Navigation:  Getting started > Carriers

Carriers define the destinations of VoIP calls that are switched by DUAL Softswitch.  They are usually the gateways, gatekeepers or SIP servers operated by the telecommunications companies from which you buy termination.  Each carrier is assigned a unique number by DUAL Softswitch, and this number can be used to upload the optional routing settings for a tariff.

 

You view a list of defined carriers by clicking on the Carriers link in the Routing box on the left sidebar of the DUAL Softswitch Administration System.  Click on the name of a carrier to view or change that carrier's properties.  Above the table, there are two links for creating new carriers.  One link can be used for an H.323 carrier and the other link creates a SIP carrier.

 

For H.323 carriers, DUAL Softswitch supports Gateway to Gateway and Gatekeeper to Gatekeeper operations.  Carriers' gateways or gatekeepers must have fixed public IP address and must authenticate DUAL Softswitch's calls by fixed IP address.

 

In contrast, SIP carriers can be defined by either IP address or DNS name, allowing them to use dynamic IP addresses.  Digest authentication is supported, so DUAL Softswitch's calls can be authenticated using an account name and password combination.  SIP carriers can be set up as a SIP Proxy or a Registrar.

 

The pages in the Administrative System for defining H.323 and SIP carriers are very similar.  Each setting is explained on the web page.

 

Testing carriers

 

Once you have set up a carrier, you will need to test that it accepts calls as you expect.  You can do this using DUAL Softswitch's direct carrier selection feature.  This is only available to calls made from account 100001, which is a special administrative account.

 

To make a test call, dial:

 

* [Route number] * Destination number

 

Each carrier has a unique Route Number, and this can be found on Carriers page.  The destination number should be dialled in accordance with the geographical options defined for account 100001.  DUAL Softswitch will perform the necessary digit manipulation.  You can use this testing method for both H.323 and SIP carriers.  You may need to reconfigure your VoIP device to enable this feature.

 

Real time monitoring is also available through a Telnet server on DUAL Softswitch.  This can be useful for fault investigation.  Please contact the DUAL Softswitch support team for more information.

 

Betamax carriers

 

We advise that you use special settings when defining carriers for Betamax products such as VoiceTrading and SIPTraffic: