H.323-Based VoIP

In This Section: Introduction to H.323 Supported H.323 Deployments and NAT Enabling Inspection Settings on H.323 H.323 Security Rules

Introduction to H.323

H.323 is an ITU (International Telecommunication Union) standard that specifies the components, protocols, and procedures that provide multimedia communication services over packet networks (including IP based networks).

The Security Gateway supports these H.323 architectural elements:

• IP phones

  Devices that:

  • Handle signaling (H.323 commands)
  • Connect to an H.323 Gatekeeper

  IP phones are defined in SmartConsole, usually as a network of IP phones. It is usually not necessary to define network objects for individual IP Phones.

• Standard telephones

  Connect to an H.323 gateway. These are not IP devices. It is not necessary to define them in SmartConsole.

• Gatekeeper

  Manages a collection of H.323 devices, such as phones. Gatekeepers convert phone numbers to IP addresses and can provides gateway services as well.

• Gateway

  Provides interoperability between different networks. The gateway translates between the telephony protocol and IP.