 After an all IP Connection End to End Within the next ten years, the end-to-end IP connection will become the dominant means for interconnecting real-time IP traffic as described. The intermediate steps of conversion to TDM traffic occurs less frequently and provides no benefit in an all IP network. When traffic between SPs is maintained as all IP, the overall interconnect cost is lower, and the variety of traffic that can be exchanged, such a wideband audio and video, are more extensive than with TDM-based interconnects. In summary, a peering SBC provides the essential role today of enabling the SP to inter- connect to each other, ensuring that all PSTN destinations are connected when offering a 74 SIP Trunking SIP trunk for PSTN access service. In the future, this will play an essential role as more and more traffic becomes IP end to end between customers. The features and interconnects of a SP peering SBC are shown in Figure 5-8. Peering SBC Service Provider Determines the appropriate peer to send traffic to Ensures that the connection is secure Routes and exchanges sessions between trusted and untrusted SP Peers Call Agent Ensures that each flow or call can be measured and accounted for Calls from destinations outside the control Service Provider of the SP are sent to the Peering SBC for termination. Raw SIP Traffic from peered Service Providers comes into the Peering SBC Billing Server Figure 5-8 Features and Interconnects of a SP Peering SBC SP Network-Monitoring Equipment An often-overlooked component that exists throughout all SPs networks is the monitor- ing equipment. In the TDM trunking world, monitoring equipment is quite mature, hav- ing been developed for more than 75 years to provide an extensive alarming system that helps SP deliver a quality service. However, in the new world of IP networks connected with advanced services over SIP trunks, there is much less standardization with respect to monitoring equipment. One standard that does generally exist is Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), 