MERA Unveils Its VoIPal Session Border Controller
July 2, 2004
Advanced Signaling and Interworking Functionalities of MERA's New Product Ensure Direct VoIP Connectivity between Carrier-grade and Enterprise Networks
Toronto, Canada — July 2, 2004 — MERA Systems, a forefront supplier of carrier-grade VoIP solutions, today announced MERA VoIPal, its brand-new session border controller. MERA VoIPal draws on MERA's extensive expertise in VoIP technologies and is designed to enable seamless and secure interconnection of carriers' networks with customer enterprises directly across IP links.
MERA VoIPal has been specifically created to address the interworking challenges that hamper enterprise/carrier connectivity. Since there is no uniform protocol for interconnection of IP PBXs with the networks of service providers, many vendor-specific call management services are not processed correctly by carrier-grade equipment. MERA VoIPal provides a fast and easy solution to the challenge by enabling direct VoIP interconnects between service providers and their customer enterprises.
MERA VoIPal performs protocol repair, fixes inconsistencies between protocol dialects and converts media codecs to guarantee ready compatibility of carrier/enterprise equipment and correct processing of vendor-specific telephony features. The two-way SIP/H.323 translation capabilities provide direct IP-to-IP interconnection of service provider networks with SIP and/or H.323-based IP PBX and IP Centrex systems. MERA VoIPal is deployed for interworking of carrier-grade and enterprise solutions from Alcatel, Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, Siemens, VocalTec and other vendors.
To address enterprise security requirements, MERA VoIPal operates as a full-featured VoIP firewall and performs the necessary screening for VoIP traffic. Traditionally, firewalls function by inspecting IP addresses and the transport layer protocol port numbers contained in the packets, and admit or reject them according to a set of predefined rules. However, since voice traffic is processed on the application layer, regular firewalls cannot read the information embedded in VoIP packets. To protect the enterprise VoIP network against security threats such as DoS attacks, enterprises deploy specialized VoIP firewalls. MERA VoIPal is a comprehensive solution that, along with border control and interworking capabilities, offers VoIP firewall functions to maintain the security of a corporate network.
"Now that migration to IP Telephony is no longer a question of 'if' but rather a question of 'when' for most enterprises, carriers explore new customer interconnection opportunities," says Konstantin Nikashov, CEO, MERA Systems, Inc. "MERA is committed to addressing the connectivity and security challenges service providers face in establishing direct IP-to-IP links with enterprises. MERA VoIPal is designed to supply the missing link between carrier and enterprise networks, bridging 'islands of VoIP' into a fully integrated communication infrastructure."
The commercial release of MERA VoIPal is scheduled for August 2004.
About MERA Systems, Inc.
MERA Systems, Inc. is the forefront supplier of VoIP technologies delivering the functionality and features needed for successful operation of service providers. The MERA VoIP solutions offer a powerful combination of efficiency, scalability and affordable price, bringing added value and revenue-generating opportunities to carriers globally. MERA Systems is a division of MERA Group, a privately owned corporation with offices in Canada and Russia. MERA Group has 12 years of experience in international software development and employs over 500 qualified engineers. MERA pioneered the industry of session border controllers by launching a VoIP division in 2001, which became known as MERA Systems in 2003. To date MERA Systems is a key provider of highly reliable and cost-effective SBC's, has over 250 customer deployments in 26 countries of the world, and controls 70% of the SBC market in EMEA countries. For more information, visit us at www.mera-systems.com.
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