Why SBC in Cloud PBX?

A session border controller (SBC) is a dedicated hardware device or software application that governs the manner in which phone calls are initiated, conducted and terminated on a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network. Phone calls are referred to as sessions.

An SBC acts a router between the enterprise and carrier service, allowing only authorized sessions to pass through the connection point (border). The SBC defines and monitors the quality of service (QoS) status for all sessions, ensuring that the callers can actually communicate with each other and that emergency calls are delivered correctly and prioritized above all other calls. An SBC can also serve as a firewall for session traffic, applying its own quality of service (QoS) rules and identifying specific incoming threats to the communications environment.

SBCs are inserted into the signaling and/or media paths between calling and called parties in a VoIP call, predominantly those using the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), H.323, and Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) call-signaling protocols.

The term “session” refers to a communication between two parties – in the context of telephony, this would be a call.

The term “border” refers to a point of demarcation between one part of a network and another.

The term “controller” refers to the influence that SBCs have on the data streams that comprise sessions, as they traverse borders between one part of a network and another.

SBC major features:

• SBC can act as a SIP firewall
• SBC can do call admission control
• SBC can perform network addresses translation (NAT)
• SBC can adapt to different SIP messages forms
• SBC can do call recording using software
• SBC can do transcoding (H.323/SIP, G.729/G.711, IPv6/IPv4, SRTP/RTP, TLS offloading)
• SBC can route SIP sessions (ingress/egress point for SIP trunks)

Sonus SBC can do the followings in terms of security:

• IP Trunk Groups
• Call Admission Control
• Rate Limiting
• Access Control Lists
• Traffic Policing
• IPsec
• Topology Hiding
• Split DMZ
• TLS Signaling
• SRTP
• Firewall/NAT
• DoS/DDoS Protection
• SIPS
• Dynamic Blacklisting
• Rogue RTP Protection
• Encrypted Communication
• Malformed Packet Protection

The 9 Books you should read before you're 30

I came across this list on youtube from "Success Secrets TV" channel.

"A reader lives a thousand lives. The man who never reads lives one." - George R.R Martin

1. How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnigie
2. You Can Negotiate Anything - Herb Cohen
3. The millionaire next door - Tomas J Stanly
4. Predictably Irrational - Dan Ariely
5. Tough Time Never Last But Tough People Do - Robert Schuller
6. Think And Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill
7. 7 Habit Of Highly Effective People - Stephen Covey
8. Rich Dad Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosak
9. The Richest Man in Babylon - George S. Clason

读书笔记 - All In

This New York Times bestseller is written by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. This book is talking about - How the best managers create a culture of belief and drive big results, using three parts:

• Part 1: Culture Works - The one thing that differentiates your team and drives real results

1. Engaged - Attachment to the company and willingness to give extra effort
2. Enabled - A work environment that supports productivity and performance
3. Energized - Individual physical, social, and emotional well-being at work

• Part 2: The Seven-Step Road Map - How every manager can create a culture that works

1. Define your burning platform - Supply the why
2. Create a customer focus - Are you listening? 
1. Give them more face time
2. Prioritize requests
3. Thank them
4. Listen on social media
5. Listen to your front line
6. Track trends
7. Create a customer forum
8. Bring them to you
3. Develop Agility - Helping employees deal with change
1. Enrichment
2. Cooperation
3. Organization
4. Leverage
4. Share Everything - Generating trust through transparent communication
1. Do what's right, regardless of personal risk
2. Admit when you're wrong
3. Define the big picture
4. Value feedback
5. Tell it like it is
6. Be accessible
7. Don't hog the glory
8. Focus on shared results 
5. Partner with your talent - What's in it for me (WIIFM)?
1. Connection and growth
2. Clarify career opportunities
1. Daily involvement
2. Seek personal improvement
3. Just listen
4. Give in 
6. Root for each other - Develop a culture of appreciation and goodwill
1. Do it now
2. Do it often
3. Be specific
4. Be sincere
5. Tell a story about the person's accomplishments
6. Gather people Together
7. Emphasize one of your core values
8. Personalize the moment
9. Do it right, and you'll see the power of gratitude at work as a culture builder
7. Establish clear accountability - Turning a negative into a positive
1. start with a clear team plan
2. assign SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely) goals to each person
3. ensure all parties agree upon the rules
4. if something changes, reset and get buy-in again
5. monitor progress at each step
6. hit dealines, and have touch conversations if your people don't
7. devote much more time to finding what your people are doing right than finding what they're doing wrong

• Part 3: Culture Tools - Dealing with challenges; Ideas to maintain success

1. Renewing Belief - Rebuilding a culture in crisis
2. Fifty-two ways to get your people all in  
1. As a billion questions
2. Balance the time budget
3. Be a part-timer lover
4. Make small commitments
5. End the week with thanks
6. I do declare
7. Start the day on a high
8. Believe in yourself
9. Care
10. Talk the walk
11. Answer them
12. A week of gratitue
13. A hero's quest
14. The five-year rule
15. Send a HTN (Handwritten Thank-you Note)
16. Perk your products
17. Create a vision for the future
18. Play like a team
19. Find other believers
20. Lighten up
21. Random recognition
22. Adopt a symbol
23. A thirty-minute miracle
24. Seriously?
25. Pimp your titles
26. Get healthy
27. The good stuff
28. The guessing game
29. Personal milestones
30. Good endings
31. World record
32. Time out
33. A tidal wave
34. Get hands-on
35. Don't miss the "previews"
36. Let them write the check
37. Evaluation time
38. Serve
39. Get ideas out of their pockets
40. Who's driving?
41. Talking turns a teacher
42. Share
43. Vive la difference
44. The remains for the staff?
45. Change a community
46. Giving feedback
47. Speak to the heart
48. Lead by example
49. Hire trust
50. Watch for the assists
51. Encourage cheer
52. Build trust
3. In the company of believers - A wealth of rewards

This picture summarizes the key points of this week

And two sentences I can recite now:

• The easy part is getting to the top of the mountain, the hard part is to stay there, to sustain momentum and growth.
• Disney: Dream, Believe, Dare, Do.