Page 89 - eBOOK FUNDAMENTAL OF TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORK

S O F T

S W I T C H I N G

A softswitch can be used to control calls and process

media on circuit switched Time-Division Multiplex

(TDM) network infrastructure, packet switched Internet

Protocol (IP) infrastructure, or a combination of the

two. Many network operators use a softswitch with

both TDM and IP capability as an essential transitional

element as they go through the process of IP network

transformation.

A softswitch (short for software switch) uses software

on standard hardware to control phone calls, whereas

older switching equipment uses dedicated, purpose-

built switching hardware. In TDM network

infrastructure, dedicated hardware is still required for

physical TDM connections. However, in an all-IP

network infrastructure using only VoIP calls, a

softswitch can be virtualized entirely and run on any

general-purpose hardware with Ethernet connections

as part of an NFV deployment.

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