The Netcom Partner Border Controller is a network device that perform a range of necessary function in a typical enterprise network. The features are described in details in later sections, but in short these features are:
Router
The NBC will act as a router between one or more networks - LAN's or WAN's.
Firewall
The NBC provides a stateful firewall to protect internal network against unauthorized access from public networks such as the Internet.
VPN Gateway
The NBC can create encrypted tunnels to other NBC's and thus creating VPN's (Virtual Private Networks).
VoIP PBX
The NBC will act as a VoIP (Voice over IP) PBX (Private Branch eXchange).