October 15, 2005
Softswitches
Both PSTN and IP networks take a specific route from the origin of the call to its destination. Routing, transmission, and billing are the three key functions of these networks. In a PSTN, these functions are achieved to a large extent by the Central Office (CO) switches.
The two major aspects of these switches are the switching fabric and the switching logic. The integration of voice, data, and video applications is being facilitated by softswitches, which are also easing the migration from PSTN to VoIP. These softswitches have a separate control logic function and physical switching function.
The call agent and the media gateway are the two major elements of the switching function. The call routing and signaling functions are handled by the call agent. Physical connectivity is provided by the media gateway that may work with a range of LAN and WAN interfaces. The connection networks and the transmission format, such as LAN, WAN, etc decide the number of media gateways that the call agent may control.
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