One may think that the unemployment rate is rising each subsequent month. The skills shortage is because there are only millions of unemployed workers in the US. However, from the view of an entrepreneur or businessman, the reality is the opposite. It is too hard to find the exact skills for a vacant job.

It’s turning into a pain in today’s corporate world. Finding the best employee to fill a vacant post takes months of hustling. Employers head to blame either the education system or the government policies, but when we dig in, we find that it’s not the same as they say. It’s more of the business’ fault that makes it tough to find the best match for them. So let’s see what makes it that hard to find the matching skills and how they can overcome this shortage:

Do You Need to Recruit?
Yes, the new trend of looking for readymade workers says — to find the right skill for each post separately. But unfortunately, we have seen numerous times when a business chooses to recruit an outsider to fill a vacancy that can quickly be filled by promoting an insider. The problem is that companies do not believe in their employees or want to invest in their skills to enhance their productivity.

An established business may ask that candidates leave the job after completing the training, then why should we train someone if we’ve to repeat the process?

But it’s a wrong way of thinking; talents leave the job because you were looking for outsiders to fill your vacancies instead of promoting them. Even if you don’t train him, he’ll gain experience and leave. To resist an employee, you have to offer promotions and increments.

It would help if you understood that no matter how skilled he is, an outsider always needs time to understand the job and work culture that an insider already inherits. Moreover, recruiting insiders lessens the set of required skills for a vacancy. Hence, more candidates with matching skills apply for the job.

Designing the Job:
Those days are gone when you bless someone with a job. Today, you sell the job to a candidate, which first demands you to have a job to deal with. Sorry, a well-designed job.

Just like you do not want to train a candidate, the talent doesn’t want a job they cannot understand. That is why we suggest investing enough time in writing the job ad. A job ad should be able to screen the most unmatched applicants, but at the same time, it should be encouraging and attractive to the talent. And it’s not rocket science. All you need is to put the critical information about the job in an easy-to-understand format and choose the right keywords and skills.

Are You Looking at the Right Places?

Unfortunately, the small businesses are the new ones too. You may have put your job ad in the wrong place if you are not getting the matching application for your vacant post. It would be best to find the domain where the talent resides. Unfortunately, one cannot find the best fruit in the apparel market.

That’s why you cannot find the best stuff on Facebook because that’s a social networking website, not a job board. So even if you’re using Facebook or Google plus, find the relative groups and pages to post your job and use appropriate hashtags to make it available for everyone.

Remember, it’s always better to use the sites intended only to recruit. Use the right platform because these sites have all the essential features you may need, like — searching the applicants depending on the keywords and sorting different applications.

Choosing the Right Set of Skills:

It’s completely vital to select the right set of skills that you need to fill a vacancy. If you put every little requirement, probably you’ll not have any application. And if you put only the usual skills, you’ll be overwhelmed with job applications that can take months to filter.

You have to understand if there are institutions that provide the courses to match your skills or not. You cannot find a worker to perform all the tasks. If you need different skills but cannot pay two salaries or don’t have enough work for two people, then it’s better to hire casual workers or freelancers.

A Training Shortage:

It’s possible (if not usual) that there are no candidates with the same skills you are looking for, but an applicant’s skill can easily get enhanced by small training. 
Businesses do not want to invest in improving skills, but an intelligent businessman looks at such a candidate as a guaranteed investment where you can win and win only. Yes, you have to be a pro to resist the talent from leaving that isn’t too complacent. However, you only need to offer increments and promotions less inexpensive than recruitment.

Try quickly identifying applicants you can improve to match them with the job. Then, you can either tie up with an institution to train your worker or train him on the spot. It’s the best way to recruit if you are looking for a casual candidate to fill a job. Of course, the old idea of recruiting apprentices or hiring interns can also help.

The myth:
When most businesses say that it’s hard to find the perfect pool of talent to fill the job posts, it is also a fact that most of their job post remains vacant because the candidates refuse to work for the payment businesses offer. So it’s again about designing the job; if you want to hire a Ph.D. graduate for the position, you have to pay what he deserves. Otherwise, even if he accepts the job today, you don’t know when he’ll leave for a better job. Hence, do not try to cash the rising unemployment; you have to pay to prevent the talent from going.

Instead, you can (again) hire the interns and the apprentices. These workers will master in their field, which means you’ll get the same quality for a fraction of the amount. But, the risk factor is a bit high, or maybe more, depending upon the job.

You can see why finding the right talent for your small business is challenging. However, you can solve the problem and fill the gap between the required skills and unmatched candidates by taking appropriate steps, like recruiting interns, apprentices, and casual workers and training the insiders.

Do you find it tough to dig the matching talent?

How do you usually recruit?

Which platforms do you use for the recruitment process?

Is there any strategy that you use to hire passive candidates?

Do you find the blog post helpful?

Have I forgotten something?

Is there anything that you’d like to add?

What do you find more difficult — finding the talent or screening the unmatched candidates?

Kindly share your thoughts in the comments below and let the world benefit from your experience.

Why is it so hard to get a Casual Job? 
A casual job usually offers more hourly pay than a regular full-time or part-time job, which is why several native and foreign people struggle to get one today. Of course, these jobs do not offer other benefits that one brings in a typical job, but the power to select your working hours makes it a far better choice for those who want to earn some money in their spare time and on weekends.

When landing a casual job, many find it more than challenging and give up in the midway. You can always hear students, housewives, backpackers, and others saying that they never got a reply from an employer. It’s not because they are unskilled or arrogant. There may be too many reasons behind your un-replied applications. Let’s see what makes it this hard to get a casual job in today’s market when numerous small and mid-size businesses are out there looking for these employees to help them perform their tasks:

Understanding the Job:
Before landing on one, it’s more important to understand a casual job. You may consider it a job that allows you to choose your working hours. However, the reality is almost the opposite. It’s not you who decide the working hours but the employer. If you don’t match their requirements, you don’t get hired — it doesn’t matter how deserving you’re.
So, next time when you apply for such a job, try to guess and meet the employer’s schedule. And never forget to put it in your application.

Skills and Experience:
The problem with the name’ Casual Jobs’ suggests that anyone can get a job, which is undoubtedly not the case. Never confuse these jobs with an internship. When a business or firm asks for a casual worker, they don’t want to train an amateur, but they want someone with the required skills and experience to perform a particular job for a short time because they don’t have enough work for a full-time employee. In contrast, another reason to hire these workers is to get the work done when their daily employees are on vacation. Hence, always look and apply for a job in your domain of skills and expertise.

Too many Applications — Competition:

Competition is the most common reason most people cannot land a single job. Numerous people are looking for these jobs, and the myth that — anyone with minimal skills can perform such jobs — makes it even hard to get. If a company has hundreds of applications for a single vacancy, your application is less likely to be selected; it’s as easy as that.
Moreover, if you’re a college student looking for a casual job to make money in your spare time, it becomes even more challenging as college students barely have experience.

Information:
Unless it’s a company that hires casual employees each subsequent day, you may hardly see a business asking or posting these vacancies repeatedly. It’s simple — they get too many applications from a single vacancy that they do not need to post another job for almost a year.
So, the best way to land a casual job that you’d like to continue for a longer time is to put an eye on all the job boards. You must always be ready on the Launchpad to grab the job (or at least apply for the same) as soon as it is posted. (Sometimes, employers are in such a hurry that they don’t even have a moment to drop an eye on your resume. However, these aren’t the ones who will pay that long.)

Don’t only rely on the job boards designed especially for these jobs but also check the common ones along with Facebook and Twitter. Sometimes, employers don’t know where to post the vacancies for these jobs. So, it’s up to you to catch the potential employers wherever possible.

Resume:
Your resume can also be a reason behind the crisis. Maybe it lacks the keywords or other important information vital to landing a job. So, try to revise your resume or consult someone with more experience or a professional to look at it and suggest possible improvements.

Yes, it is vital to have an up-to-date resume, but that’s not a minor requirement you need to fulfill. Just having a good resume isn’t enough. It would be best if you customized it from time to time whenever you apply for a job. Don’t just distribute your resume like a press release — ‘Hey! I’m free nowadays and looking for a job. That’s not how things work.

Whenever you decide to apply for a job after reading a job post, reread your resume and customize it according to the job. Try to communicate with the job post; in this way, your outlines seem exceptional among others, and you’re more likely to get a call.

Another idea is to include the perfect time when you’re available. For example, instead of writing Availability: Flexible’, it’s better to write ‘Available from 3 PM to 8 PM — Flexible’ depending on the job ad. 
Also, if you’ve posted your resume on different job boards, then keep updating it from time to time. It shows that you’re always active and looking for a job. A passive aptitude may be a plus in a full-time job (sometimes), but as long as it’s a casual job, you must be highly active and always ready to jump for the job.

Designing the Job — Mismatch:
Sometimes, employers don’t have enough experience when writing the job post (usually in the case of small businesses that cannot hire enough employees to perform the task.) It may lead to a state of confusion. And if you don’t clear it before applying for the job, there are huge chances that you’re not the one they want. And you’ll waste a lot of time (so the money).
Yes, it’s their mistake, but they will never accept it, say ‘Sorry,’ or make a single reply. It’s better to get all the information about the job and the company before applying for a job. It saves a lot of valuable time and energy.

How do you apply?
Unfortunately, even in the 21st century, you cannot land a job while being entirely online. Instead, you’ve to make cold phone calls and walk into the firms and offices to get a better response. However, now some apps make it a lot easy to land a job you need.

You can see that there are several reasons why it’s so hard to get a casual job. Even if you have done everything right, there are chances that you don’t land a job. You have to understand that there may be too many reasons (probably, not from your side) behind that an employer didn’t reply.

So the fundamental solution is to be prepared, be updated, be confident, and keep applying. We assure you that soon you’ll land the job you want. 
Do you have more information that we forgot?
Is there any other way landing on a casual job?
How did you land your first casual job?
Did you find this post helpful?
Kindly share your experiences in the comments below so that others can benefit from them.
Best wishes!

Cloud Computing acronym is commonly known as, to name a few such as Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) for enterprise software services.

Every technology company in the developed world seems to be selling cloud computing. So we decided to expose where it all began.

Cloud computing (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS) is one of the hottest topics in technology besides Artificial Intelligence (AI). It appears tens of million times on the Internet. However, amidst all the discussion, most end-users want to know one question about cloud computing: Who said it first?

Late 1996, outside Houston Inside the offices of Compaq Computer, a small group of executives from the technology department was plotting the future of the Internet business and called it “cloud computing.”

They envisioned that all business software would move to the Web. So those technology executives coined “cloud computing-enabled applications” to become standard for end-users and consumer file storage.

According to Compaq marketing executive George Favaloro, it started a $2-billion-a-year business selling computer hardware such as servers to Internet service providers.

Later, Entrepreneur Sean O’Sullivan filed a trademark on “cloud computing” in 1997.

Cloud Computing is turning into a utility, like electricity. It is an old idea tracing back to the 1960s. Finally, however, it started to make financial sense to the business.

“cloud computing” was born as a marketing term, and it is nothing more than just a storage of consumer data (in binary format) on the servers (hardware). Such servers are connected globally through the Internet using landline, wireless networks, or satellite links, giving such computing an illusion of data in the cloud, consequently Cloud Computing.

HOW WOULD YOU CARRY YOUR DAY?

Thank you for reading. Our exclusive purpose in writing these articles is to make people think and not get people to agree with our perspective, which one would call the stuff of mind control. However, we don’t brainwash our audience. We hope this helps.

If you enjoyed reading our articles, you might like to subscribe to our mailing list as well and be the first to get notified of our latest or upcoming articles. Also, feel free to follow us on Twitter. Or, if you are a generous person, you can buy us a coffee at Ko-Fi here.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only. It should not be considered Business, Financial or Legal Advice. Consult a financial professional before making any significant financial decisions, if any.

RESTAURANT BUSINESS:

What to choose — Mobile App vs. Responsive Website?

“Mobile App” and “Mobile-Responsive-Website” coexist and look very similar. However, both differ in the target audience, budget, and features.

How best to decide between Mobile App and a Website?

This study would help you make the best option for your business.

Mobile App and Responsive-Website Design:

Mobile App, as well as Websites both, can be accessed through smartphones and tablets. Research suggests that 70% of smartphone users access and or browse websites. Moreover, Mobile Website is like another Website, specially designed for a smaller display and touch-screen interface.

Designers could scale the look and feel of the responsive website to any device size ranging from desktops to smartphones. Responsive websites display data, images, and video similarly to the other websites.

While on the other hand, a “Mobile App” is a software application made specifically for smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches.

One could download an App from “App Stores” and install it on one’s smartphone of choice. In addition, apps let their end-users access various internal device-specific features that are not available to the web applications and websites.

One could download the App once using the internet and afterward utilize the App independent of Internet connectivity.

Which one is better?

Mobile presence is a necessity for a new business. The primary

step of a mobile marketing strategy has a mobile website. A mobile app would complement the responsive website or web presence.

The App helps users carry out specific tasks with ease compared to the website. Therefore, young generations and or youngsters do prefer Mobile apps over websites.

Cost-Effectiveness:

Creating a mobile App would initially cost you more than a traditional website. In contrast, you may need to create two separate apps, one for an Android customer base and the other for the iOS (Apple) platform, respectively.

If you have a limited budget, then having a traditional website launched first could be the first choice. However, having a dedicated web-hosting is very costly.

User Interface:

Websites have a static and navigational interface, whereas mobile apps offer an intuitive and interactive user interface. Therefore, the App would provide a better user experience to your customer base than a traditional website.

Who is your Target Audience?

It is of utmost necessity for a business owner to understand the needs and preferences of your target audience and or customer base.

Business first needs to figure out the stereotypes and or generation of customers and the demography of its target audience and or customer base.

Do your customer base spend more time on websites using computers or spend more time using their smartphones?

If a business has most of its customer base, it will spend more time on its smartphones. Therefore, having a Restaurant Mobile App is a good move forward for a better customer experience and interaction.

Affiliate and Referal Marketing:

The traditional website is better if you promote your restaurant with affiliate marketing or referral marketing.

Accessibility:

App provides access to various internal device-specific features such as phone-contact list, location services, and phone camera, such as access to end-users device data a traditional website could not offer effectively.

Speed:

Nowadays, speed matters as user research suggest that most people get irritated quickly by slow-loading websites. Speed is one of the reasons people prefer mobile apps, as apps are way quicker to function after the initial download. However, one must first download the App and install it. Therefore, providing free WiFi access to the business premises is better.

If users are looking for general information, they may prefer to browse the websites using smartphones. However, the business would need to have the website developed and the App for each mobile platform.

Once downloaded successfully and installed on the smartphone, Apps could function offline. However, at the same time, the website always needs an active internet connection.

Easy to Search:

A mobile website is accessible to search results in the Google search engine because web pages get listed in the search results. The business could direct website visitors from other websites to their mobile app landing page or app download page of the App Store.

The business needs to list their App on a platform Specific App Store. However, one could have an App landing page as a web presence to educate the end-users of its features, use case, and download link.

In addition to an App, having an App landing page is a great choice.

Reach:

Mobile websites give a broader reach than a native App.

Life Pan:

Mobile exists on the business-hosted servers and does not get deleted by end-users. While an App may get deleted by the owner of the smartphone themselves if that App in question is not helpful or not required regularly. Therefore, an In-App user discount credit system works a glue to its user base and converts it into a repeat customer.

Compatibility:

Websites are generally compatible with different mobile devices. However, for native Apps, the business would have two different versions for each type of device-specific platform (Android/iOS).

Upgrade:

Websites are easy to update, edit and, publish on shared or dedicated web servers. At the same time, an App user needs to download and re-install the updated version of the App. In addition, most smartphones can auto-update all the upcoming App-specific updates in the background.

However, these regular updates could also be eliminated by using cloud servers for app-specific data.

Maintenance:

Support and maintenance of an App may cost you slightly more than upgrading websites. However, business website hosting on a fast and reliable web server is very costly. The use of cheaply shared web hosting is counterproductive. App Stores host and promote the App for free.

Security:

Apps always win over websites for security.

Push Notifications:

The business uses Push Notifications for websites as well as for mobile collectively. However, customers and or end-users may only subscribe to the mobile platform. Therefore, mobile/smartphone Push Notifications are the new norms.

HOW WOULD YOU CARRY YOUR DAY?

Thank you for reading. Our exclusive purpose in writing these articles is to make people think and not get people to agree with our perspective, which one would call the stuff of mind control. However, we don’t brainwash our audience. We hope this helps.

If you enjoyed reading our articles, you might like to subscribe to our mailing list as well and be the first to get notified of our latest or upcoming articles. Also, feel free to follow us on Twitter. Or, if you are a generous person, you can buy us a coffee at Ko-Fi here.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only. It should not be considered Business, Financial or Legal Advice. Consult a financial professional before making any significant financial decisions, if any.

Most developers would starve to produce bug-free software. However, bugs are an inevitable part of the software application as even the greatest of the most excellent programmers, and developers could miss out or slip on things to pay attention to, leading to a bug in the system.

No code is one hundred percent (100%) safe and bug-free. Therefore, bug and performance testing is an integral part of software development, including the minor application a programmer designs and codes.

Therefore, using Test-Driven Development and Behavior-Driven Development is the best way forward for all development companies that allow developers to make changes quickly and effectively. Furthermore, testing an application regularly and periodically will enable developers to get feedback on the application’s quality and performance to see if it does what it suppose to do and performs as per its intended use-case and or purposes.

Fixing the bug fast and earlier in the development phase makes the application to the market smooth and timely, bringing credibility to the developer and the team. Therefore, more immediate feedback on the design and its functionality from the real end-users is the key to delivering a project successfully. Therefore, the constant and continuous feedback loop must be essential for the business process.

Developers must “INVEST” in the feedback loop.

“I” — Independent: End-user must be independent of the development and design team where feedback comes unbiased and practical.

“N” — Negotiation: Feature request must get negotiated with the design team, developers, and the End-user collectively for its practicality of need and not just want of an individual.

“V” — Valuation: Feedback must get driven on the practical use-case valuation and not an emotional need of the tester.

“E” — Effectiveness: All suggested features must get implemented based on effectiveness and practicality to its end-user, contributing to its performance and requirements.

“S” — Simple: No feedback gets evaluated as simple and small to be considered valuable enough to get implemented for its contribution to bringing usefulness and effectiveness to the application and its end-users.

“T” — Timely: The feedback loop must be implemented periodically and on time to keep bugs out and the application’s performance intact. Testing the application for bugs and its intended use case is vital for professional software development, which must not get ignored regardless of the project deadlines. In addition, testing must be a part of the development cycle and launch process to market.

Whereas, Behavior-Driven development includes and uses a non-technical audience and or end-users effectively and efficiently compared to the tech-side of the end-users that contributes feedback at large to the non-technical stakeholders than the design team and the programmers.

Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) must be user-focused and easily comprehendible by non-technical application end-users. The application tests must get organized for its behavior monitoring in the hand of its intended non-technical end-users, reflecting application behavior and unintentional consequences in non-technical hands.

Test cases could get managed using real use-case scenarios and in a realistic environment. In contrast, actual end-users could use the application for its practicality and usefulness, providing feedback on its use-case and failure to meet the requirements and expectations of the end-users, simultaneously contributing towards the effectiveness and efficacy of the application.

Test under BDD must acknowledge most business requirements and clearly define every feature and use-case implemented within the application describing each step precisely, clearly, and understandable by the non-technical tester and or end-user.

Any specific tester must get given a scenario or a plan fully describing the steps of the test procedure. The tester must clearly understand each given strategy or plan for what action to take and what expected outcome the tester would receive after tacking that particular action. Likewise, a tester must fully understand what is given to them when and where they have to click or take action and what would result from that action or appear on the screen. Afterward, end-users must follow their instinct to use and act as they wish to test the application for its unintended use and use-case.

Finding bugs and unintended test results early would save the team tons of development time and embarrassment if not losing face to the client.

As mentioned above, both techniques efficiently bring the application from requirement gathering faster to the market into end-users hands.

Test Case Strategy for Mobile App Testing in Startups:

Research suggests that less than 25% of users reuse the app after its first download and use. In comparison, only 5% of end-users raise issues with its developers if they are unsatisfied with the application’s design and performance. As a result, contributing developers get a blind spot on design and useless features, and the application never gets honest and unbiased feedback, leading to its failure.

Mobile app testing is crucial for application development and must never get ignored. However, a good-looking mobile application must also act as per its intended use to its end-user. Without performing as per its intended use, any app would fail for its expectation if it not get tested for its performance in the natural environment and with actual end-users.

Not just application performance but application data security is a crucial part of the application design and development because it satisfies its end-user. Unfortunately, some end-users may ignore design but not its performance and data breach. Therefore, data security and performance go hand in hand.

While testing and fixing code errors and bugs, developers must also pay attention to the application’s User-Interface (UI) and its User-Experience (UX), ensuring all the business requirements get met, and the logic-flow is intact and unbreakable.

An inadequately tested app that fails the public or end-user expectations has the following but not limited to contributing factors for its failure:

1 — Insufficient time allocated to the testing team,

2 — Developer turnover within an organization which leads to the loss of the primary or talented developer,

3 — Missed delivery timeline, which leads to rushed coding practices.

4 — Time constraints which could lead to premature delivery of the project and or application launch,

5 — Immature development tools and an inadequate development platform used to develop the application.

Two main and vastly used application testing methods are as follows:

1 — Automatic Testing,

2 — Manual Testing.

Automatic testing is where the programmer writes test modules and or test code, creating automated testing tools before writing the application, leading to faster code testing during development, saving time and cost.

There is a prominent view within the development community that automatic testing is faster and more efficient for finding errors and bugs, reducing development time, and saving overall project costs in the long run.

In addition, it is a belief that there are very few chances to find the mistakes and bugs in the application after the launch, as the automatic testing goes together with the application’s actual development testing at the time of its coding stage, giving a better return on an investment (ROI).

On the other hand, manual testing gets done by an actual person in the natural testing environment to find bugs and errors. So, first, a technical tester would test all of the features an app offers for its performance and intended use, trying to discover the mistakes and bugs during the development phase. Afterward, before application launch, a non-technical end-user would get utilized to find any remaining bugs and errors within the application’s UI and UX and write a report to the development team with suggestions and all the bug findings, if any.

This manual testing is exploratory as it is done by an actual person and with an intuitive mindset that an automated test environment could not achieve. However, most developers find it time-consuming and not very cost-effective. Considering the pros and cons of the testing environments, as mentioned earlier, it is entirely the development team’s taste and preference to utilize the desired testing procedure. However, mixing both test environments to find errors and bugs to meet the end-user expectations and client’s requirements is the best foot forward.

Following testing steps and procedures could get followed to achieve desired results:

1 — All test cases must get designed, and the entire process gets documented in-house for future referencing, reviewing, and further analysis and understanding of the logic of the use case.

2 — The test team must follow pre-designed and determining guidelines for all test types while documenting the process.

3 — The development team must test the application for every feature, module, and class unit and get it manually done for each unit individually.

4 — Development team must ensure that the application runs smoothly without a glitch for every feature it contains, ensuring that each button is actionable and produces the desired outcome.

5 — To provide adequate satisfaction to application end-user, the development team must ensure that the User Interface is intuitive and actionable, leading to a more remarkable User-Experience. However, improving upon User-Experience is an ongoing process way beyond the initial launch of the application.

6 — Development team must also test the application for data overload and the data transmission mechanism used, including encryption for data safety.

7 — Feature Pivot testing and regression testing must also be considered seriously for any small code and feature changes on demand for requirement change that must not lead to app crashes and code safety breaches. The overall flow of the application must not get affected by pivot decisions made by management and by the new addition and or removal of an old unwanted feature. Modular design patterns are the best option forward to avoid such scenarios. Considering there is always room for improvements, user satisfaction is the hardest part of an application testing for its User-Experience.

Test Case Template with examples:

To verify a feature and functionality of the application, the development team must design the set of actions for an end-user to execute. In addition, to prove any given requirement, the development team must assign and create the precondition and postcondition for each given or possible scenario, including test steps taken and the test data used for a test case to get conducted successfully at a given time in the natural environment.

A test case must include exact variables and conditions that would get used by the tester to compare and verify the expected and actual outcome and determine if the desired outcome matches with the customer’s requirements. Therefore, each Test Scenario must include all possible Test Cases.

Test Scenario and its Test Cases in Manual Testing:

Test Scenarios are unique to every application and vary for each module and or feature. When Beta Testing, an application tester has to be very specific about the test scenario as there could be various test cases for every test scenario.

Test Scenario 1: Check Login / Registration Functionality for Zaap By Chang.

1. Test Case 1: Verify outcome on entering valid First Name & Last Name.

2. Test Case 2: Verify result on entering Invalid First Name & Last Name.

3. Test Case 3: Verify the outcome of entering a valid Mobile number.

4. Test Case 4: Verify effect on entering an Invalid Mobile number.

5. Test Case 5: Check the response when an OTP is Empty & Login Button gets pressed.

6. Test Case 6: Check the response when an OTP is Invalid & Login Button gets pressed.

7. Test Case 7: Check the response when an OTP is Valid & Login Button gets pressed.

To Write Test Cases in a Manual Testing Environment, take the following steps to make it easy for a non-technical tester.

Step 1) Explain the test scenario for the tester.

1. Test Case # : 001

2. Test Case Description: Check the response when a valid mobile number gets entered

Step 2) To execute the test case, the tester needs test data. Adding it below

1. Test Case #: 001

2. Test Case Description: Check the response when a valid mobile number and OTP gets entered

3. Test Data: +61-xxx-xxx-xxx and OTP: 123xxx

Test Data must get documented for the tester to use as it could get time-consuming to get it afresh each time around.

Step 3) To execute a test case, a tester must perform a specific set of actions on the Test-Device (Smartphone). This process must get documented as below:

1. Test Case #: 001

2. Test Case Description: Check the response when a valid mobile number and OTP gets entered

3. Test Steps:

4. Enter First Name

5. Enter Last Name

6. Enter Mobile Number

7. Click Send

8. Enter OTP

9. Click Send

10. Test Data: +61-xxx-xxx-xxx and OTP: 123xxx

Test Steps are not always as simple as mentioned above. Therefore, all steps need documentation. It gets a lot easier for a new tester to follow through in case of staff turnover. Even a random tester could execute the test case by following the documentation. Documented steps are helpful when facilitating reviews and reports for other stakeholders.

Step 4) The purpose of the test cases in a manual testing environment is to inspect the behavior of the test device for an expected result. This process also needs to get documented as below.

1. Test Case #: 001

2. Test Case Description: Check the response when a valid mobile number and OTP gets entered

3. Test Steps:

4. Enter First Name

5. Enter Last Name

6. Enter Mobile Number

7. Click Send

8. Enter OTP

9. Click Send

10. Test Data: +61-xxx-xxx-xxx and OTP: 123xxx

11. Expected Result: At this stage, login/registration should be successful.

At this test execution stage, the tester would observe expected results against actual results and assign a pass or fail status to the test case.

Step 5) A given test case could have a field such as Pre — Condition, which defines things that must be in position before the tester could run the test case.

For the “Zaap By Chang” test case, a precondition would be to have a mobile app installed on the test device or smartphone, providing access to the app for testing. A test case could also include Post — Conditions that define anything that applies after the test case gets completed. For example, as mentioned earlier, our test case could have a postcondition to verify the time & date of login that gets logged in the cloud database.

1. Test cases must be simple to follow through with by a non-technical tester.

2. Test case designers must keep End-User in mind to comprehend the steps used.

3. Test case designers must avoid repetition.

4. Test case designers must not assume the tester’s capabilities and or comprehension of the application.

5. Test case designers must ensure that all the possible test-case are covered.

6. Test case designers must ensure that test cases are identifiable and easy to replicate if bugs get found.

7. The tester must follow documented manual testing techniques.

8. Test data must get self-cleaned or cleaned manually, and tests must avoid the production database.

9. All test cases must be repeatable by any non-technical tester.

10. AL tests must get peer-reviewed on test results.

11. Start Feedback loop for modification.

The format of Standard Test Cases:

Test Case ID:

Test Case Description:

Test Steps:

Test Data:

Expected Results:

Actual Results:

Pass/Fail:

Test Case Drafts must include the following information:

1. The description of the test requirements,

2. The explanation of how the application should get tested provides for steps to follow,

3. The test setup should have its version control for each application keeping records of under test, software version, data files used, the base operating system the application gets installed upon, hardware specifications, security access, physical or logical data, situations such as other varients of tests, and any additional setup information relevant to the requirements of the test case that gets conducted,

4. Inputs data and the screenshots of the outputs or actions and expected results if successful,

5. Any proofs or attachments and screenshots of the application,

6. Use active case language.

7. Any given Test Case should not be more than 15 steps.

8. A draft test script is recommended with inputs, intentions, and expected results.

9. The setup offers an alternative to prerequisite testing.

10. Further tests scenario should have different test-case sequences.

Best Practice for writing a good Test Case:

1. Test Cases need to be transparent and straightforward:

Create test cases that are simple to follow through with by a non-technical tester. The test should be clear and concise as the test case writer may not execute them themselves. Clarity of instructions is the key.

Use strong language like going to the home page, entering data, clicking on this, and so on. On the other hand, an Assertive language for instruction makes test steps comprehendible by any non-technical tester.

2. Design Test Case with the non-technical customer in the viewpoint

The primary purpose of designing test cases is to test the application for any random test case that a customer could encounter. The application successfully passes that stage, meeting all requirements. A test writer must create test cases keeping for a non-technical audience.

3. Avoid test case repetition.

Do not repeat test cases. If a test case is required to execute another test case, call it by its test case id in the preconditioned column.

4. Do not Assume the actions taken by potential end-user

Assumptions for functionality and features of an application while preparing a test case are a sure case of terrible user experience. Instead, strictly follow the guidelines as per customer requirements.

5. Ensure 100% Coverage for odd actions and outputs

Write test cases that would comply with all application needs collected during customer requirement gathering. “Traceability Matrix” could ensure that no functions/conditions are left untested.

6. Test Cases must be identifiable.

We are naming the test case id to identify them effortlessly while tracking bugs/errors or identifying an application requirement later.

7. Assign and Practice specific Testing Procedures

Testing for every possible condition within an application is complex. However, manual Testing techniques would help increase the chances of finding errors and bugs.

• Boundary Value Analysis: Developers must conduct application testing for a specified range of values covering most typical scenarios.

• Parallelism Partition: These techniques breakups the range of tests into equal parts/groups with the same behavior.

• State Transition Technique: This method gets used when application behavior changes from one state to another following a specified action taken by the end-user.

• Error Assumption Technique: This is guessing/anticipating the error that may arise while doing manual testing. Error Assuming Technique is not a formal method and takes advantage of a tester’s interaction with the application and could be biased.

8. Self-Refreshing

Once all the test cases get performed, the application must return the “Test Environment” to the pre-test condition/state and should not render the test environment unusable by a new tester. Self-Cleaning is especially required when the testing environment gets different configuration settings per test case and scenario.

9. Bug and Error finding must be Repeatable and replicable

The test case should be replicable and produce the same results every time it gets conducted, no matter who tests it (Technical or non-technical tester).

10. Peer Review.

After creating test cases, get them reviewed by your colleagues. Your peers can uncover defects in your test case design, which you may easily miss.

The focus of this Test Case Management Document:

Features of a test case management document are as follows:

1. For documenting Test Cases: Test Case creation using templates in excel.

2. Conduct the Test Case and Document the results: Any non-technical tester using the template could execute the test cases, and the results could get quickly recorded.

3. Automate the Bug/Error Tracking: Failed tests could get automatically linked to the bug tracker on GitHub, which in turn could get assigned to the developers and must get tracked and followed through by the project manager.

4. Traceability: Requirements, Test cases, Execution of Test cases are all interlinked via the manual test template, and each case must be traced and tracked back to each other to have overall test coverage.

5. Protecting Test Cases: Test cases should be reusable and protected from being lost or corrupted due to poor version control. Test Case Management Template offers the following features:

• Naming and numbering conventions

• Versioning

• Read-only storage

• Controlled access

• Off-site backup

One may practice all the rules as mentioned above in a private setting.

Thank you for reading this far.

HOW WOULD YOU CARRY YOUR DAY?

Thank you for reading. Our exclusive purpose in writing these articles is to make people think and not get people to agree with our perspective, which one would call the stuff of mind control. However, we don’t brainwash our audience. We hope this helps.

If you enjoyed reading our articles, you might like to subscribe to our mailing list as well and be the first to get notified of our latest or upcoming articles. Also, feel free to follow us on Twitter. Or, if you are a generous person, you can buy us a coffee at Ko-Fi here.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only. It should not be considered Business, Financial or Legal Advice. Consult a financial professional before making any significant financial decisions, if any.

**NOTE: I wrote this article in 2006 during my master's studies. Therefore, references and links are old and may not represent the current status. It got based on an old 3G technology. Current 5G would not have the issues mentioned in this literature review.**

Abstract: 

The telephone has become a major cost to businesses.  To control cost more businesses and individuals are adapting to Internet and/or other hybrid networks.  Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) uses the Internet Protocol (IP) data network and/or hybrid networks that can be used to operate as a telephone. However, VoIP is very demanding and challenging web-based technology. VoIP offers several key advantages including cost-saving, increasing organization efficiency, promoting interoperability within the different platforms, and is easy to manage as a single network for the transmission of voice and data. However, VoIP has problems such as reliability, predictability, standards and security, privacy, emergency calling, and backup power for VoIP-handsets to hinder the prevalent deployment of VoIP. Therefore, deploying VoIP requires proper planning. Literature was reviewed for proper planning and implementation of VoIP.

Table of Contents:        

Abstract 

1. Introduction 

   1. Origin of Project

2. Community views VoIP 

3. Data networking views of VoIP

4. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using VoIP over Linux 

   1. Faster Development Time and Costs

   2. Reliability and Call Quality 

   3. Linux Implementation Stability

5. Criteria of Selection

   1. Implementation in Linux

   2. Hardware and Software Requirement

   3. The layout of network Diagram and Configuration

   4. Implementation Process in Linux

   5.  Pilot Study

   6. Discussion

6. Future of VoIP

7. Conclusion

8. Research Proposal 

9. List of Mind-Maps 

10. List of Figures 

11. List of Tables 

12. Appendix I 

13. Glossary of Terms 

14. Table Concept Matrix

15. References 

1.0 Introduction: 

There has been a general recognition that VoIP will become a key technology in the future. Many studies support the use of VoIP implemented in windows environments. However, literature was reviewed to identify the consumer’s requirements and the technology to implement VoIP in a Linux environment. 

There are some doubts about the effectiveness and validity of using the Linux operating system for VoIP. However, these doubts can be corrected or modified to suit our course. Regardless of other operating platforms available for VoIP deployment, the objective is to deploy VoIP in a Linux environment for small businesses and for individuals, as VoIP over Linux is highly reliable and cost-effective. 

Data-networking engineers have developed protocols for sending and receiving data packets. Although many protocols for data networking have been developed, the Internet Protocol (IP) has become the most important one, as it has proved to be remarkably scalable and adaptable. IP networking has become significantly important for data transfer and for communication, because of its convergence ability, where it takes different types of data such as voice, video, and application data and transfers them over the same IP network (Walker & Hicks 2004). 

The TCP/IP family of protocols forms the basis of the Internet and most of the corporate networks. Computer programs send and receive data over an IP network by making program calls to the TCP/IP software known as protocol stack in their local computer. The TCP/IP stack in the local computer exchanges information with the TCP/IP stacks in the target computer to accomplish the transfer of data (Walker & Hicks 2004).

Therefore, IP for most IT managers seems the logical and practical choice for the inclusion of a voice network while considering integration. IP is a connectionless protocol that delivers data on a best effort basis. The originally designed protocol is not suited for voice transmission. The VoIP developers should consider ‘Delay’ as the lacking factor of IP when deploying VoIP. However, many personal consumers and small businesses do not mind deterioration in quality caused by the delay because of cost-effectiveness.

“The internet traffic has been increasing with more than 100% annual growth rate since 1995”(Asatani 2003).  VoIP integration with an existing data network makes ease of maintenance as a single network and it has the ability to provide multi-services to its users. E-commerce and/or Internet call-center are also one of the major platforms for VoIP.

Graph from Cisco shows the global VoIP minutes of usages in billions per year indicates that Internet telephony is growing, as has been described by many studies. (Asatani 2003; McElligott 2004)

Figure 01: VoIP International use of minutes in billions

Source: www.cisco.com/.../ ns68/covia_bc/covia_b3.jpg

Although, quality is part of the system, which an end-user has to decide, when an industry provides a technology, it has to fulfil certain quality standards. Therefore, quality of service (QoS) becoming a key issue in the VoIP services within the IT industry. 

 …QoS refers to choices about how different ‘users’ or ‘different application traffic’ gets treated on the network. To make changes in your network so that VoIP traffic gets priority over file-transfer traffic, … industry needs QoS techniques (Walker & Hicks 2004, p. 142)

QoS in VoIP is still under development or at its early stage of development in order to achieve quality grade services in comparison with PSTN (Borthick 2002). A significant amount of research has been conducted on QoS management in order to provide a quality grade, voice services over the IP network.

When constructing a business case for VoIP deployment, hardware and software platforms are one of the major factors to be considered for planning, analysis, and assessment for a successful deployment. There are benefits and obstacles of using VoIP over a Linux network instead of a windows platform when implementing a voice network over an existing IP network. 

1.1 Origin of Project:

I started finding cost-effective solutions to save telephone costs for my previous employer. Skype (VoIP softphone) was used for calling other computers and to local landlines. Computer to computer calling is crystal-clear over VoIP using Skype as a softphone and free of charge but computer to landline or computer to mobile, have some marginal charges. There are several VoIP phone cards in the market today. Phone cards provide landline-to-landline calling using VoIP at reasonable prices. I would like to set up my own VoIP network between Australia and India. This project would start with a search on the quality of hardware and software for the deployment of VoIP.

2.0 Community views of VoIP:  

It is essential to know the foundation of Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) with a clear understanding of how signal information is passed between traditional telephone instruments in order to configure different types of voice over data network products. 

…Signaling in a voice network is twofold. First, signaling is necessary to convey information about a potential connection. Second, signaling enables a connection to be established through a voice network…(Held 2000)

This signaling has its set of rules and international standardization in order to provide reliable voice services. The quality and reliability of the PSTN is an outcome of decades of knowledge, experience, and innovation, which results that people being less likely to tolerate reduced quality or performance or dropped calls. PSTN reliability is sometimes referred to as ‘five nines’.

Walker and Hicks, (2004) describe ‘five nines’ that the entire network must be available and functional for 99.999 percent of the time. According to this principle over the period of one year:

365 days * 24 hours/days * 60 minutes/hours* 0.00001

= 5.256 minutes 

Therefore, the network can be down for a grand total of fewer than six minutes over one year.

This quality and reliability cannot be achieved without major rules and standardizations; therefore, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) does this for PSTN. Besides, standardizing the technology of the PSTN it also initially provides standards through its specific division known as the Telecommunication standardization sector or ITU-T. The standards are crucial to the success of technologies like VoIP (Walker & Hicks 2004).

…Defining voice over the Internet as an application rather than a service, Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell argued against regulating VoIP as traditional telephony… “Internet voice will unleash a torrent of innovative products and services”, Powell said in an address at the National Press Club in January 2004…the burden should be placed squarely on government to explain why regulations are needed… (Carlson 2004, p. 20)

There are several studies that have skeptical views, indicating that within the IT industry, it is less likely to find a data network with ‘five nines’, which implicates, that VoIP network, will never reach the standards of PSTN. Only the bravest and the smartest will deploy VoIP (Hall 2005) The evidence provided by Hall, (2005) appears to be somewhat one-sided, given that there is important evidence to the contrary, for example, approaches taken by few authors describing how quality and reliability could be achieved are (Borthick 2002; Isenberg 1999; Keepence 1999). 

It has been argued that VoIP needs serious research in order to provide quality grade services which could be in terms of internationally standardizing the protocols for VoIP and deployment of QoS management services.

3.0 Data networking views of VoIP: 

Internet telephony has been very popular among IT managers as most of the network managers find it very attractive and cost-effective in terms of integrating voice and data networks into one. This makes it easier for network managers to maintain a single data network. There are various definitions and claims about VoIP within the IT industry. Held (2000) describes Internet telephony as a term used primarily to refer to the use of software in conjunction with a sound card and microphone to provide individual PC users with the ability to initiate and receive calls over the Internet. Walker and Hicks, (2004) describe convergence as taking a different type of data-voice, video, and other application data and transferring them over the same IP network. 

Providing data networks has its own set of rules and standardizations referred to as protocols. Several studies indicate that there are many protocols for data networking. Among those, Internet Protocol (IP) has become the most important protocol and has proved to be the most adaptable and remarkably scalable. In the similar fashion of ITU, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has led the standardization efforts in the data network community(Walker & Hicks 2004). This has resulted in IP networks gaining respect within the IT community, which has changed the way people think about data communication. 

IP networks are best-effort networks that were designed for non-real-time applications, whereas VoIP requires timely packet delivery with low latency, jitter, packet loss, and sufficient bandwidth in order to achieve quality grade service over VoIP (Chen et al. 2003; Salah 2005; Uhl 2003).

4.0 The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using VoIP over Linux:  

There are several promises given by the IT community in terms of benefits from using VoIP over the traditional telephony PSTN. Apart from all the promises made for VoIP, the IT industry is more or less excited about potential cost savings over a period and the reduced infrastructure of the converged network in a VoIP deployment. According to Walker and Hicks, (2004), there are two main types of benefits to VoIP which he describes are hard benefits and soft benefits. 

…Hard benefits come with a clearly-defined cost savings… on the other hand, soft benefits do not necessarily save money, or, if they do, they do not always save an easily calculated amount of money… both type of benefits are critical to final ROI, most organizations focus more on hard cost savings, because they are easier to quantify … (Walker & Hicks 2004)

When it comes down to business decision-making, the choice of the operating system on which to build the services is very critical to every business owner. The selection of a correctly operating system would be ideal for getting successful deployment. Linux is a choice because of wider vendor support, services designed on the Linux platform works on a wide range of hardware, which makes the case that businesses are less likely to buy proprietary equipment to make services work. Information about the product drivers and support are regularly updated globally and also available for evaluation and reviewing; Linux is a tool that makes a great deal of sense for a company with a limited budget that wants to implement VoIP services over an existing IP network.

Wider choices in Linux are one of the main factors for its global adaptation, which makes developers customize services according to their specific needs and requirements. Linux can be customized to support individual customer needs. There are several cost benefits to using the Linux operating system such as wide vendor support, limited licensing cost, and wider choices. Low licensing cost makes Linux an attraction for businesses with limited IT budget and needs to deploy VoIP services.  A case study conducted at bell Labs for open source tools and practice in a commercial setting justifies that the recent acceptance of the Linux and Apache project is an excellent example of the open-source phenomenon (Gurbani, Garbert & Herbsleb 2005). 

4.1 Faster Development Time and Costs:  

Linux is desirable among the developers for open source seeking faster convergence and deployment. There are thousands of programmers and developers contributing to the source code and putting their valuable efforts to makes Linux better and better adding new features to support drivers for a wide range of hardware, whereas proprietary software used by windows does not allow this to happen (Bradner 2004; Gurbani, Garbert & Herbsleb 2005; Herlein 2000 ). 

These facilities provided by Linux to developers reduce the individual cost for an organization of having an onboard team of developers working on a project to improve the features of an application or developing a driver for specific hardware in order to work with existing applications and to support services.

The quality and reliability of VoIP services is an issue as users are accustomed to the ‘Five Nines’ quality of PSTN and they expect to have the same outcome from VoIP services. There is also a concern about the downtime of a converged network that may directly affect the organizational performance and image.

The project must start with a clear understanding and focus for the targeted goal and therefore, the implementation plan has to be well scheduled and budgeted and be well planned with a clear view of ongoing management and training costs in order to get successful deployment. However, I did not find any specific article on the Linux implementation plan, notwithstanding that I am working on this aspect. According to the quality of literature related to a similar topic indicated, there are a few questions any organization should consider answering before deployment.

• Does an organization have complete information about its current network environment?

• What does an organization want to acquire out of VoIP deployment?

The first point can be further divided into a few sub-sections such as current telephone usage of an organization, what reliability and call quality is expected out of VoIP deployment, and willingness to deploy VoIP over an existing IP data network. I will try to find methodological solutions for these questions in my Project B including with implementation plan in order to achieve a successful deployment. However, I discuss a few key points such as:

4.2 Reliability and Call Quality:  

Several studies (Dickerson 2005; Follett 2005; Golden 2005) have shown that Linux is a valid and reliable operating platform. Linux has qualities such as rapid development environment; culture for openness and faster integration gives an extra advantage for its selection over other operating. When organizations deploy VoIP, users expect a high level of reliability from their phone system compared with PSTN. 

4.3 Linux Implementation Case Study :

Rosen (2005) describes the open-source software as…

… there is no easy conceptual basis for integrating the language of freedom into the legal language of software licensing… where the word Free is currently used in software licensing contexts, it usually means zero, as in free of charge or free of defects… neither of these meanings in intended by open source licenses…(Rosen 2005)

Rosen (2005) further describes four kinds of software freedom:

• The freedom to run the software for any purpose

• The freedom to study how the software works and to adapt to your needs

• The freedom to redistribute copies of the software

• The freedom to improve the software and distribute your improvements to the public

While Rosen (2005) used RedHat Linux 9.0, there are several versions of Linux that could be used to create the heterogeneous environment to allow Linux and Windows to interoperate. Many people use cost as a criterion for the selection of technology. However, cost should not be the only factor. The technology should be efficient and not be Platform-Dependent in order to work efficiently. There are several other factors such as service quality and support that need to be considered for the successful deployment of VoIP.

Open-source community-based software (Linux) incurs costs indirectly, as open-source-community programmers are not obliged to help. This means that organizations that use Linux would have to have their own in-house programmers to address problems. It is good for businesses that the end-users cannot deploy the technology by themselves. 

Chou, et al. (2001, pp. 73-88) found 

…that device drivers have errors rates up to three to seven times higher than the rest of the kernel. …that the largest quartile of functions have error rates two to six times higher than the smallest quartile. …that newest quartile of files have error rates up to twice that of the older quartile, which provide evidence that code “hardens” over time. Finally Chou et al. (2001, pp. 73-88) found that bugs remain in the Linux kernel an average of 1.8 years before being fixed…(Chou et al. 2001)

Chou, et al. (2001, pp. 73-88) addresses questions like Do drivers account for most errors? Do bugs cluster? How do different operating system kernels compare in terms of code quality? 

They found that drivers account for over 90% of the block, free, and Inter bugs, and over 70% of the Lock, Null, and Var bugs. Since drivers account for the majority of the code (over 70% in this release), they should also have the most bugs. This effect is more pronounced when code size is corrected. 

Device-Drivers are the most important factors for an application to function effectively and efficiently. This shows users have to be very careful when deploying an open-source product.

Figure 05: The size of the Linux tree that (Chou et al. 2001) checked over time. Version 1.1.13

Figure 06: The absolute number of projected errors in (Chou et al. 2001) study

Figure 07: This graph shows drivers have an errors rate up to 7 times higher than the rest of the kernel in (Chou et al. 2001) study

There are many vendors making hardware based on open-source software. But there is no guarantee of efficient support and hardware functionality. For example, HP releases its Open Source Network Node Manager software based on Open-Source has functionality issues such as a bug in software associated with it. HP’s response to functionality issues is that it will be corrected in the next version or in the next upgrade (Hamblen 2004).

Golden (2005) found some weaknesses of open-source software. 

• Because of the need for consensus and the large community size, the pace of work and decision-making can seem very slow. There really is not any way around this.

• Despite the strong informal rules of participation, immature behavior sometimes (rarely) occurs. This can take the form of name-calling, but the more common form is one-upmanship based on technical opinion 

• Occasionally, the community will engage in protracted discussions about off-topic subjects.

However, Rosen (2005) showed individual users often do not have to be concerned with the intricate conditions of these open-source licensing issues, warranties, technical hurdles, patent defenses, or other esoteric legal issues. There is very little litigation over open-source software as there is very little chance of success in the absence of licensing. 

5.0 Criteria of selection:

Several open-source software is currently used for VoIP applications. However, the software had to fulfill a list of criteria to be selected for this project. The following criteria had to be fulfilled: should contain source code so that it could be modified, should have limited licensing cost, should have wide vendor support, and should have wider choices. Open-source software such as Linux includes source code where users can modify according to their requirement and need whereas Windows and other proprietary software do not allow modification. 

Linux works on a wide range of hardware so implementers and/or application designers have the choice to buy specific types of equipment from a number of vendors in order to make the new applications work effectively. Updated information about all products and services compatible with Linux is easily available on the Internet. For new hardware in the market that is not supported by Linux, the manufacturers of hardware are likely to have an idea of when it will be supported on Linux. 

The cost of software includes the purchase cost and licensing cost. The purchase cost is very high when it is designed for a particular purpose and the licensing cost is very high when proprietary structures are put in place. These costs make it very difficult for small businesses and individuals to afford this facility on their existing data networks. 

Linux is an open-source operating system. Users are free to choose vendors for their specific needs of an application in order to get vendor support and custom programming solutions. Users have the option of doing their own custom programming or they can hire programmers. The Linux programming can be done in-house or by outsourcing. Other proprietary operating systems do not allow this to happen, only software developing companies or OS companies can make any repair, upgrade, or modification. 

The choice of the operating system on which to build VoIP services is a business decision, which has to be a rational decision. Linux operating system was selected for this project, as the target was small businesses and individuals with limited budgets. These people cannot afford the licensing fee of proprietary operating systems, upgrades, purchasing costs, and maintenance costs. Linux was selected for this project as it fulfilled all the selection criteria.

5.1 Implementation in Linux:

There are several types of communication hardware and software providers enabling advanced telephony services that can be rapidly and effectively be deployed on converged and/or hybrid networks. One of these advanced services is VoIP. VoIP replaces the traditional hardware switches and other legacy communication equipment with software switches and voice communication protocols, specifically designed for transmitting voice over IP protocol. 

In VoIP enabled environment, the user initiates a call by picking up a handset, which may be an old-style analog phone, a new digital phone, or a VoIP handset plugged into an Ethernet port. When the user dials the number by pressing keys on the handset or by using Internet telephony application software such as soft-phone provided by Skype on the net on the computer. Then a routing server finds the phone number in its database and connects it. However, if the call is from outside the network the routing server routes the call to a gateway device that acts as a portal to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) for call completion (Walker & Hicks 2004).

In order to operate VoIP services efficiently in a Linux network, it requires a wide range of hardware and software. There are several applications designed on the Linux platform for VoIP services. To attract and maintain customers due to competition Internet providers provide additional services of VoIP applications. Internet service providers are offering innovative features and services such as integrated Internet access with VoIP to their customers. 

5.2 Hardware and Software Requirement:

Good quality telephone call requires minimum hardware to run VoIP application over a Linux network. It requires a processor with a minimum power of 500 MHz, a network card with 100 Mbps to eliminate bottlenecks, a full-duplex sound card for two-way communication, and several gigabytes of hard drive space to store log files and call record database. There are several hardware and software vendors and suppliers in the marketplace. This setup is for an individual and/or small business this is why not using Asterisk is very complex to set up. Using a simple Linux setup will provide to make calls from PC to PC, PC to Phone, Phone to PC (to receive calls made from phone) and if not answered will be diverted to message bank. 

There are three common protocols in use those are SIP, H.323, and Skype (Proprietary). Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is open source and widely used. SIP supports Linux phones such as Kphone and linphone. SIP is a simple and more flexible protocol. Therefore, has been chosen for this project. H.323 is older and it is complex and has not been widely supported. Skype is the proprietary protocol that does not come with source code and one must use Skype’s servers this is why does not fulfill the selection criteria of this project.  

SIP is peer 2 peer. However, a server is required to be used as a Registration server. One SIP phone may directly call another SIP phone such as Linux-based Kphone clients can call another Kphone client over the network. This needed UDP connection to port 5060 makes both machines communicate with each other. Moreover, for better communication Session Initiation bit is required when voice data flows between two VoIP phones. The call-initiation process may use a different server. In the case of dynamic IP addresses used by one or both machines, the SIP URL in the phonebook does not get up to date. Therefore, a Registration Server is required for the Client VoIP handset to sign into and use the server as a central point of contact. Registration server enables other VoIP handsets to be identified on the network, organize calling to multiple locations, and in the case of no-response call diversion to voicemail. Registration Server permits two VoIP handsets to communicate with each other if either handset is behind the firewall. Registration Server also provides Outbound Proxy which enables

two VoIP handsets to communicate to each other in the use of a private network or if the handset is behind the NAT (Network Address Translation) gateway. A list of hardware and software for VoIP deployment in Linux is shown in Table 01.

Table 01: Hardware and Software for VoIP deployment in Linux

Equipment for Linux Based

Application Providers

Open IP PBXs or FreeBX

www.vovida.com

IP Telephony Gateway (2):

Business Communication Manager based on Nortel Corporate Linux

Nortel

IP Phones: 

Skype SoftPhone or Zultys Phone

www.zultys.com

Fast Ethernet/Gigabit Ethernet Switches:

Linux Box can be configured as Switches

Red Hat-9.0

Linux Network or Linux-VPN

Red Hat-9.0

PCs and Servers:

Linux Box can be configured as a server

Red Hat-9.0

Voice Quality Tester: 

Linux based BCM 50 from Nortel

Nortel 

Data Traffic Simulator:

Vovida Linux based VoIP System

www.vovida.com

Application Traffic Simulator:

Nortel Corporate Linux

Nortel

WAN Simulator

QoS Appliances:

SIPFoundry Linux based VoIP solution 

www.sipfoundry.org

www.nwfusion.com

VPN/Firewall Appliances:

Linux Box can be configured as Firewall

Red Hat-9.0

Fast Ethernet/Gigabit Ethernet Analyzers:

Linux Box can be configured as Network Analyzer

Red Hat-9.0

Billing Server: 

Vovida Linux based VoIP System

www.vovida.com

Training:

 Individual Knowledge of Linux

Red Hat-9.0 documentation on

www.redhat.com

Table 03: List of Systems Requirement for Hardware Packages in Windows, Mac, Linux

Hardware Package

Operating System

Systems Requirements

Engine Voice Box

Windows and

Macintosh

1. Broadband connection, ADSL or Cable

2. 512 kbps or faster speed recommended

3. Spare Ethernet port on modem used or router to connect Voice Box

4. Ports enabled on the firewall: UDP 5060(SIP), UDP range 16382-20382 (RTP), both incoming and outgoing.

5. Sufficient download quota: 10 minutes talk time uses around 2.2MB

Netcomm LSV40 USB handset

Windows

1. Broadband service with SIP compatible router

2. OR Laptop computer running Windows 98SE or Above

3. 64MB RAM

4. 5MB free disk space

5. CD ROM drive

6. Free USB 1.1 port

7. Optionally, a sound card (for special ring tone audio).

Netgear TA612V 

Windows

1. Broadband connection

2. Voice over IP service 

3. Analog touch phone-tone telephone

4. CD-ROM drive

5. Windows 9x running a TCP/IP network

Snom 100 VoIP Phone

Linux

1. SIP, H.323/H450, and Asterisk as well as data protocol HTTP, TAPI, and LDAP

2. 16MB RAM

3. Motorola QUICC processor running Linux 2.4.18 kernel

4. Broadband connection

Table 04: List of Systems Requirement for Skype in Windows, Mac, Linux

Windows:

• 400 MHz processor

• Windows 2000 or Windows XP

• 128 MB RAM

• 15MB free disk space on the hard drive

• Sound card, speakers, and microphone

• Broadband internet connection or dialup internet connection at 33.6 kbps or higher

Mac:

• Macintosh computer with G3 or G5 processor

• Mac OS X v 10.3 (Panther) or newer

• 128MB RAM

• 20MB free disk space on the hard drive

• Microphone

• Broadband internet connection or dialup internet connection at 33.6 kbps or higher

Linux

• 400 MHz processor

• 128MB RAM

• 10MB free disk space on the hard drive

• Full duplex sound card, speaker, and microphone

• Broadband internet connection or dialup internet connection at 33.6 kbps or higher

5.3 Layout of network Diagram and configuration:

Source: White paper from 

According to bell labs, VoIP networks may have to interwork with existing time-division multiplexing (TDM) – based voice networks. From the point of view of the internetworking bell, labs give basic three distinct scenarios as shown in figure 1. VoIP service scenarios are such as 

1. Network Interworking, where the packet network is deployed in between TDM networks such as PSTN and the end host/devices are traditional voice devices, such as analog or integrated service digital network (ISDN) phones.

2. Service Interworking, where an IP endpoint communicates with traditional voice devices over a packet and TDM network.

3. Native VoIP service, where IP endpoints communicate with each other over a packet network.

Source: 

Source: http://www.voicetronix.com/hda.htm

A first step towards the setup is testing the hardware to check that all the VoIP handsets, headphones, and microphones working properly. Make sure that all sound cards are full-duplex and enable the “20dB Mic Boost” using a mixer such as a gnome alsamixer that reduces the echoing. 

Second downloading the software such as Linux-based soft-phones linphone or Kphone. Linphone is chosen for this project because it has a better interface and documentation. Linphone may require a diagnostic program named sipomatic. It is recommended that first install libgai0-devel for the gnome-applet libraries and afterward use the standard configuration in order to compile the linphone. 

The third step is to register with a SIP server. FreeWorldDialup is a well-established SIP server and provides services free. Therefore, has been chosen for this project.  

The fourth step would be configuring a linphone using Configuration Guide or online documentation. Configuration may vary depending on the use of private and public addresses. Local ISPs provide a range of public addresses at affordable prices. 

Table 05: Linphone Configuration (may or may not work for most linphone depending on the version)

Setting (Linphone 0.12)

Sip:NNNNNN@fwd.pulver.com

Use sip register

Server address

Sip: fwd.pulver.com or sip: fwdnat.pulver.com:5082

Using registrar as outbound proxy

Number of buffers size in milliseconds

200ms works fine

NAT traversal enable

Firewall IP address

The public IP of Firewall or Gateway

RTP port used for audio

Default (7078)

Source: www.pulver.com

The fifth step would be testing the configurations and upgrade. One may require an incoming phone number for receiving calls from landlines to PC. This can be done by local ISPs that provide VoIP services such as ‘CallUK’ does within the UK and is free.

The final step is outgoing phone calls to other phones including international calls this requires signing with a service provider such as Skype, CallUK.com and IconnectHere.com one may choose accordingly depending on the requirement.

5.4 Implementation Process in Linux:

Successful deployment of VoIP in a Linux environment requires knowledge of Linux or open-source software, proper planning, assessment, and pilots. The first step in the deployment process is the assessment of a VoIP-Readiness. If the existing network is not capable of handling VoIP applications it has to be improved by upgrading existing pieces of equipment and links, implementing QoS, obtaining new network service contracts and service-level agreements (SLA). The second step is acquiring the hardware and software for VoIP deployment. The third step is the configuration of hardware and software. The fourth step is testing and addressing problems. 

5.5 Pilot Study:

Walker and Hicks (2004) argued that a pilot deployment should be taken before a full-blown deployment. The first five customers will be part of a pilot study. The customers will be interviewed using a structured questionnaire to identify the quality of service and user-friendliness. The problems identified will be addressed or rectified where possible before full deployment.

 5.6 Discussion:

The criteria used for the selection of the Linux platform were cost, reliability, security, manageability, and training. The choice of hardware, software, and training depends on the available fund, as small businesses and individuals are always low on funding. Linux based platform was more attractive to small businesses and individuals because of its low cost. 

Cost includes acquiring hardware, software, training, and implementation. Security for small businesses and individuals depends upon information stored on the call record database. Security was not a major issue at this stage. For big organizations the security of call records is essential. For secure access within an enterprise data network, it requires authenticated access such as firewall security and/or Virtual Private Network (VPN). Manageability is important for big organizations to maintain and monitor the call-servers and require a qualified, in-house trained staff. Small businesses and individuals do not require administrative intervention. 

The literature review identified several limitations such as treating VoIP management as an afterthought; ignoring priority and quality handling for voice traffic (over-provisioning bandwidth service instead of managing service); managing data, voice, and QoS on a single network with separate management tools; Assuming that existing data-network is ready to handle the demand of VoIP traffic; waiting for the user to complain before addressing voice quality issue; ignoring the training for in-house staff; taking shortcuts to solve the issues. (Daley & Snaith 2004)

Skype is free telephony software or a softphone that uses P2P technology to provide free of charge voice communication services over a wide area network. The quality of voice conversation over PC to PC is very close to PSTN quality (five nines) but there are some variations in voice quality over PC to Landline or PC to Mobile phone. The objective of this project was to provide technology that provides the same quality of voice conversation for PC to Landline or PC to Mobile phone.

At present voice quality using Skype is not important for my clients, as their objective is to pass the message across to their relatives or business counterparts. However, my objective is to provide the same quality of voice conversation for PC to landline and PC to mobile phone. To achieve a quality grade service one requires the knowledge and understanding of QoS and QoS management. 

6.0 Future of VoIP  

There has been a general recognition that quality of service (QoS) is becoming a key issue (Armitage 2003; Walker & Hicks 2004). In order to achieve quality grade services in comparison with PSTN services, QoS in VoIP requires further improvement. A significant amount of research has been conducted on VoIP services in order to improve the quality of voice communication over IP networks. There are several methods and techniques to adjust and tune the network devices to improve the call quality. 

There is ongoing research on resource management mechanisms for next-generation networks conducted at UTS, Sydney on Linux-based soft routers to measure Quality of Service (QoS) in a Differentiated Service Domain providing resource management for hard end-to-end QoS guarantee. 

According to researchers (Nanda, Simmonds & Lee 2002), the advanced networking features with support for Quality of Service (QoS) in the recent Linux kernel (2.2.9+) provide a flexible platform to experiment with resource management in a Differentiated Service (Diffserv) domain. Their research has shown that with Diffserv enabled in the router involved multi-field classification in order to mark Expedited Forwarding (EF) aggregate traffic and protect them from heavy background traffic. The results are as shown in figure 08.

Nanda, Simmonds & Lee (2002) has described that, with Diffserv enabled, the foreground traffic is forwarded with expedited forwarding PHB and continues without any loss for the same interval. The variance in jitter is also bound to less than 1 ms using CBQ. Their research demonstrated how Diffserv expedited, forwarding per-hop behavior could be used to reduce data loss and jitter even in the presence of heavy background traffic.  

7.0 Conclusion:  

The literature review identified hardware, software, shortcoming, and QoS requirements for VoIP deployment in a Linux environment. To control the cost of telephones more businesses and individuals are adapting to Internet and/or other hybrid networks. Several advantages have been identified such as cost-saving, increase organization efficiency, interoperability within the different platforms, and are easy to manage as a single network for the transmission of voice and data. 

From this review, a few positive points have become clear. Firstly, Linux is an alternative to proprietary operating systems for an installation that cannot be ignored. It is an opportunity that most small businesses are taking up and will continue to take up for financial and other benefits. Secondly, Linux, implementation is the best solution for a cost-effective integration with the potential to grow in time with the availability of faster development time and improvement. At the same time, providing the device driver code bugs may cause some serious damage to the organization's image as if they contribute to the failure of an application resulting in business loss. VoIP should be insensitive to its operating system platform; however, if an organization decides to take Open-Source into consideration then issues related to the device –drivers should be resolved beforehand.

Existing work in the VoIP has shown that QoS management has much to offer in a certain type of deployment to achieve quality grade services. Literature review shows that QoS management is necessary to improve quality and reliability. While there is no ideal QoS management technique available yet, it should not be ignored. Further research is required to determine the suitability of so many different QoS techniques and methods to handle many network device interconnections and interactions.

8.0 Research Proposal: 

It is now recognized that most IP networks need some QoS guaranteeing mechanism in order to ensure QoS on VoIP applications. There have been several solutions within the IT industry and university laboratories to address the QoS management mechanism issue. There are several QoS schemes and parameters in use within the IT industry to improve VoIP services (Hackforth 2002, p. 48; Walker & Hicks 2004). The objective of ‘Project B’ would be to define and understand the QoS configuration in the Linux environment. This will be achieved through a literature review and information acquired through a pilot study.

9.0 List of Mind-Maps:  

Mind-Map-01: Report Layout

Figure-04: Linux implementation graph according to Technology Adoption Process, from Moore’s BookCrossing the Chasm

10.0 List of Figures:  

11.0 List of Tables:  

Table 01: Equipment Description for VoIP deployment

Table 02: List of Software available in Windows, Mac, Linux

Table 03: List of Systems Requirement for Hardware Packages in Windows, Mac, Linux

Table 04: List of Systems Requirement for Skype in Windows, Mac, Linux

Table 05: Linphone Configuration

12.0 Appendix I 

LITERATURE REVIEW GUIDELINES FOR EVALUATION

Prepared by Student ID No: 02021691

1 Purpose of a literature review:

1. How critical is it?

2. Does it report within the general body of scientific knowledge?

3. Does it base on existing knowledge and resources available?

4. Does it bring the reader up-to-date with other research that has been done in the area, in particular previous, relevant, research in the topic-related area?

5. Does it identify the particular topic-related areas of agreement and disagreement?

6. Does it assist in:

   1. Researching an important question and justifying by putting time, energy, and resources into examining that questions:

   2. Selecting an appropriate population, societies, industries, and sample;

   3. Developing a suitable research design and justifying it;

   4. Identifying useful approaches to analyzing and reporting data gathered;

   5. Discussing the results;

   6. Drawing conclusions;

   7. Discussing the limitations of the methodology used;

   8. Recommending changes in industrial practice and/or area of further research;

   9. Bibliographic function and/or citation of referenced material;

2 Methods:

2.1 Type of information available 

2.1.1 Theory;

2.1.2 Research results;

2.1.3 Industrial experience;

Theories are built through the creative integration of research results, industrial experience and hunches.

2.2 Source of information;

1. Text/Books;

2. Journal Articles;

3. Published Reports;

4. Others;

2.3 What to look for?

1. Unexpected findings;

2. Populations that have not been studied;

3. Characteristics which have been studied;

4. Suggestions for further research;

5. Factors impacting on the problems;

6. A theory that explains the problem of this assignment;

7. Conflicting theories;

2.4 Methodology

1. Field and or industry studied and reason for selecting same;

2. Sample selection and problems experienced in gaining a random or representative sample of the industry of interest;

3. Suggestions for overcoming the problems;

4. Research design and reason for using that approach;

5. Which design worked well and which did not (productive research only);

6. What recommendation does the author make;

7. How did they measure the data;

8. How did they describe their findings; (i.e. Tables, figures, and charts used)

9. Were their tables and figures informative, easy to follow, meet the “stand-alone” test;

10. Which methodology they recommend;

13.0 Glossary of Terms:

POTS

Plain old telephone network, the basic analog phone line most people have in their homes.

Fax

Facsimile, a method of sending a copy of a paper documents over an analog telephone line from point A to point B.

Modem

Modulator/demodulator, a device that connects computer systems by transmitting signals using analog signals. 

CO

Central office, the telephone company’s switching center that provides POTS service to the surrounding area.

PCM

Pulse code modulation, a way of storing an audio signal as a bit stream.

CELP

Code-excited linear prediction, a compression codec used in advanced VoIP codecs. CELP reduces the number of bits necessary for successful transmission of the sound; it is somehow achieved by degrading the audio signal.

RJ12

A socket or adapter being used to connect analog phone to POTS 

RJ45

A socket or adapter being used to connect network devices to each other

GPL

General Public License

BSD

University of California’s Berkeley Software Distribution

OSL

Open software silence

AFL

Academic free license

14.0 Concept Matrix 01: Concept Centric

15.0 References: In Concept Matrix & Report:

References

Allard, H. 2000, 'Understanding QoS How to obtain quality over bursty networks', Teleconference; ProQuest Telecommunication, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 10-17.

Armitage, G.J. 2003, 'Revisiting IP QoS: What do we care, What have we learned? ' ACM SIGCOMM 2003 RIPQOS Workshop Report, vol. 33, Melbourne, Australia, pp. 81-88.

Asatani, K. 2003, 'IP Telephony and QoS Issues', Proceeding of ICCT2003, Tokyo, Japan, pp. 48-50.

Borthick, S. 2002, 'QoS: Once Impossible, Now Inevitable?' Business Communications Review; ProQuest Telecommunication, vol. 32, no. 10, pp. 20-24.

Bradner, S. 2004, 'Is Part of the future of VoIP Open?' Network World, vol. 21, no. 40, p. 30.

Carlson, C. 2004, 'FCC's Powell: Don't Stifle VoIP', January 19, 2004, no. January 19, 2004, p. 20.

Chen, X., Wang, C., Xuan, D., Li, Z., Min, Y. & Zhao, W. 2003, 'Survey on QoS Management of VoIP', International Conference on Computer Networks and Mobile Computing, IEEE Computer Society, Beijing, China, Columbus, USA, Texas, USA, pp. 0-7695-2033-7692.

Chou, A., Yang, J., Chelf, B., Hallem, S.; & Engler, D. 2001, 'An Empirical Study of Operating System Errors', ACM pp. 73-88.

Daley, P. & Snaith, P. 2004, 'VoIP's SEVEN Deadly Sins', Communication Convergence; ProQuest Telecommunication, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 14-16.

Dickerson, C. 2005, Open Source Calling, InfoWorld, vol. 27, Infoworld Publishing Group, pp. 14-14<http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&an=17552029 >.

Drake, W.D. 1997, 'Using Linux to Solve the Problem of Mixed Operating System Lan Services', ACM SIGUCSS, vol. XXV, no. 1997, pp. 67-72.

Follett, J.H. 2005, 'Fonality Talks Up Low-Cost Open-Source VoIP System', Inform Global, vol. 1152, no. CRN; Jan 20, 2005, p. 10.

Golden, B. 2005, Succeeding with Open Source, Addison-Wesley, Boston, Sydney.

Gurbani, K.V., Garbert, A. & Herbsleb, D.J. 2005, 'A Case Study of Open Source Tools and Practices in a Commercial Setting', ACM, pp. 1-6.

Hackforth, S. 2002, 'A question of standards', Telecommunication International; ProQuest Telecommunication, vol. 36, no. 8, pp. 48-50.

Hall, M. 2005, 'VoIP Scary', Computer World, vol. 39, no. 3, p. 37.

Hamblen, M. 2004, OpenView Users Ask HP for LessComplexity, More Support, Computerworld, vol. 38, Computerworld, pp. 12-12.

Held, G. 2000, Voice & Data Internetworking, second Edition edn, McGraw-Hill, Sydney.

Herlein, G. 2000 'The OpenPhone Project--Internet Telephony for Everyone!' Linux Journal vol. Volume 2000 no. Issue 69es  (January 2000) 

Isenberg, D.S. 1999, 'Is quality of service necessary', America's Network, ProQuest Telecommunication, vol. 103, no. 4, p. 20.

Jiang, W., Koguchi, K. & Schulzrinne, H. 2003, 'QoS Evaluation of VoIP End-points, IEEE Computer Society, vol. 0-7803-7802-4/03, no. 4/03, pp. 1917-1921.

Johnson, J.T. 2003, 'Implementing IP telephony: What to watch for', Network World; ProQuest Telecommunication, vol. 20, no. 9, p. 27.

Kagklis, D., Sykas, E., Manousos, M., Apostolacos, S., Grammatikakis, I. & Mexis, D. 2005, 'Voice-Quality Monitoring and Control for VoIP', IEEE Computer Society, vol. 1089-7801, no. 05, pp. 35-42.

Kang, J.W. & Nath, B. 2003, 'Adaptive QoS Control by Toggling Voice Traffic between Circuit and Packet Cellular Networks', IEEE Computer Society, vol. 0-7803-7974-8, no. 8/03, pp. 3498-3503.

Kathryn, M. 2002, 'Can Open Source Software Change The Microsoft Story in Public School', Australian Computers in Education Conference, Hobart, July 2002, ed. T.a.D. Department of Education, Adelaide, ACEC 20002 Proceedings: refereed paper section, Hobart, pp. 1-20.

Keepence, B. 1999, 'Quality of Service for Voice over IP', paper presented to The Institute of Electrical Engineers.

Lewis, A. 2002, 'Solving the QoS puzzle', Telecommunication International; ProQuest Telecommunication, vol. 38, no. 8, pp. 22-24.

Li, B., Hamdi, M., Jiang, D. & Cao, X.-R. 2000, 'QoS-Enabled Voice Support in the Next-Generation Internet: Issues, Existing Approaches and Challenges', IEEE Communication Magazine, April 2000, pp. 54-61.

Liang, C. 2000, 'A Course on TCP/IP Networking with Linux', paper presented to the JCSC 15: The Consortium for Computing in Small Colleges, Hartford, CT, May 5, 2000.

Lindstrom, A. & DeVeaux, P. 1999, 'Follow the QoS road', America's Network; ProQuest Telecommunication, vol. 103, no. 9, pp. 53-60.

Mahoney, K. & Rumbel, E. 2003, 'Five tips for successful VoIP', Communication News, ProQuest Telecommunication, vol. 40, no. 5, pp. 20-21.

McElligott, T. 2004, PINGTEL RINGS UP OPEN SOURCE, Telephony, vol. 245, Primedia Business Magazines & Media Inc., pp. 14-14<http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=afh&an=12391306 >.

Nakamoto, Y. 2004, 'Towards Mobile Phone Linux', IEEE Computer Society, pp. 117-124.

Nanda, P., Simmonds, J.A. & Lee, S. 2002, 'Measuring Quality of Service in a Differentiated Sevice Domain with Linux', IFIP, Internetworking 2002 symposium, Department of Computer Systems, Faculty of IT, UTS, Sydney, Perth, Australia, pp. 1-6.

Nolle, T. 2004, 'Technical Perspective IP QoS: For Real', Telecommunications Americas; ProQuest Telecommunication, vol. 38, no. 10, p. 14.

Qiao, Z., Sun, L., Heilemann, N. & Ifeachor, E. 2004, 'A new method for VoIP Quality of Service control use combined adaptive sender rate and priority marking', IEEE Computer Society, vol. 0-7803-8533-0/04, no. 0/04, pp. 1473-1477.

Rosen, L. 2005, Open Source Licensing 'Software Freedom and Intellectual Property LAw', Prentice-Hall, New Jersey.

Salah, K. 2005, 'On the deployment of VoIP in Ethernet networks: methodology and case study, ELSEVIER Science Direct, vol. XX, no. June 2005, pp. 1-16.

Saran, C. 2005, 'Supplier group to address VoIP security concerns', Computer Weekly; ProQuest Telecommunication, p. 4.

Stefano, N. 2004, 'VoIP: The Regulatory Issues', OVUM 2004, vol. September 2004, no. September 2004, pp. 1-26.

Tolly, K. 2005, 'The Quest for QoS', Network World; ProQuest Telecommunication, vol. 22, no. 32, p. 20.

Uhl, T. 2003, 'Quality of Service in VoIP Communication', International Journal of Electronics and Communication (AEU), vol. 58(2004), pp. 178-182, 1434-8411.

VanderBrug, G. 1999, 'Making QoS work with voice over IP', Communication News, ProQuest Telecommunication, vol. 36, no. 4, p. 56.

Vittore, V. 2005, 'Does QoS Matter for Voice over IP?' Telephony; ProQuest Telecommunication, vol. 246, no. 7, pp. 28-30.

Walker, Q.J. & Hicks, T.J. 2004, Taking Charge of Your VoIP Project, February 2004 edn, Cisco Press, Indiana, USA.

Wang, S., Mai, Z., Magnussen, W., Xuan, D. & Zhao, W. 2002, 'Implementation of QoS-Provisioning System for VoIP', Real-Time and Embedded Technology and Applications Symposium (RTAS'02), vol. 0-7695-1739-0/02, IEEE Computer Society, Texas, USA, pp. 1-10.

Wilkins, D., Cole, D. & Nelson, M. 2004, 'Windows Interoperability with Linux in the Enterprise: A Solution to the High Cost of Licensing, Downtime, and Security Problems', paper presented to the CCSE: Consortium for Computer Science in Colleges, Myers, FL.