QoS "Appliance" - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

notsure · 2010-07-29, 10:55 AM

Hi All,

Since I got my new apple router (time capsule which includes an airport extreme) things are good except with VoIP.

Since apple doesn't do QoS (shame on them!!) I need some sort of appliance that will do QoS between the router and the dsl modem.

I've seen a couple of these devices but they seem to be very old (2005-2006).

Anyone have experience with something like this?

Putting linux on a PC to do this is not an option - nor is using a different router which does support QoS.

Thanks!

JamesK · 2010-07-29, 12:12 PM

QoS is not common in consumer level devices, although some can assign priority to specific ports. However, once you hit the internet, there's no QoS anyway, so providing it only at your end won't accomplish much. Also, a G.711 call, with overhead, uses only about 72 Kb/s. If you have a decent amount of bandwidth*, nothing you do at your end will have any effect, as the buffering, that's part of the VoIP protocol, will mask any switching delays at your end.

What are you using to terminate the voice calls? If an IP phone, then pass your computer data through the phone, which should then provide priority for outgoing VoIP data

*It's your upload bandwidth that's important, as download is usually much greater. As long as it's more than a few times greater than 72 Kb/s, it should be OK.

notsure · 2010-07-29, 12:21 PM

My problem isn't with QoS on the internet. It is all local traffic which is using B/W and affecting the call quality.

I don't want to have to yell around the house asking folks to stop downloading / streaming because the phone rings.

Also, I expect the QoS improves latency for the VoIP calls - which may be a be a part of the problem (unless I've completely misunderstood what I've been reading).

Maybe I'll see if my old router running dd-wrt in bridge mode can act as this appliance. It used to do QoS decently.

2010-07-29, 10:55 AM	#1
notsure Veteran Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Ottawa, ON; OTA, XBMC, ATV Posts: 1,594	QoS "Appliance" Hi All, Since I got my new apple router (time capsule which includes an airport extreme) things are good except with VoIP. Since apple doesn't do QoS (shame on them!!) I need some sort of appliance that will do QoS between the router and the dsl modem. I've seen a couple of these devices but they seem to be very old (2005-2006). Anyone have experience with something like this? Putting linux on a PC to do this is not an option - nor is using a different router which does support QoS. Thanks!

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2010-07-29, 12:12 PM	#2
JamesK Veteran Join Date: May 2009 Location: Mississauga Posts: 5,036	QoS is not common in consumer level devices, although some can assign priority to specific ports. However, once you hit the internet, there's no QoS anyway, so providing it only at your end won't accomplish much. Also, a G.711 call, with overhead, uses only about 72 Kb/s. If you have a decent amount of bandwidth, nothing you do at your end will have any effect, as the buffering, that's part of the VoIP protocol, will mask any switching delays at your end. What are you using to terminate the voice calls? If an IP phone, then pass your computer data through the phone, which should then provide priority for outgoing VoIP data It's your upload bandwidth that's important, as download is usually much greater. As long as it's more than a few times greater than 72 Kb/s, it should be OK.

2010-07-29, 12:21 PM	#3
notsure Veteran Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Ottawa, ON; OTA, XBMC, ATV Posts: 1,594	My problem isn't with QoS on the internet. It is all local traffic which is using B/W and affecting the call quality. I don't want to have to yell around the house asking folks to stop downloading / streaming because the phone rings. Also, I expect the QoS improves latency for the VoIP calls - which may be a be a part of the problem (unless I've completely misunderstood what I've been reading). Maybe I'll see if my old router running dd-wrt in bridge mode can act as this appliance. It used to do QoS decently.