Fax About IP

IP faxing lets a fax server send faxes via the Internet or an intranet to another server closer to the desired destination. In theory, this saves money and can improve quality.

One way to do this is to make use of the Internet instead of making long-distance calls. You send a fax from a workstation to a local fax server. Using least-cost-routing software, the server determines the most efficient delivery method -- by calling the destination directly or by sending the fax to a remote fax server that then makes a local call to the final destination and sends th e fax ( see the figure for details).

With better enterprise-level systems, the fax server determines what are the best route and transmission methods (i.e., fax call, e-mail, local fax machine, or printer) for each recipient, based on stored cost data. This feature is called least-cost routing.

Proprietary IP fax links are the bane of current implementations. Standards here could revolutionize IP faxing, which is currently limited to direct server-to-server links.

---

Calling All Faxes

illustration_link (6 Kbytes)