[January 23, 2006] Digium, Ranch Networks Optimize Asterisk Firewall, Bandwidth Allocation Tweet By ROBERT LIU TMCnet Wireless and Technology Columnist   Open source pioneer Digium has incorporated firewall security and bandwidth allocation to its latest release, version Asterisk 1.2.2, through a year-long collaborative effort with data network security specialist, Ranch Networks, which is also unveiling a series of hardware appliances optimized for the open source PBX.   The security/performance enhancement is designed to help resolve a central issue with voice-over-IP: trafficking the firewall. “We came up with a product that can dynamically open and close holes in the firewall that is entirely asterisk-controlled,” said Ram Ayyakad, co-founder and CEO of Ranch Networks. But not only does Ranch Networks’ technology sends instructions to the firewall to open the ports on an as-needed basis, instructions are also sent to the appliance determining the amount of bandwidth needed. That way, bandwidth allocated for data shrinks to enable media streams to flow from one phone to another, and then intelligently re-allocate once ports are closed and the call is terminated, Ayyakad explained during a telephone interview.   The latest enhancement comes after nearly a year of joint development. The code takes advantage of MIDCOM, an IETF-specified industry standard that allows applications to communicate real-time network policy changes based on their various needs, as well as Ranch Networks’ proprietary, patent-pending technology.   “The most important thing was we had all of the ingredients before we integrated all of it,” Ayyakad told TMCnet.   The special version of Asterisk, called Asterisk-NetSec, is currently available for download at both companies’ Web sites. General availability will be announced Tuesday at the INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & Expo, East 2006, which runs January 24-27, at the Ft. Lauderdale Convention Center.   In addition to the release of the code, Ranch Networks will introduce the RN series of appliances that secure, manage and scale VoIP traffic beyond existing firewall technologies. The company said the RN300, RN20, RN40 and RN41 are designed to provide dynamic, protocol independent, per-call authenticated network access. The RN300, RN20, RN40, and RN41 are available through leading Asterisk resellers ranging in price from $750 to $20K.   Digium President and Asterisk creator Mark Spencer will deliver the opening keynote address at the INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & Expo, East 2006. The event is opened to all registered attendees.   ----   Robert Liu is Executive Editor at TMCnet. Previously, he was Executive Editor at Jupitermedia and has also written for CNN, A&E, Dow Jones and Bloomberg. For more articles, please visit Robert Liu's columnist page. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]