Hi, I am having problems configuring the QoS on my network, specifically for my VoIP phone.

The phone I have is the Cisco SPA504G SIP and is connected to my router via ethernet, it has the local IP 192.168.1.118.

When I am not using my connection for anything else, the call quality on my VoIP phone is perfect - no problems at all. However when I start web browsing or downloading files on my PC/Laptop the phone conversation starts to lag, and stutter.

This is something I thought I could solve with QoS and is the reason I purchased the Draytek router said this router. (Draytek Sales team confirmed it would work).

I have setup the following in Bandwidth Management >> Quality of Service:
Class 1: Name: 'V-Important'
Rule: Active, Local Address: 192.168.1.118, Remote Address: Any, DiffServ CodePoint: Any, Service Type: Any.

On the WAN1 General Setup for QoS Screen I have set:
Tick Enable the Qos Control 'BOTH'
Class 1 95%
Class 2 1%
Class 3 1%
Others 3%
Enable UDP Bandwidth Control: Not ticked
Outbound TCP ACK Prioritize: Ticked

When I am on a call I can see the phone traffic is being routed via my Class 1 (V-Important) and is using approx 11kbs/sec inbound and outbound.
Other traffic such as web browsing and p2p is in the 'others' section of the graph as expected. However when browsing webpages and using other online services the phone conversation quality starts to deteriorate

My available bandwidth is shown as 1124.79Kbps/778.32Kbps on the QoS screen. (Which is about correct given the length of my phone line from the exchange)

I am willing to try anything to get this to work since I personally can manage to pause a download or stop browsing webpages on my own PC while I am on the phone, but other users of my network can't be expected to do that, I just wanted to guarantee the amount bandwidth to my phone so the quality stays decent enough to hold a conversation.

I have tried both firmware version 3.3.4.1 & 3.3.5.1.
The same issue also happens with my Vodafone SureSignal box (once I have changes the QoS to include another local IP) But this isn't as important so I've got this disconnected at the moment.

I think if I can't get this to work correctly then I'm going to have to send the Draytek 2820n back, I've only had it 2 weeks. Many thanks for your help.

Who is your ISP?

And who supplies your VOIP?

Remember you can only apply QoS to out going packets, does or can your ISP apply QoS from them to you?

Also, can your ISP adjust your download/upload sync speeds i.e. can they drop your upload and get a bit more out of your download?

know-dice wrote: Who is your ISP?

And who supplies your VOIP?

Remember you can only apply QoS to out going packets, does or can your ISP apply QoS from them to you?

Also, can your ISP adjust your download/upload sync speeds i.e. can they drop your upload and get a bit more out of your download?

Hi
My ISP is Talktalk

I have a 3 VoIP providers: Entanet, Sipgate and a hosted PBX solution.

I cant see why I would need to get my line speeds changed since the phone works perfectly when I am not using my connection for anything else.

The stuttering/low quality during a call issue happens for all 3 VoIP providers. And on a Vodafone SureSignal box, and with different VoIP phones (Cisco & Elmeg).

It was my understanding that the was the whole point of QoS on the router was to filter and prioritise my own network traffic...?

From your original post it sounds as though it's incoming audio that's having a problem, are people that you are talking to telling you that there is a problem with your outgoing audio?

You have limited incoming bandwidth, so as you say, as long as you are not using the connection for anything else it's Ok.

So, as I see it you either get QoS applied to incoming packets and this needs to be at the point that the "squeeze" occurs i.e. at the ISP or you try and get more bandwidth.

You could try an alternative approach and that is to try and increase your download speed,.
some things you could try which have helped me,
1 use firmware with the 211801 modem code that works better on long lines.
2 fit a good quality faceplate filter splitter try Solwise
3 remove the ring wire or better still as you are using voip disconnect any extension wiring, the less you have connected the better as the filters are not perfect!

By doing all this on a 7 km line with 58 db attenuation I went from less than 1Mb to nearly 4Mb connection speed well worth the effort!

Howard Simpson wrote: You could try an alternative approach and that is to try and increase your download speed,.
some things you could try which have helped me,
1 use firmware with the 211801 modem code that works better on long lines.
2 fit a good quality faceplate filter splitter try Solwise
3 remove the ring wire or better still as you are using voip disconnect any extension wiring, the less you have connected the better as the filters are not perfect!

By doing all this on a 7 km line with 58 db attenuation I went from less than 1Mb to nearly 4Mb connection speed well worth the effort!

Obviously i would love a quicker download speed and trying the 211801 firmware is something that Draytek themselves have just suggested via email support so I will be trying this tonight.

I don't have ring wire since its a fairly new house, and the VoIP is just for my Office connection so sadly I cannot disconnect the rest of the extension sockets, having said that I've had broadband for about 7years at this address and the line has been rock solid and stable, all-be-it a bit slow.

I understand your suggestions may increase my speeds and I will give them a try. Still doesn't explain the QoS issue. Although I will ask Talktalk about putting some QoS on my line profile at their end to see if that also makes a difference.

Will keep you posted.