managed switch recommend for VoIP home net

[lifespeed]

Hi,

I recently added a second PC to my network on a single run of CAT6 to a DGL-4300. I need to add a few devices at the same location, so need a Gb switch. PoE for the VoIP phone would be a bonus, but I don't know if I'm willing to double the price for that feature. It is fairly impractical to run four CAT6 drops to the location, and the bandwidth useage does not really justify it, as the PC is the only high-traffic device on that drop. Here is a diagram:

While an unmanaged switch is cheap and tempting, I foresee a rare but annoying circumstance where a large file transfer or backup between client and server disrupts a VoIP call. So, despite the added cost, I probably need a smart or managed switch to prioritize traffic.

Here is one possible problem; I don't think it would be optimium to limit traffic to the PC 'per port' just to always have some bandwidth available on the CAT6 run in case other devices want it. I would much prefer to have a proper QOS dynamically allocating BW. That way, the PC can use the full gigabit when other devices aren't needing it.

Is this something QOS can do? Is the single direction nature of most QOS implementations an issue? I read the review of the GS110TP, and it indicated there was a way to handle traffic control in the other direction. It is a costly device, possibly somewhat more than I need. But I'm not sure there are any less-costly switches that would fit the bill.

I will also mention that at some point in the future I intend to replace the DGL-4300 with a Draytek Vigor 2130 to benefit from bidirectional QOS on the WAN connect also. But that may be a separate issue from QOS on the LAN.

Any suggestions or advice?

Lifespeed

 

[lifespeed]

What about the Cisco SG300-10P (SRW2008P-K9-NA)

Quite expensive at near $400, but do you get bidirectional QOS? Kind of hard to glean this from the datasheets, but I'll try.

Edit - from the datasheet:

Does italicized text imply bidirectional QOS?

Quality of Service
Priority levels 4 hardware queues
Scheduling Strict priority and weighted round-robin (WRR)
Queue assignment based on DSCP and class of service (802.1p/CoS)
Class of service Port based; 802.1p VLAN priority based; IPv4/v6 IP precedence/type of service (ToS)/DSCP based;
Differentiated Services (DiffServ); classification and re-marking ACLs, trusted QoS
Rate limiting Ingress policer; egress shaping and rate control; per VLAN, per port, and flow based

 

[lifespeed]

Here is the network diagram.

 

[occamsrazor]

What about Netgear GS108T v2 ?
http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=3367
I think that would do the same as the GS110TP, but without the PoE port for the VOIP phone if you could live without it.

 

[lifespeed]

It happened!

l was on the phone (voip) when my son started a large download for a game on a fast server. It clogged the WAN, and I did not have QOS set perfectly because when the SIP client uses dynamic ports with a STUN server for NAT traversal the by-port rules in the router don't work!!

I definitely need to get this network traffic priority thing nailed down. VLAN for voip is promising, but I don't think VLAN traffic categorization will work for PC gaming, as I only want the gaming packets high priority, not bittorrent and other downloads, which could conceivably be on the same PC's as gaming.

Pretty clear I need a good switch. By the way, can a managed switch replace a router if I have a Motorola Surfboard 6120 to do NAT? With this in mind, what kind of router with POE is the way to go?

Edit: I'm pretty sure I need to stick with POE, I'm planning on getting one or two AP with POE that will be ceiling-mounted.

 

[thiggins]

VLAN isn't going to help with traffic prioritization. The better solution would be a router with bidirectional QoS, not a managed switch.

The DGL-4300 has automatic QoS for uplink. Is that enabled and doesn't that help at all?

 

[lifespeed]

Yes, QOS is enabled. Probably helps some. The issue arose during a download, however. So, VLAN would be good for LAN prioritization. But QOS in the switch would be, too. The reason I asked about the switch is a router doesn't have enough ports.

Edit: just realized the RTP port used in the new Android SIP client had not been adjusted to match the prioritized router ports. Seems to help. Still need a managed switch for more ports and avoiding collisions on LAN side.

 

[lifespeed]

Netgear GS716T-200 looks promising. I think I'll just have to buy a few ports of POE injector separately. For the larger port-count models POE is not too cost effective. And if I only get 8 ports I'll run out quickly . . .

Looks like it supports RADIUS authentication for the latest wifi access points, QOS, VLAN, etc. I don't think the switch is involved in 802.11r fast roaming, so hopefully that won't be a gotcha for a wifi AP upgrade.

 

[thiggins]

VLAN controls broadcast traffic and is good for LAN segmentation. It may support QoS tagging, but doesn't perform QoS itself.

I suggested QoS in the router because it would be a central solution vs. having to set bandwidth throttling on a physical port by port basis. But it can be done on a switch that supports both ingress/egress prioritization / bandwidth control.

 

[lifespeed]

I suggested QoS in the router because it would be a central solution vs. having to set bandwidth throttling on a physical port by port basis. But it can be done on a switch that supports both ingress/egress prioritization / bandwidth control.

I appreciate the self-policing of QOS in the router; just set the TOS/DCSP value correctly in the packet and it is handled correctly all across the net. One hopes.

Reading the datasheet, it appears most switches, including Netgear GS716T-200 respect the QOS tag also.

 

[thiggins]

I appreciate the self-policing of QOS in the router; just set the TOS/DCSP value correctly in the packet and it is handled correctly all across the net. One hopes.

On your LAN, yes, if everything that touches the packet doesn't molest the bits. Once it hits the WAN, I think you can kiss your QoS bits goodbye.

 

[lifespeed]

My experiences with VoIP over the past year have been overwhelmingly positive, although there has been a learning curve. I think if I make the LAN correct, the WAN is already OK.