EdgeVoIP

The EdgeVoIP series of appliances from XRoads Networks are typically deployed at the network edge and provide load balancing and failover capabilities across two or more active WAN links. The devices are typically deployed as transparent proxies (Layer 2) between the firewall and the router; static routing (Layer 3) and ActiveDNS deployments are also supported (ActiveDNS is listed as an upgradeable feature on the EdgeVoIP-25).

According to the vendor, the multiple WAN links are multihomed without requiring BGP routing, and the devices work with any Internet connection (via Ethernet connectivity). Sessions are balanced across the WAN links based on multiple real-time metrics, including current utilization rates of each link, link latency, current number of sessions on each link, and administrative preferences as defined through an included Web GUI.

Key features specifically for the EdgeVoIP line include VoIP prioritization, QoS, and bandwidth guarantee capabilities. Administrative policies can be applied to traffic--in real-time--that is automatically identified by the device based on an included signature database and Layer 7 packet inspection. Twelve levels of queuing are supported; allowing for the prioritization of voice calls based upon metrics such as a specific individual or department (more below). Administrators can craft policies such that VoIP traffic in general receives a higher priority than other types of traffic; allowing, for example, Web traffic to remain at a high level unless more bandwidth is required for VoIP use; in which case Web traffic bandwidth is throttled.

The EdgeVoIP appliances utilize Class-Based Weighted Fair Queuing, allocating bandwidth based on administrative preferences. Policies can be defined based on IP address, MAC, port, protocol, and direction (source or destination). Bandwidth groups can be defined and prioritized based on an administrator defined priority number, guaranteed bandwidth for the group, maximum bandwidth for the group, burst rates, and/or an "AutoFlow" rate.

Other features of the appliance include network device monitoring and alerting (E-mail/SMS), packet sniffing and logging, LAN/WAN usage reporting, and policy based reports that provide statistics on the most used applications and how they are effecting VoIP based applications.

Initially, two EdgeVoIP devices are offered by the vendor: the three port (one LAN, two WAN) EdgeVoIP-25, with throughput of 10 Mb/sec and support for up to 256,000 concurrent sessions (the vendor recommends 100 or less VoIP users); and the six port (1 LAN, 5 WAN) EdgeVoIP-75, with throughput of 45 Mb/sec and support for up to 750,000 concurrent sessions (the vendor recommends 1,000 or less VoIP users).

Both appliances are available now, with list pricing set at $2,200 and $4,795 respectively.

Contact XRoads Networks for further information.

product submission by EITPlanet Staff

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