This handbook describes the architecture and the operational steps to install, operate and modify the Sipwise sip:carrier.

In various chapters, it describes the system architecture, the installation and upgrade procedures and the initial configuration steps to get your first users online. It then dives into advanced preference configurations such as rewrite rules, call blockings, call forwards, etc.

There is a description of the customer self-care interface, how to configure the billing system and how to provision the system via the provided APIs.

Finally, it describes the internal configuration framework, the network configuration and gives hints about tweaking the system for security and performance.

The sip:carrier is a SIP based Open Source Class5 VoIP soft-switch platform providing rich telephony services. It offers a wide range of features to end users (call forwards, voicemail, conferencing, call blocking, click-to-dial, call-lists showing near-realtime accounting information, etc.), which can be configured by them using the customer-self-care web interface. For operators, it offers a fully web-based administrative panel, allowing them to configure users, peerings, billing profiles, etc., as well as viewing real-time statistics of the system. For tight integration into existing infrastructures, it provides a powerful REST API.

The sip:carrier comes pre-installed on six+ servers in one+ IBM Flex Chassis, see Section 2, “System Architecture”. Apart from your product specific configuration, there is no initial configuration or installation to be done to get started.

Opposed to other free VoIP software, the sip:carrier is not a single application, but a whole software platform, the Sipwise NGCP (Sipwise Next Generation Communication Platform), which is based on Debian GNU/Linux.

Using a highly modular design approach, the NGCP leverages popular open-source software like MySQL, NGINX, Kamailio, SEMS, Asterisk, etc. as its core building blocks. These blocks are glued together using optimized and proven configurations and workflows and are complemented by functionality developed by Sipwise to provide fully-featured and easy to operate VoIP services.

The installed applications are managed by the NGCP Configuration Framework, which makes it possible to change system parameters in a single place, so administrators don’t need to have any knowledge of the dozens of different configuration files of the different packages. This provides a very easy and bullet-proof way of operating, changing and tweaking the otherwise quite complex system.

Once configured, integrated web interfaces are provided for both end users and administrators to use the sip:carrier. By using the provided provisioning and billing APIs, it can be integrated tightly into existing OSS/BSS infrastructures to optimize workflows.

The sip:carrier is specifically tailored to companies who want to provide fully-featured SIP-based VoIP service without having to go through the steep learning curve of SIP signalling, integrating the different building blocks to make them work together in a reasonable way. The sip:carrier is already deployed all around the world by all kinds of VoIP operators, using it as Class5 soft-switch, as Class4 termination platform or even as Session Border Controller with all kinds of access networks, like Cable, DSL, WiFi and Mobile networks.