Softswitches
Softswitches are part of telecommunications networks and connect telephone calls without a physical switch. To do so, they connect to a server that runs an application and a media gateway that link to an IP, a PSTN, or an ATM network. This technology can support multiple telecommunications protocols, transfer calls to another network element, and generate intelligence that controls connections for a native IP endpoint or media gateway. A softswitch is also known as a call server, a call agent, or an MGC. In a mobile network, it is known as a mobile switching center (MSC).
What Small and Midsize Businesses Need to Know About Softswitches
SMBs can use softswitches as an alternative to traditional physical switches. A softswitch is more scalable and cost-effective than a physical switch because it doesn't require additional hardware. It can also be effective for routing, reporting, and monitoring calls within an organization.
Related terms
- Haptics
- WAN (Wide-Area Network)
- Intranet
- SLO (Service-Level Objective)
- Security Orchestration, Automation and Response (SOAR)
- Scalability
- Service-Level Agreement (SLA)
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- Data Center
- Augmented Reality (AR)
- Synchronous
- Multitenancy
- Chief Information Officer (CIO)
- IT Services
- Authorization
- Service-oriented Architecture (SOA)
- Platform as a Service (PaaS)
- Managed Service Provider (MSP)
- Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
