The Scoop: What is a media server, anyway?

As phone companies redesign their infrastructure to accommodate voice and data on one network, they separate network elements in an attempt to boost efficiency and flexibility.

One of the devices that has sprung up because of this is the media server, which acts as a processing engine for the applications that define services.

In traditional phone networks, the application software is bundled with the hardware needed to process the service, creating multiple devices to support the many services carriers offer. These devices increase network complexity and boost costs by introducing more elements that require management and maintenance.

Depending on the service application, a media server might process spoken words into digital commands that could be understood by a voice mail system, enabling remote users to navigate their phone messages with speech rather than punching numbers on a phone. Or the media server could process the text of an e-mail so an application could "read" the e-mail aloud to the user.

The application software that taps the processing power of the media server can be part of the media server itself or it can be loaded on separate application servers. Because the applications need not be on the same hardware as the media server, the media server could be used to process applications that are already part of traditional phone networks. That means current service providers using traditional networks can migrate to packet voice networks but continue to offer the same services they do today without necessarily buying new application software. To facilitate this, media gateways typically use session initiation protocol (SIP), media gateway control protocol (MGCP) and other standard languages for talking to other network devices.

Vendors specializing in media servers include Convedia, IPUnity, Mockingbird, SnowShore and ThinkEngines.