M5 Technologies unveils Sentinel SBCs for Teams routing

M5 Technologies has highlighted its Mediatrix Sentinel session border controller portfolio, which includes virtual and hardware products for secure SIP and Microsoft Teams Direct Routing.

The Sherbrooke-based telecommunications company outlined three products in the range: Sentinel CS, Sentinel 100 and Sentinel 400. The portfolio is aimed at enterprises, telecommunications operators and cloud service providers moving voice traffic to internet-based and cloud communications systems.

Session border controllers, or SBCs, manage and secure voice traffic between different networks. They can handle call routing, help prevent unauthorised access, support encrypted signalling and voice traffic, and provide continuity options when a primary connection fails and backup infrastructure is in place.

The products are intended to help organisations connect existing telephone systems with newer IP-based services without replacing all their installed equipment. M5 Technologies pointed to sectors including finance, healthcare, government, transport and customer service operations, where continuous phone access is important.

Virtual option

Sentinel CS is the software-based product in the range. It is designed to run in virtualised environments on local infrastructure or supported cloud systems, rather than on a dedicated appliance.

According to the company specifications, Sentinel CS supports up to 20,000 concurrent SBC sessions and 30,000 registered users, depending on licensing and available computing resources. Features include SIP routing, signalling normalisation, topology hiding, TLS 1.3 security, SRTP media encryption, call admission control, quality-of-service management and troubleshooting tools.

The virtual product can be used by operators to connect customer networks, by cloud communications providers in hosted voice deployments, and by enterprises linking offices, remote workers and SIP telephone systems through central infrastructure. Managed service providers can also deploy the software as part of business communications services.

Hardware models

Sentinel 100 is the compact hardware model in the portfolio. It supports up to 120 simultaneous SBC sessions and 500 registered users.

The Sentinel 100 family includes pure SBC and hybrid SBC configurations. It can also support compatible Microsoft Teams Direct Routing setups, allowing businesses to link Teams Phone with their existing telecommunications environment where supported configurations are used.

At the larger end of the range, Sentinel 400 combines an SBC, a media gateway and a virtualisation server in one modular platform. It is designed for medium-sized and large enterprises.

Depending on configuration, Sentinel 400 supports up to 2,000 simultaneous SBC sessions and 6,000 registered users. Interface options can include E1/T1 PRI, ISDN BRI, FXS and FXO, allowing organisations with a mix of legacy and IP telephony systems to modernise in stages.

Teams focus

The Mediatrix Sentinel portfolio supports Microsoft Teams Direct Routing through certified configurations. The approach is intended to let businesses connect compatible telephone systems, SIP providers and Teams environments while retaining control over how their communications systems are structured.

Deployment still depends on Microsoft certification requirements and the specific product configuration in use. Support for Teams integration therefore varies by model and approved setup.

M5 Technologies is the commercial brand of Media5 Corporation and traces its engineering background to 1992. The company develops telecommunications products including session border controllers, VoIP media gateways, embedded SIP software and secure voice network technology.

Its portfolio includes the Mediatrix, Sentinel, Audiotrix and M5T brands, sold to enterprises, operators, system integrators, original equipment manufacturers and public sector customers in international markets. The products are used to connect different communications platforms while preserving existing compatible infrastructure.

The Sentinel range reflects a broader shift in business telephony as organisations move away from traditional fixed-line systems towards IP calling, hosted voice and collaboration software. In that transition, SBCs have become a key control point between internal networks, service providers and cloud platforms.

For businesses with older equipment still in service, the products are positioned as a bridge between legacy telephony and newer communications systems, particularly where secure SIP connections and Teams-based calling form part of the network design.