Tandberg bridges firewall/NAT gap

Tandberg today announced a new technology dubbed “Expressway” that aims to solve one of the major problems facing IP videoconferencing adoption today: Firewall and NAT traversal.

The H.323 standard used by the majority of IP videoconferencing systems is a “noisy” protocol that uses a number of random, non-standard firewall ports, which are usually closed. Expressway, which is based on technology Tandberg acquired when it purchased Ridgeway Systems last year, funnels H.323 into just three registered ports, making it more firewall friendly.

Expressway requires a free software update on Tandberg’s MXP line of endpoints and for the endpoint to be registered to a Tandberg Border Gateway appliance that sits outside the firewall. Expressway’s technology is also embedded in Tanberg’s Gatekeeper, which can act as a firewall proxy for non-Tandberg videoconferencing endpoints as well. Border Gateway does not necessarily have to be located on the user’s network.

Ridgeway’s original implementation required a separate server inside the firewall, according to Andrew Davis, principal analyst at Wainhouse Research in Brookline, Mass. Tandberg’s breakthrough was to move the PC component into the endpoint, removing one level of complexity.

Expressway does support H.264 video compression, encryption and DuoVideo, the company’s technology for combining video and material from a PC (i.e. a presentation) in the same call, says Mike Walker, directory of emerging technology at Tandberg.

Tandberg is also rolling out a new scheme for connecting to users, particularly outside the organization, without the need for remembering an IP address. The dialing plan uses DNS and URI-based naming, which Microsoft is proposing for use with SIP. The Border Controller registers itself as a URL, allowing users to use an e-mail address to connect to a remote user.

Tandberg is not alone in developing a firewall/NAT traversal technology. Jasomi Networks and Edgewater Networks have technology for getting around the firewall issues. They work with Radvision and Polycom, respectively.

“I give Tandberg a lot of credit for coming up with an elegant solution that does not involve third-party partnerships,” Davis says. “The sales channel is a key advantage because a Tandberg reseller is selling this stuff.”

Expressway-enabled software updates will be available for all MXP endpoints this week, except for the Tandberg 150, its software update is due out this spring. Border Controller starts at $7,700 for a five concurrent call configuration. Gatekeeper is priced at $9,000 for five concurrent calls.