Supporting H.323 Video and Voice in an Enterprise Network

H.323 is a relatively new standard for video and voice transmission that specifies using IP packets as the transport. This opens the possibility of adding an inexpensive camera to a modern desktop, and allowing two way video-conferencing between any offices so equipped. While the H.323 specification addresses LAN networks, can H.323 be used in a WAN environment? What characteristics are necessary to support H.323 in the LAN and WAN networks, and what is the impact of H.323 on other traffic in the network? This paper attempts to outline the impact of running H.323 on a network and lay out some guidelines that should be useful for accommodating H.323 on both local and wide area networks.