01
Virtual or Appliance
Choose Sentinel CS for virtualized infrastructure or Sentinel 100/400 when a physical platform is preferred.
Sentinel Model Portfolio Selection Guide
Choose the right Sentinel Model for your deployment.
Compare Sentinel CS, Sentinel 100 and Sentinel 400 by deployment model, site profile, interface requirements and operational priorities. This page is designed to help buyers identify the most appropriate Sentinel platform before requesting final sizing and SKU validation.
Sentinel Portfolio
CS • 100 • 400 • VIRTUAL • APPLIANCE • INTERFACES
VIRTUAL SBC
ENTERPRISE
HYBRID VOICE
INTERFACES
CSVirtual deployment
100Enterprise appliance
400Hybrid platform
Deployment ChoiceCompare virtual, appliance and hybrid voice-edge deployment models.
Model SelectionMatch Sentinel CS, 100 or 400 to your sites, scale and operational environment.
Interface PlanningIdentify whether the project requires virtual SIP only or physical PRI, BRI, FXS or FXO options.
SKU ValidationConfirm capacity, software, redundancy and hardware configuration before procurement.
Sentinel selection criteria
Start with the deployment model, interfaces and operating environment.
The correct Sentinel model depends on where the SBC will run, the number and type of sites, whether physical telephony interfaces are required, and how the organization plans to operate, scale and support the platform. Use the criteria below to narrow the choice before final engineering validation.
Deployment Environment
Virtual infrastructure, enterprise premises, branch sites, data centers and critical facilities.
Sentinel Model
Select CS, 100 or 400 based on platform, interfaces, scale, resilience and operational ownership.
Final Architecture
Carrier, PBX, Microsoft Teams, cloud voice, legacy interfaces and site-level continuity requirements.
Deployment models
Virtual, appliance and hybrid deployments solve different operational needs.
Sentinel CS is designed for virtualized and centralized environments. Sentinel 100 is positioned for focused enterprise and branch deployments. Sentinel 400 fits larger on-premise, hybrid and interface-rich projects. The right model should be selected by architecture, not by product size alone.
02
Site and Scale
Match the model to site count, session requirements, centralized management and expected growth.
03
Physical Interfaces
Determine whether PRI, BRI, FXS or FXO cards are required in addition to SIP-only connectivity.
04
Resilience Model
Define local survivability, redundancy, failover and maintenance expectations before selecting the platform.
05
Operations and Support
Consider who will configure, monitor, update and support the SBC across its lifecycle.
06
Procurement Readiness
Finalize capacity, software release, interface cards, licensing and deployment environment before ordering.
Sentinel Model portfolio
Three Sentinel Model options for enterprise, cloud and critical infrastructure voice.
Use this section as a first-pass product selector. Sentinel CS addresses virtual and centralized environments, Sentinel 100 addresses focused enterprise and branch projects, and Sentinel 400 addresses larger, hybrid and interface-rich on-premise deployments.
Virtual SBC
Sentinel CS
Virtual Session Border Controller for cloud, hosted voice, operator networks and centralized enterprise SIP security.
High-performance appliance
Sentinel 400
Appliance SBC for larger enterprise, government, defense, utilities, transportation and mission-critical environments.
Enterprise appliance
Sentinel 100
Enterprise SBC for secure SIP trunking, Microsoft Teams Direct Routing, branch voice and PBX modernization.
Sentinel Model comparison
Choose the right Sentinel Model for your voice architecture.
These tables focus on product fit, deployment form, interface requirements and buyer profile. Final capacity, certification status, software compatibility and SKU availability should be confirmed with M5 Technologies.
Model
Deployment
Best For
Primary Role
Recommended Buyer
Sentinel CS
Virtual / cloud / data center
Operators, hosted voice, cloud voice, large distributed deployments
Scalable SIP security and centralized SBC control
Service providers, cloud voice providers and large enterprises needing virtual SBC scale.
Sentinel 400
Physical appliance
Large enterprise, government, utilities, transportation and critical infrastructure
Secure production-grade SBC and gateway-oriented voice edge
Organizations needing robust on-premise control, resilience and hybrid telephony integration.
Sentinel 100
Physical appliance
SMB, branch, mid-size enterprise and focused Teams Direct Routing projects
Cost-effective SIP demarcation, policy and voice-edge protection
IT teams needing secure SIP trunking and cloud voice migration without oversized infrastructure.
Feature / Requirement
Sentinel CS
Sentinel 400
Sentinel 100
Why It Matters
Recommendation
Virtual SBC
✓
—
—
Virtualization supports cloud, hosted and centralized network architecture.
Choose Sentinel CS for virtual deployments.
Microsoft Teams Direct Routing
✓
✓
✓
Teams voice requires secure SIP interconnection between Microsoft Phone System and carriers.
Choose by scale and deployment model.
SIP trunk security
✓
✓
✓
Protects the enterprise voice edge and controls external interconnection.
All Sentinel Models apply.
FXS interface option
—
✓
✓
Connect analog phones, emergency phones, fax and facility systems.
Choose Sentinel 100 or 400 if analog endpoint ports are required.
FXO interface option
—
✓
✓
Connect to PSTN lines or legacy analog trunks.
Choose Sentinel 100 or 400 when analog line-side access is needed.
BRI interface option
—
✓
✓
Supports ISDN BRI migration and interconnection.
Choose Sentinel 100 or 400 for BRI modernization.
PRI / T1 / E1 interface option
—
✓
✓
Supports digital PBX trunk migration and carrier handoff.
Choose Sentinel 400 for larger PRI projects; Sentinel 100 for smaller deployments.
Service provider architecture
✓
✓
—
Hosted voice and operator networks need scalable SBC control.
Sentinel CS is the primary recommendation.
Critical infrastructure
✓
✓
✓
Operational voice needs availability, policy and secure interconnection.
Sentinel 400 is usually strongest for on-premise critical sites.
Requirement
Recommended Sentinel
Reason
CTA
Microsoft Teams Direct Routing
Sentinel 100 / 400 / CS
Choose based on site count, call volume and virtual versus appliance deployment.
Large enterprise or government site
Sentinel 400
Strong appliance positioning for robust on-premise secure voice edge.
Branch or mid-size enterprise
Sentinel 100
Cost-effective SBC appliance for focused SIP security and Teams voice projects.
Service provider or hosted voice
Sentinel CS
Best fit for scalable centralized SBC and cloud voice control.
PRI / BRI / FXS / FXO required
Sentinel 100 or Sentinel 400
Hardware interface options are available through appliance configurations.
Telephony interface options
FXS, FXO, BRI and PRI options for Sentinel appliance deployments.
Sentinel 100 and Sentinel 400 can be configured with telephony interface cards depending on project requirements. This makes them useful when SIP security must coexist with legacy analog or digital voice interfaces.
FXS
- Connects analog phones and endpoint devices
- Useful for emergency phones, elevator phones, fax and legacy analog equipment
- Common in POTS replacement and facilities voice modernization
FXO
- Connects to PSTN analog lines or analog PBX trunks
- Useful for legacy line-side access and fallback scenarios
- Supports migration where analog trunks still exist
BRI
- Supports ISDN BRI interconnection
- Useful for regions or customers maintaining BRI infrastructure
- Helps bridge smaller digital voice environments to SIP
PRI / T1 / E1
- Supports PBX trunk migration and carrier handoff
- Useful for larger digital telephony modernization projects
- Connects legacy PRI/T1/E1 infrastructure to SIP architecture
Sentinel 100 / Model M Slot Code
Interface Option
Port Count
Typical Use
Commercial Note
2
PRI / T1 / E1 card
1 PRI
PBX trunk migration, digital voice interconnection, carrier handoff.
Use when bridging SIP with legacy PRI/T1/E1 infrastructure.
3
FXS card
4 FXS
Analog phones, fax, elevators, alarms and POTS replacement devices.
Best for larger analog endpoint density on Sentinel 100.
4
FXO card
4 FXO
PSTN lines, PBX analog trunks and legacy analog line environments.
Use where analog line-side interconnection is required.
5
FXS card
2 FXS
Smaller analog endpoint deployments and compact POTS replacement use cases.
Good for branch sites with limited analog requirements.
6
BRI card
2 BRI
ISDN BRI migration and smaller digital voice interconnection.
Use where BRI rather than PRI is still present.
7
FXO card
2 FXO
Small PSTN or analog trunk interconnection.
Good for branch or limited line-side deployments.
8
BRI card
4 BRI
Higher-density ISDN BRI migration and PBX interconnection.
Use when multiple BRI interfaces are required.
L
FXS-LP card
4 FXS-LP
Low-power analog endpoint integration.
Available as a listed slot option for Model M.
Sentinel 400 / Model S Slot Code
Interface Option
Port Count
Typical Use
Commercial Note
2
PRI / T1 / E1 card
1 PRI
Large PBX trunk migration, carrier interconnection and digital telephony modernization.
PRI cards must be installed first in slot order on units with PRI ports.
3
FXS card
4 FXS
Analog endpoint support for phones, fax, elevator lines, alarms and facilities voice.
FXS/FXO/BRI cards are installed after PRI and DSP according to slot-order rules.
4
FXO card
4 FXO
PSTN line connection, PBX analog trunk integration and legacy analog interop.
Recommended when on-premise analog trunk-side access is required.
8
BRI card
4 BRI
ISDN BRI migration and digital branch / PBX interconnection.
Useful for regions or customers maintaining BRI infrastructure.
L
FXS-LP card
4 FXS-LP
Low-power analog endpoint integration.
Listed as a Model S slot option.
Final sizing and SKU validation should be confirmed with M5 Technologies based on call volume, codec policy, redundancy, Microsoft Teams Direct Routing requirements, interface cards and deployment environment.
Buyer and deployment profiles
Sentinel Models protect voice where communication failure is not acceptable.
Use these profiles to identify the closest match to your project. They are intended to support product selection, not replace engineering and commercial validation.
Public Sector Programs
Secure SIP trunks, PBX migration, Teams Direct Routing and controlled interconnection for public-sector networks.
Secure Facilities
Protected voice-edge architecture for secure facilities, command sites and sensitive communication environments.
Distributed Operations
Voice continuity for control rooms, distributed sites, substations and operational communications.
Transportation Hubs
Secure operational voice, emergency communications, SIP interconnection and critical facility voice modernization.
Multi-Site Networks
Resilient communications for stations, operations centers, maintenance sites and emergency workflows.
Remote Operations
Secure SIP and voice continuity for remote facilities, operations centers and high-availability infrastructure.
Large Campuses
Protected voice services for facilities, emergency workflows and regulated communication environments.
Regulated Enterprises
Secure SIP trunks, branch voice, recorded environments and hybrid cloud voice migration.
Selection and deployment support
Move from product comparison to a validated Sentinel configuration.
M5 Technologies brings decades of real-time communications engineering, DGW firmware expertise, SIP interoperability know-how and enterprise voice infrastructure experience to each Sentinel Model deployment.
SIP Interoperability ExpertiseSentinel Models help normalize signaling between carriers, PBXs, cloud platforms and Microsoft Teams environments.
DGW Firmware FoundationSentinel appliance platforms are supported by the DGW software ecosystem and M5 technical documentation.
Critical Infrastructure FitM5 positions SBCs for government, defense, utilities, transportation, enterprise IT and operator-grade voice projects.
Sentinel Model FAQ
Questions buyers ask before selecting a Sentinel model.
Why do we need a Session Border Controller?
An SBC protects and controls SIP communications at the voice edge. It helps reduce exposure to unauthorized SIP traffic, toll fraud, malformed messages, routing errors and interoperability issues between carriers, PBXs, Microsoft Teams and cloud voice platforms.
Which Sentinel Model is best for Microsoft Teams Direct Routing?
The right model depends on deployment type, call volume, site count and interface requirements. Sentinel CS fits virtual and centralized architecture, Sentinel 400 fits larger appliance deployments, and Sentinel 100 fits smaller enterprise or branch SBC projects.
Can Sentinel Models support FXS, FXO, BRI or PRI?
Sentinel 100 and Sentinel 400 appliance configurations can support telephony interface cards such as FXS, FXO, BRI and PRI depending on SKU and slot configuration. Sentinel CS is virtual and does not provide physical telephony ports.
Is Sentinel CS a virtual SBC?
Yes. Sentinel CS is positioned as a virtual SBC for cloud, local virtualization, hosted voice, operators and centralized enterprise SIP security use cases.
Is an SBC only required for large organizations?
No. Any organization exposing SIP trunks or connecting Teams, PBX, cloud voice or critical voice services can benefit from SBC security, routing control and interoperability. The correct model depends on architecture and scale.
Can M5 help validate the correct Sentinel SKU?
Yes. M5 Technologies can help validate the correct Sentinel Model model and SKU based on session capacity, interface cards, redundancy, carrier requirements, Teams architecture and deployment environment.
Sentinel Product Recommendation
Get a model and SKU recommendation for your project.
Provide your deployment model, site count, interface needs, voice platforms and project timeline. M5 Technologies can recommend the most appropriate Sentinel platform and identify the information required for final sizing.
- Sentinel CS, Sentinel 100 or Sentinel 400 recommendation
- Virtual, appliance or hybrid deployment review
- PRI, BRI, FXS and FXO interface validation
- Microsoft Teams, SIP carrier and PBX environment review
- Capacity, redundancy and SKU validation roadmap