QoS IP Phone Systems Essential Details

By David Patterson


IP phones use voice over IP technologies to place and transmit phone calls on an internet protocol network instead on the PTSN or public switch telephone networks. Common functionality and features include call hold, conference and transfer as well as caller ID. Though there are issues with this technology including the need of internet access and depending on mains electricity.

Another issue it has is the voice quality suffers whenever other applications are using and accessing the network that the call is also using and accessing. QoS IP phone systems are essential in managing data traffic because of this reason. Quality of service or QoS is the concepts and techniques collection in providing optimal call quality.

This service arranges particular traffic through slowing down less important packets of data for the important ones to reach faster their destination. Routers are usually using a FIFO method in sending data but this could be changed with the QoS tagging. By changing it, this would give priority over certain traffic and moving them up in the queue.

The queues hold containers of packets for network devices whenever they have low priority and cannot be immediately sent. There are different methods and levels in prioritizing these tags and are dependent on the router. Some samples of these levels include high, medium and low. Tagging is possible by using Ethernet ports of the router.

The router used for QoS implementation must be placed within the LAN as a gateway device after DSL or cable modems. This could reduce your experience of choppy voices from happening during conversations because of other apps grabbing the needed bandwidth. These apps include gaming, email and other applications that uses high bandwidth.

This will not affect the performance of your ISP because they are already limiting your speed in downloading and uploading related on the degree of service you acquired. You should know these limitations and do a speed test measurement then compare it what the ISP has told you. If you do not receive at least eighty percent of the limit cap then troubleshoot this issue with their tech support.

Before putting QoS settings on your router, these steps must be done first if you are experiencing choppy voices. Try to talk using the IP phone without the other competing phones or computers and check if there is still a problem. Check the computers on LAN if they are clean of spyware programs by using a protection software to check them.

Individually put the settings and check them each time if the desired result are achieved and they are working. Put the simpler settings first then individually add the other settings based on how advanced each one are after the checking is done. Experiment and determine the setting that best achieve the desired results.

Your network equipment could also affect voice quality and they are critical in having good phone conversations. Companies with fewer employees are not that worried with these because they have fewer users and simultaneous use of the network is lesser. While bigger companies have more users with more simultaneous use of the network.




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