Devfoundry call-monitoring software now on an appliance

Latest software release sends e-mail alerts about VoIP quality

By Tim Greene, Network World
February 12, 2009 12:10 PM ET

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VoIP monitoring vendor Devfoundry is releasing software that generates e-mail alerts when call quality drops below set levels.

The company is also selling its VoIP Monitor software packaged on an appliance rather than just as software that customers then load on Windows or Linux machines.

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The software monitors traffic and measures the quality of each connection as determined by real-time mean opinion score (MOS) or analysis of FAX protocols.

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Devfoundry's offerings compete against products made by ClearSight Networks, Codima Technologies, JDS Uniphase (JDSU), WildPackets and Touchstone Technologies among others.

The new Devfoundry software version can capture more traffic – 300 simultaneous phone calls and a full T-3 worth of FAX traffic. Previously, the software could capture 200 simultaneous calls.

VoIP Monitor can keep an eye on all SIP-based traffic as well as any FAX traffic based on the t.30 protocol.

Devfoundry is also introducing a free version of its software that can monitor one call at a time. The intent is to give customer some visibility into their VoIP traffic with the idea that they may find it valuable enough to pay for a full version.

The company is also introducing a per-instance licensing option that enables using a full version of VoIP Monitor for a set period. So if a business uses the free version and wants to use a full version to track down the cause of a particular problem it can buy a short-term license to do so. Prices vary, but a 31-day license to monitor 10 ports costs $89; a seven-day license to monitor 450 ports costs $599.

An appliance or a machine loaded with the software is attached to a mirroring port on a switch where it identifies and captures VoIP traffic and stores it per call. The calls can then be analyzed to determine what might be causing problems, but can also be used to record calls.

The software collects enough data to create call-detail records for billing purposes as well as troubleshooting.

The 1.7 version of VoIP Monitor is available now. The appliance is also available now and costs $900 for the device plus a license for monitoring 10 concurrent calls.

Read more about voip & convergence in Network World's VoIP & Convergence section.