Abbreviated term for Analog Telephone Adapter. Typical
home and single-line office phones, whether corded or
cordless, use analog signaling to communicate with your
local telephone company’s switch. An ATA takes those
analog signals and converts them into data that can be
transmitted over the Internet.
DHCP
Abbreviation for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol,
which allows the automatic assignment of IP addresses
NAT
Abbreviation for Network Address Translation or Network
Address Translator. It is the translation of an Internet
Protocol address (IP address) used within one network to
a different IP address known within another network.
SIP Phone
A telephone that has an ATA built into it, so it
natively sends and receives VOIP. The SIPTalk SIP Phone
is a 2-line office-type phone, with multiple “soft
buttons” that can be configured to transfer calls,
access voicemail, do speed dial, etc.
SoftPhone
A software application that runs on your computer,
allowing your computer to work as a phone. All
SoftPhones present a dial pad on your screen that can be
used to place calls. For communicating, you can either
use your computer’s microphone and speakers (usually not
very good quality), or you can use a headset that is
plugged into the headset port of your computer, or you
can use a USB handset that looks like a mobile phone and
plugs into a USB port on your computer. UDP
Abbreviated term for User Datagram Protocol, which
allows exchange of data packets of information between
computers.
USB Handset
A portable IP phone that connects to a computer via the
USB port.
