Why is VoIP so hard on firewalls and NATs?

The answer to this question is obvious: VoIP is an element of Communication, and firewalls and network address translators (NATs) are elements of Separation (NAT tends towards Obfuscation, but it amounts to the same thing). These are opposing forces: Separation constricts Communication and Communication pierces Separation. It’s like yin and yang, day and night, law and chaos. Can a leopard change his spots? Can a firewall be welcoming? Oh, you mean at the technical level? Right. None shall pass There’s (read more...)

By Ran Arad  |  August 6th, 2008  |  Filed under Interoperability, Standardization
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The human puppet

In the standardized human behavior series, I discuss human behavior, compare it to a protocol and see what we can alter or learn from it. Previously I considered whether people want to be standardized at all and concluded that they do not. Nobody wants to think of himself as a puppet manipulated by external forces or to act just as is expected of him. It’s possible to take the “Soup Nazi” episode from the Seinfeld sitcom as an example. The (read more...)

By Ran Arad  |  May 14th, 2008  |  Filed under Interoperability, Standardization
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Protocol war

There are two kinds of protocol wars: one is between competing protocols, and the other is between protocol implementations. I would like to offer a glimpse into the reasons and ways in which companies implementing the same protocol compete with each other. However, I will first need to make a small disclaimer: any example I give here is not meant to imply that any company involved has any intention of malice or foul play. In fact, I am sure that (read more...)

By Ran Arad  |  March 31st, 2008  |  Filed under Interoperability
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F2F in Finland on January – Is it really cold as it sounds?

On January 21-25 2008, an IMTC 3G-324M and IMS Activity Groups Face2Face event will take place in Finland hosted by Nokia. This is going to be the second time that Nokia hosts such an event in their lovely town, Tampere, in this cold season of the year. Will it be cold as it sounds? I am not so sure about that…This is going to be the second event for the IMS AG, while 3G-324M AG did so many (read more...)

By Oren Libis  |  January 9th, 2008  |  Filed under Interoperability
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