Session Border Controller | VoIP Phone System Features

What is Session Border Controller (SBC)?

A Session Border Controller or SBC is a networking device placed in between networks to control, secure, and manage VoIP calls. It controls how phone calls are initiated, conducted and terminated on a VoIP network. An SBC can also serve as a firewall for session traffic, identifying specific incoming threats to the communications environment.

Application of SBC in Yeastar Phone System

Yeastar P-Series Cloud Edition’s underlying hosting architecture features active-active SBC clusters for high availability and load balancing. This deployment handles all necessary encryption algorithms and enhances traffic control, providing a strong backup for enterprise-grade reliability of all Yeastar cloud PBX instances.

In the Software and Appliance Editions, SBC server is pre-configured on the Remote Access Service (RAS) of the phone system. The RAS server allows for secure registration of remote SIP endpoints (such as IP Phones, gateways, etc.) to your PBX, enabling convenient remote management. With the built-in SBC server, businesses can effortlessly handle access requests, hide service ports without complicated port-forwarding configurations, and maintain secure communication channels. These features enhance network security, simplify administration processes, and empower businesses to efficiently manage their VoIP networks.

Common Use Cases of SBC

Networking Protection
SBCs protect VoIP infrastructure against security threats like Distributed DoS (DDoS) attacks, toll fraud and unauthorized access. The SBC acts as a firewall, monitoring and filtering incoming and outgoing voice traffic, ensuring only authorized calls are allowed.

Interoperability
In a multi-vendor environment where different IP-PBX systems or SIP trunks are used, the SBC serves as a protocol mediator. It normalizes and converts different signaling protocols, ensuring compatibility and seamless communication between various systems and service providers.

Quality of Service (QoS)
The SBC monitors and manages network bandwidth to prioritize real-time voice traffic over other data traffic, ensuring optimal call quality. It implements QoS policies to minimize latency, jitter, and packet loss for clear and reliable voice communication.

Session Routing
The SBC intelligently routes incoming and outgoing calls based on predefined rules, load balancing the traffic across multiple SIP trunks or gateways. This helps distribute the workload, improve call reliability, and optimize resources. SBCs route sessions across network interfaces to ensure high availability or enable least cost routing (LCR).

Benefits of SBC

Security
An SBC’s ability to monitor traffic enables it to protect against threats like DDoS attacks. Other actions, such as continual patches, also help provide an extra layer of security.

Mitigation
SBCs can use pattern recognition to flag any unusual activity. This can help detect issues or attacks.

Connectivity
Connectivity is more stable because multiple protocols can communicate with each other. Phone traffic is routed through internal IP networks, meaning calls are routed faster.

Reliability
Normalization of SIP types helps ensure calls connect without interruption.

Related Features

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