Understanding Session Border Controllers ― Comprehensive Guide to Deploying and Maintaining Cisco Unified Border Element Solutions

Enterprise and service provider networks are increasingly adopting SIP as guiding protocol for session setup and tear down, and integrating Back to Back User Agent (B2BUA) and Session Border Controller (SBC) technology to enable this shift. Thousands of organizations have chosen the Cisco Unified Border Element (CUBE) as their B2BUA/SBC technology of choice. Understanding Session Border Controllers is the first comprehensive guide for network professionals and consultants who want to successfully master B2BUA/SBC theory, design, deployment, integration, operation, security, and troubleshooting. Using examples based on CUBE, the authors offer insights that will be valuable to technical professionals using any B2BUA/SBC solution, in any environment. Coverage includes:

• Key benefits of B2BUA/SBC, including topology abstraction, demarcation and security, media/protocol interworking, and interoperability with widely-diverse nodes
• Core concepts of SIP, H.323, DTMF, Fax/Modem over IP, Voice security, Media handling, and media/signal forking, and how they relate to B2BUA/SBC
• Efficient B2BUA deployment scenarios
• Securely migrating real-time communication over IP
• Using B2BUA to interoperate between asymmetric VoIP networks
• Establishing interoperability with call servers, proxies, fax servers, ITSPs, SIP registrar servers, redirect servers, and other devices

Kaustubh Inamdar, CCIE Voice No. 42277, is an escalation point for the Multiservice teams of the Cisco Unified Communications Technical Assistance Center (TAC) in India. He has worked on numerous complex VoIP issues for Cisco partners and key customers. He is a subject matter expert in the area of real-time communications and has deep knowledge of the associated standards and protocols. He is also the co-inventor of five patents (pending) in diverse areas such as collaboration, security, machine learning, and cloud technologies.

Steve Holl, CCIE Collaboration No. 22739, manages a global engineering team that supports the Cisco Collaboration as a Service (CaaS) offering for Cisco’s largest customers. Joining Cisco in 2005, he previously served as a team lead for voice solutions in the Global Technical Assistance Center (TAC). Steve graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a bachelor of science in Applied Networking and System Administration, and he later completed a master’s of engineering in Engineering Management at the University of Colorado Boulder. In addition to holding a CCIE since 2008, Steve is also an ITIL Expert, PMP, and Six Sigma Black Belt. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking with his wife, Jenn, playing loud guitar solos, and undertaking outdoor adventures.

Gonzalo Salgueiro, CCIE No. 4541, is a Principal Engineer at Cisco, working on several emerging technologies and the services opportunities they offer. Gonzalo has spent more than 20 years at Cisco, establishing himself as a subject matter expert, an innovator, and an industry thought leader in various technologies, including Collaboration, ML/AI, Cloud, and IoT.

Gonzalo is an established member of numerous industry organizations and is a regular presenter and distinguished speaker at a variety of technical industry conferences and Cisco events around the world. He currently holds various industry leadership roles, including serving as a member of the Board of Directors of the SIP Forum, co-chair of the INSIPID and SIPBRANDY IETF working groups, a member of the IoT Directorate in the IETF, and co-chair of the WebRTC Task Group, IPv6 Task Group, and FoIP Task Group in the SIP Forum. He is an active contributor to various industry organizations and standardization activities.

Gonzalo previously co-authored the Cisco Press books IoT Fundamentals: Networking Technologies, Protocols, and Use Cases for the Internet of Things as well as Fax, Modem, and Text for IP Telephony. He has also co-authored 25 IETF RFCs, 4 IEEE papers, 4 ITU contributions, and numerous industry and academic research papers on a variety of different technical topics. He is also co-inventor of 100+ patents (issued and pending) and has contributed to various interop and open source development efforts. Gonzalo received a master’s degree in Physics from the University of Miami.

Kyzer Davis, CCIE Collaboration No. 54735, is an escalation point for the worldwide Multiservice teams of the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC). He is the focal point for supporting, troubleshooting, and resolving complex solution-level problems involving Voice, Video, and Cloud portions of the Cisco Unified Collaboration product portfolio.

In addition to his work on this book, Kyzer has also authored numerous technical white papers on Cisco Collaboration configuration, architecture, and protocol design. In addition, he works with Learning@Cisco on strategy and content development for numerous Cisco certifications. Kyzer is a technology enthusiast and mentor who is always working on automation initiatives and dabbling with new and evolving technology in the lab. He also enjoys a mean barbecue.

Chidambaram (Arun) Arunachalam, CCIE No. 14809, is a Cisco Principal Engineer, responsible for resolving complex problems in large-scale collaboration networks. He works closely with engineering teams to drive solution-level serviceability requirements for end-to-end call signaling analysis in contact center environments and with industry experts for defining end-to-end SIP message logging capabilities (logme). He co-leads the Collaboration focus area within the TAC Technology office and is currently working on innovations such as Faster Cisco Support Experience (direct connection to engineer) and TAC Virtual Spaces (Webex Teams as a real-time communication channel for support engagements). He is a contributor to Wireshark and guides NCSU graduate students in developing Wireshark dissectors. His areas of interest include ease of doing business, talent development, and innovation.