SIP Proxy: is it always needed?

[gianluca2891]

Hi all,

I have a vey simple VoIP network to implement: three sites connected by a Frame-Relay cloud with a VoIP VLAN in each site. I have to connect two IP Phones (7960) for each site and they must communicate among them, while there is no need to interface with analog telephone networks.

I woudl like to use SIP and, as far as I know, it is a peer-to-peer protocol, so I guess it does not need a centralized manager. I know about SIP proxy, but I guess it is not needed, though it may be used. However, tha IP phone configuration guide seems to state that you must configure a SIP proxy. Is this true? In this case, can it be implemented by a router with advanced security IOS?

Thanks a lot in advance,

Gianluca

[htluo]

Are you talking about CME?

In SIP world, proxy is not rquired.

Michael

[gianluca2891]

Thanks for your help. Well, in the Cisco SIP IP Phone 7960 Administrator guide, more specifically in the "Manually Configuring SIP Parameters" paragraph, it is stated:

Proxy Address—(Required for the first line configured on the phone) IP
address of the primary SIP proxy server that will be used by the phone.

This makes me confused.

[paolo bevilacqua]

Disregard the phone guides. All the configuration is done in the call manager.

Note, either you use cisco call manager or not, hire a reputable consultant to configure your voice network. If you don't do thta, you will encounter major problems and frustration.

Anyway, you cannot use Cisco SIP phone without a call manager.