What Is a VoIP Router and How It Works

VoIP services can help your business save money and resources while increasing productivity. Nevertheless, if you rely on these services, a typical Wi-Fi/wired router is barely enough. Instead, you should consider a VoIP router, which offers dedicated features and a smoother environment.

In this guide, I have covered almost everything you should know about VoIP routers and how they work. We shall start with a basic outline of VoIP routers.

What Is a VoIP Router?

Like other network routers, VoIP routers also route data packets to different devices on the network. It may also deal with assigning IP addresses, among other tasks. However, unlike typical routers, VoIP routers are optimized to work with VoIP calls.

Thus, if you make audio/video calls over the Internet, VoIP routers can provide you with better performance and reliability. Based on your network environment and requirements, you can choose between different types of VoIP routers as well. We see these routers across companies that rely on telephonic communication for customer support and so on.

Quality of Service, commonly known as QoS, is one of the central characteristics of a VoIP router. The custom QoS policy on the router makes it capable of prioritizing VoIP calls and other interactions over other types of internet/network traffic.

This way, your Internet connection will be used to provide the highest-quality voice calls through appropriate hardware.

Benefits of using a VoIP Router

Here are some reasons for businesses to get a VoIP router in the first place.

Best Call Quality

Because VoIP routers are designed to work with VoIP/SIP protocols, you can expect superior call quality from these devices. VoIP routers achieve this task by prioritizing voice-based data packets over other data packets that it receives. Some vendors may also offer additional modules to improve the overall quality.

Improved Security

When you use VoIP services for business, you cannot compromise security. VoIP routers are made for this purpose and often come with additional features like SIP trunking security. This way, your calls receive better security in addition to the firewall and baseline encryption.

Cost-Effectiveness

Compared to conventional methods for voice calls, VoIP calls are more cost-effective and scalable. You can scale the options as you move forward with your business. In most cases, VoIP routers don’t need additional maintenance, either, making them an install-and-forget situation.

Integrated Communication

VoIP routers make VoIP/SIP calls easier and more reliable than ever. This way, you get a simplified platform for integrated communication. Because these networks are easy to maintain, a business can manage all the communication channels from a single set of front-end devices instead of mixing modern/legacy tools.

In addition to these, VoIP routers can also offer improved uptime when it comes to network access. Because these devices are made for calls, they suffer less from data loss and jitter.

Types of VoIP Routers

Here is an overview of the major types of VoIP routers available in the market.

 Wireless VoIP Routers

Wireless VoIP routers provide seamless access to the Internet and VoIP connectivity across your space. You’ll have access to multi-band Wi-Fi connectivity and quick access to VoIP services. In most cases, these routers come with a built-in ATA (Analog Telephone Adaptor), which lets you connect your VoIP phone. These VoIP routers are great when you prioritize mobility.

 Integrated Access Routers

Integrated access VoIP routers are designed to offer additional support for VoIP applications. Because they pack a firewall system, your transactions through the VoIP/SIP gateway will stay secure. These are great if you want a reliable VoIP system in an enterprise environment. Patton SmartNode is one of the most popular options in this category.

VPN Routers

VPN routers for VoIP offer the additional benefits of privacy through VPN-powered encryption. On the one hand, these routers can protect your VoIP interactions from unauthorized access and unwanted eyes/ears. More importantly, VPN VoIP routers make it possible for remote employees to access the resources that are available on-premises.

Virtual VoIP Routers

Sometimes, VoIP routers do not need a physical component in the first place; virtual VoIP routers belong to that category. These routers are conventional routers, but they use virtualization and networking technology to create a more suitable environment for VoIP interactions. Compared to other types of VoIP routers, virtual VoIP routers are cost-effective and easy to deploy.

Despite their differences, VoIP routers are, in general, optimized for minimal latency, top-class performance, and support for protocols like SIP.

How Does a VoIP Router Work?

Multiple components of a VoIP router make it work in a network environment. Some of these components are hardware-focused, while others are software-defined. Here is a rough chronological order of things that happen when a VoIP router is working.

1. First, the Analog Telephone Adaptor will convert voice data from a telephone to digital signals that a network router can understand. Some VoIP devices may skip this process and convert voice signals into data packets from the get-go.
2. In the second step, the QoS settings from the VoIP router get to work. These settings make sure that the data packets from voice signals are given more importance than other packets that the router is handling. In this way, you get clearer voice calls and minimal delays.
3. In the third phase, the VoIP router needs to route the data packets to the right destinations. It needs to take care of the SIP protocol as well. In this particular case, the router needs to start SIP sessions, manage them, and conclude them at the right time.
4. During all these steps, the VoIP router will prioritize security over function. That is, you can benefit from features like VPN, encryption, and a built-in firewall. Some VoIP routers may also have options for scalability and redundancy.

What I have provided here is a baseline overview of a VoIP network router. Because vendors come up with newer features and options, you can expect more features and varieties. For instance, integrated access VoIP routers are known for combining the best of performance and security.

Because of these differences, you may need to follow unique steps to set up a VoIP router as well.

How To Setup a VoIP Router

Recalling what I just said, the exact steps to set up a VoIP router may vary based on the manufacturer/model. However, as the concept goes, you can complete the setup process using the following major steps.

• First, you need to locate the necessary hardware equipment for the VoIP router. No matter whether you have a wired/wireless router, you need to set things up using an Ethernet cable. VoIP routers will also have dedicated ports for telephone or related accessories.

• After successfully connecting the necessary ports, you can proceed with the setup. To begin, you will have to access the default IP address of the router using a connected device. Depending on the type and features of the router, the setup wizard may vary.
• In this step, you need to configure the options for the VoIP router. First, you need to set up the LAN or WLAN for the router. Secondly, you will have to deal with SIP/VoIP protocols as well. Such features enable the core features of the router.
• Third, but most importantly, you need to set up the QoS options for the router. This part determines how the VoIP router will behave while dealing with data packets. The easiest option here is to choose the VoIP/SIP mode so that video/audio calls over the network are given the highest priority.
• Once you have configured the basic network and protocols, you can move to security settings, such as firewall, NAT, and VPN. However, you need to discuss these points with your network admin since you don’t want the firewall to block important RTS/SIP signals from devices.

After these steps, you can test the real-world capabilities of the VoIP router. It is also a good idea to update the firmware and check for additional documentation.

How to Choose Best VoIP Router

Choosing the best VoIP router for your business is like choosing a router for your home—but the stakes are higher than ever. Therefore, you should pay attention to the following aspects:

• Requirements: You should first understand why your business needs a VoIP router. Is it for improving Internet-based phone calls? Is it for improving SIP calls? You may want to prefer/avoid some brands and router types based on these needs.

• Additional Features: Of course, you’d be paying attention to the QoS features of the router. But it is hardly enough. Depending on your priorities, you should check the additional options for security, firewall, encryption, and VPN.
• Scalability: When you have a growing business, you should plan for things ahead. When it comes to choosing a VoIP router, you need to get a better model if you can. This way, even when the demand skyrockets, your hardware can catch up with the network requirements.
• Compatibility: Regardless of what you get, compatibility should be a primary concern when choosing a VoIP router. The idea is to ensure that the router works great with your existing network setup. You may also want to add options like an additional WAN port.
• Management: Who is going to manage the router? Things are easy if you have a dedicated network admin for your business. If you are in the startup stage, you may want to go for a VoIP router with an intuitive admin panel.

Once you have considered these options, you will have a few—say 10 or 20—VoIP routers to choose from. At this point, you can consider other factors like your budget, manufacturer reputation, and support.

Conclusion

From SIP protocols to QoS management and from trunking security to setup, many things matter when you need a VoIP router. Things are complex when you get it for a business, and you must think of it as a long-term investment. I mean, you don’t want to keep upgrading the VoIP router every two years, right? So, by going for an option that lasts long, you’d be doing yourself a favor.