In this paper we describe the role of the media server in traditional Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN), Internet Protocol (IP), and next-generation networks. We examine the Intel^® building-block technologies and their use in developing powerful, cost-effective multimedia communication solutions. We begin with a description of the components that make up a media server and then outline three representative network configurations into which media servers are deployed. The following sections examine the Intel technologies used to build a next-generation media server from the top down. We start by taking a look at Intel NetStructure^® Host Media Processing (HMP) Software, and how it makes developing interactive multimedia applications straightforward and cost effective; we walk through the steps required to build a simple voice and video application. The foundation of Intel NetStructure Host Media Processing Software is the Intel Architecture processors, chipsets, and Intel^® Integrated Performance Primitives (Intel^® IPP). We show how Intel Architecture processors and Intel IPP can offer world-class performance of media processing algorithms such as audio and video codecs. Finally, we look at how developer tools like the Intel C++ Compiler and VTune^™ Performance Analyzer can be used to produce high-performance application code.