard has ‘effortless’ written all over it.
Give it a try today - you’ll be glad you did.
Experience the magic of quick and easy SBC configuration!
