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The reality of VoIP is that the reliability of IP networks is still not as good as the reliability of the POTS (Plain Old Telephone System). This gap shouldn’t surprise anyone because the POTS system has enjoyed a 100-year head start to work out the technical kinks.

But users who rely on the phone don’t care about the reasons behind IP phone system hiccups. So knowing about VoIP disaster recovery is essential to keeping your installed base happy and your business functioning.

VoIP: Security Issues

When you implement a VoIP system in your business, you are introducing a whole slew of new network devices that—you guessed it—are vulnerable to the tried-and-true IP network attacks we are all familiar with.

Sharon Besser, director of security solutions for Check Point Software Technologies, warns in a company white paper that every element in a VoIP infrastructure is accessible on the network, just like any computer or server. And these elements are vulnerable to attacks such as DoS (denial of service) and unauthorized hacking designed to eavesdrop or steal voice service.

Protecting your VoIP system from well-known IP network threats requires the continuing implementation of good security practices, such as the use of antivirus and intrusion detection applications all the way from the network edge to your endpoints, including PCs, laptops, and PDAs. Now that many PDAs come with voice capabilities, it is especially important to ensure those devices are secure.

Is Your Network VoIP-Ready?

Security is not the only bugaboo that can come back to haunt your VoIP implementation. Remember VoIP has very strict QoS (quality of service) and bandwidth requirements that may require an extensive network infrastructure upgrade.

In a KPMG Advisory, “Voice over IP—Decipher and Decide,” Information Risk Analysts Egidio Zarrella and Peter McNally warn that a failure to accurately predict or manage overall network capacity needs can lead to service degradation and outages. You don’t have to have a complete telephony outage to cripple your VoIP capabilities; if QoS is not up to snuff, voice call quality could suffer substantially, especially during peak network usage times when voice traffic must compete for bandwidth with traditional IP data traffic.

Peak network usage will always occur during normal business hours. Imagine the consequences to your business when customers grow frustrated with poor-quality telephone calls when they call your place of business.

The best way to avoid unwanted outages to your VoIP system is to test your network capabilities before you deploy VoIP. Take stock of the network equipment in use and the possible upgrades that may be required. For example, does your existing equipment support QoS? Is your existing equipment compatible with the equipment from your VoIP vendor?

Also, it’s important to understand the bandwidth utilized by your present suite of network applications. If your network bandwidth is already at a premium, then a VoIP migration will have a severe impact on network traffic and service levels. Be sure to assess network readiness during peak business hours.

Protect Your Business From VoIP Outages

Doing sound IT change management and including VoIP and IP telephony requirements as part of business continuity and disaster recovery planning are two of the IT operational controls Zarrella and McNally recommend, while using IT technical controls such as encryption, network segmentation (that is, separate voice and data traffic), and periodic security assessment and testing are also recommended.

Regular security assessments include the determination of vulnerable points of entry into your network. Are your endpoints, such as PCs, notebooks, and PDAs unsecured? Are you falling behind and failing to patch critical hardware devices and applications? Are your users failing to employ good computing practices? A vulnerability assessment, whether conducted by a third-party firm or by using specialized tools, can help make this determination.

In addition, adds Forsythe Business Continuity Solutions Director Mike Croy, training is one of several issues that must be considered when thinking about VoIP in terms of disaster recovery. Users must understand the risks inherent in new technology and how to use the technology in times of disaster.

Another critical task that must be done at the time of disaster, adds Croy, is ensuring that the redirection of IP addresses is tested and potential threats to the recovery capability are mitigated. In other words, the business must ensure that backup systems needed for implementing a recovery are available when disaster strikes.

One key element, says Croy, is to ensure that data and voice recovery priorities be set for RTOs (recovery time objectives) and RPOs (recovery point objectives). To set the RTO, you must determine how long your business can run without (or with greatly reduced) voice communications. Can the business survive a day without telephone service, or is it absolutely necessary to restore voice communications within an hour? This decision will determine the level of disaster recovery capabilities for VoIP that must be implemented.

According to the Disaster Recovery Journal’s glossary, the RPO is the point in time to which systems and data must be recovered following an outage. In other words, how much data can your business stomach to lose after a disaster?

In terms of VoIP, can your business lose a day’s worth of stored messages? An hour’s? Again, business requirements will drive this decision and determine the disaster recovery measures to implement.

Assessment Needed

VoIP is here to stay. From a cost-savings, unique-features perspective, the technology is simply too compelling for businesses to ignore. But rushing to embrace VoIP without appropriately assessing business and infrastructure readiness will only maximize the chances for trouble. IP Networks are not (at least yet) as reliable as the traditional telephone network, so the risk of unforeseen outages, disasters, and security breaches is greater. Do your homework and protect yourself.

By Sixto Ortiz Jr.