Gone are those days when you have to worry about keeping your phone timeless to watch your bill. With VoIP services or Voice over Internet Protocol, you only need an internet connection to make free phone calls. When you use the internet for calls, you’re actually bypassing the phone company, and therefore, the call charges completely.

As businesses who’ve been paying hundreds or thousands of dollars in phone bills every month, this VoIP is a great option to explore. Many small business owners are still confused and unclear about how an internet connection is sufficient to make calls.

So, in this blog, let’s take a deep dive into how VoIP works and how small business owners can benefit from it.

What is VoIP and How Does it Work?

In VoIP, the basic principle is the conversion of analog audio signals into digital data that are transmitted over the internet. Fundamentally, the digital data of the calls is considered similar to the message data or email transmission data over an IP network.

With VoIP technology, you can make and receive calls from landlines, smartphones, and computers.

As a small business, all you need is a high-speed WiFi connection available for high-quality VoIP calls.

How Can I Make VoIP Calls?

There are three main ways by which you can make VoIP calls depending on the device you’re using it.

Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA)

When you want to use VoIP with your landline, you need a special adapter to send data over the IP network. The ATA is actually an analog to digital converter. It converts the phone signals from your landline into digital signals that can be transmitted over the internet. You can just plug in the ATA to the router or the wall socket and start making calls. You’ll need to configure VoIP software on the computer to make use of this feature.

IP Phones

The IP phones are different from the normal phones we use. They have an ethernet connection that connects with the router and transmits the data. You can also make calls through WiFi phones by using a WiFi network.

Computer to Computer Calls

Making VoIP calls on a computer is very simple. You can use any of the applications available to make free calls over the internet. Some applications even allow VoIP calls to landlines and phone numbers.

How to Activate VoIP Calls for Your Business?

From these three options of using VoIP calls, you can choose anyone that’s most suited for your business.

First of all, you require a reliable, high-speed internet connection.
Make sure to have high bandwidth and large data capacity to make uninterrupted calls.
If you want to connect your computer or landline, then you need to get a router.
After making the required connections, you can simply download the software, connect with the WiFi, and start making calls.

If you’re unsure about how to set up VoIP in your office, you can reach out to any of the top VoIP service providers in the market. They’ll help you with equipment, set you the VoIP network, and guide you to start making and receiving VoIP calls.

You can further reach out to an IT consulting firm to find out how you can integrate VoIP calls with your existing business operations. There are two main ways to enable VoIP for your business:

1. Hosted VoIP Network

This hosted network for VoIP is perfect for businesses to simplify the management of VoIP and improve operational efficiency. This network consists of IP phones, desktops, network switches, and routers.

The employees can call using the IP phones similar to how they normally would. The network switch establishes the path to the VoIP provider and connects with the particular number, be it landline or smartphone. This is best for companies who want to implement VoIP over the entire network.

2. SIP Trunking

If you’re already running a business with traditional landlines and have since then progressed into a hybrid phone system, then it can be hard to break out of it.

In that case, you can use the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to accept VoIP calls and also manage the traditional analog calls. Such a connection is most useful for companies who want to mix analog phone systems with the new VoIP technology.

How Is VoIP Beneficial for Businesses?

Many businesses have adopted VoIP technology due to the immense advantages it has in terms of cost, efficiency, and productivity.

You can call anywhere in the US and Canada for an unlimited number of times and hours.
You can create automated professionals attendants to redirect your phone calls without any receptionists.
You’ll save money on the call charges and pay only a minimum amount for the internet connection.
With the IP phones, your employees can call from anywhere, anytime with no additional calls or procedures.
You can have a central communication system with VoIP that lets your team use calls, videos, and messages to collaborate from any location.
You can make clear phone calls with HD voice quality.
You can also integrate VoIP software with your CRM for quick access to contact numbers and a one-click calling feature.

Switch to VoIP Now!

At LayerOne Networks, we’ve helped many businesses in Texas to move to VoIP technology and enjoy great scalability at reduced rates. As a part of our managed IT services for Corpus Christi companies, we customize our VoIP services to suit your business scale, budget, and location requirements. If you want to opt for high clarity voice calls that aren’t tied down by wires, then call us at 361.653.6800.

If you think that having a strong password is enough for your data security, think again!

Every time you log in to a host using your password, you are exposed to attacks and security threats. If the hackers can get their hands on your password and login as ‘you’, they will have complete access to all your data.

Kerberos is an authentication protocol that prevents unauthorized access. It authenticates the service requests between the users and the hosts through unsafe networks. Kerberos authentication is being used by top global companies like Microsoft Windows, Apple OS, Linux, and Unix.

Kerberos was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a protection protocol for its own projects in the 1980s. Kerberos was named after Cerberus, which is a Greek mythological creature with three heads. Kerberos was inspired by this name and the three heads signify the client, server, and the Key Distribution Center (KDC).

What are the Components in the Kerberos Environment?

Before we move on to the actual working on Kerberos, let’s take a look at the basic components.

Agents

The agents are the principal entities involved in a typical Kerberos workflow.

The client is the person who initiates the request for communication.
The application server hosts the service that the client requests.

Key Distribution Center (KDC) consists of three parts for authentication: A database (DB), the Authentication Server (AS), and the Ticket Granting Server (TGS).

Tickets

The tickets are the communications of permission sent to the users for performing a set of actions on Kerberos. There are two types:

Ticket Granting Service (TGS) is encrypted with the service key and used to authenticate a service.
Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT) is issued by the authentication server to the client for requesting the TGS.

Encryption Keys

Kerberos handles several keys that are encrypted securely to prevent The authentication server issues ticket Granting Ticket (TGT)corruption or access by hackers. Some of the encryption keys used in the Kerberos are:

User key
Service key
Session key
Service session key
KDC key

How Kerberos Authentication Works?

The prime purpose of Kerberos authentication is to secure the access of a user in service through a series of steps that prevent security threats and password access. Essentially, the user needs to access a network server to get access to a file.

You can go to any company offering managed IT services to implement Kerberos encryption. Even so, it’s essential to have a basic idea of how security is implemented and how the data access is encrypted. So, here’s are the steps of Kerberos security and authentication:

1. Initial Authentication Request from the Client

As the client tries to login to the server, they send an authenticator to the KDC requesting a TGT from the authentication server.

This authenticator has information like the password, the client ID, as well as the date and time of authentication request. Part of the message with the password is encrypted, which the other part is plain text.

2. KDC Checks the Credentials

KDC is the Kerberos server that validates the credentials received from the client. The server first decrypts the authenticator message and checks against the database for the client’s information and the availability of the TGS.

After finding both these information, the server then generates a secret key for the user using the password hash. It then generates a TGT that contains the information about the client credentials like client ID, date and time stamp, the network address and a few more authentication details. Finally, the secret key is encrypted with a password that the server only knows and sends to the client.

The TGT is then stored in the Kerberos for a few hours. If the system crashes, the TGTs won’t be stored anywhere.

3. The Decryption of the Key by the Client

The client decrypts the message received from the KDC by using the secret key. The client’s TGT is then authenticated and the message is extracted.

4. Using TGT to Access Files

If the client wants to access specific files on the server, it sends a copy of the TGT and the authenticator to the KDC requesting access.

When KDC receives this message, it notices that the client is already authenticated. So, it decrypts the TGT using the encryption password to check if it matches.

If the password is validated, then it considers it to be a safe request.

5. Creation of Ticket for File Access

To allow the client to access the specific files requested, KDC generates another ticket. It then encrypts the ticket with the secret key and the method of accessing the files is included in this ticket.

This ticket now lies in the Kerberos tray for the next eight hours. This means the client can access the file server as long as the ticket is valid.

6. Authentication Using the Ticket

The client decrypts the message using the key and this generates a new set of client information, including client ID, date and time stamp and network address.

This is sent to the server in the form of an encrypted service ticket. The server decrypts the ticket and checks if the client’s details match the authenticator and within the file access validity. Once the details match, the server sends a message of verification to the client.

Wrapping Up

Kerberos authentication is regularly updated to meet the new security threats. It is one of the top-used authentications by the tech giants, which means it’s been authenticated against rigorous security attacks. If you want to protect your server and your user data from the prying eyes of unscrupulous people, then go for Kerberos encryption.

Our data experts at LayerOne Networks can help you implement such security and authentication protocols to protect your data. Reach out to us for managed IT services and securing your company from any online security vulnerabilities.

Tag: managed IT services

How Does a VoIP Work?