Avaya 4600 User Manual

This chapter describes the differences between data and voice networks, and the factors that 
influence the performance of VoIP. The installation and administration of 4600 Series IP 
Telephones on Avaya Media Servers, and the installation and configuration of DHCP and TFTP 
are addressed.

The 4600 Series IP Telephones allow enterprises to use Voice over IP (VoIP). VoIP uses 
packet-switched networks over the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) instead of 
telephony. However, using data networks to transmit voice packets poses a problem. Data 
networks were not designed for the specific qualities required by voice traffic.

Data and voice networks share similar functions because of the nature of networking.

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Signaling: establishes a connection between two endpoints.

In a voice network, signaling helps identify who the calling party is trying to call and 
where the called party is on the network. Traditional telephony uses terminals with fixed 
addresses. Traditional telephony establishes a fixed connection for the communication 
session between two such terminals, allocating fixed bandwidth resources for the 
duration of the call.

IP communications constitute a connectionless network, having neither fixed addresses 
nor fixed connections.