Understanding Gatekeeper Basics
This section of the chapter discusses the functionality of the gatekeeper and the
purposes the gatekeeper serves. It examines the types of gatekeepers available and
the way the gatekeeper interacts with other devices on the network. It also covers
design considerations, examining options that should be considered when
designing your voice and video network.
Introduction
Gatekeepers are an essential component when designing AVVID networks. From
a videoconferencing perspective, the gatekeeper is the device that will permit or
deny requests for videoconferences, making the judgment as to whether there are
enough resources to make or accept a specific videoconference connection.
When looking at the Internet Protocol (IP) telephony component of AVVID,
gatekeepers are commonly used in multisite distributed call processing scenarios
(discussed in greater detail in Chapter 11). As in the videoconferencing design,
the gatekeeper has a set of values by which it will determine whether or not to
allow a specific call, regardless of whether the call is incoming or outgoing.
By the end of the chapter, you will have an understanding of the gatekeeper’s
specific functions, where and to place the gatekeepers in an AVVID network, and
why, as well as a comprehension of design considerations when placing gatekeepers
for videoconferencing or for IP telephony purposes.