QoS for VOIP settings

[alternety]

I just installed the current Merlin beta. I could really use some assistance on how to set QoS. I have several PCs with 1Gbps cards, a few things with 10/100, and an Ooma VOIP hub (the original interface). I have had issues basically since I installed the Ooma a couple of years ago. Sometimes it has severe delays so people talk over each other. It is not consistent. Some times it sounds like a land line; some not. I think a lot of the problem may be with Comcast. I have read about QoS a number of times but I still don't have my head around how it should be set up. I just use the computers for web browsing. Occasional downloads, but no torrents. The only priority service would be the VOIP.

I have an unmanaged Netgear switch and the RT-N66U. The Ooma is directly connected to the router. It seemed when I put Ooma on the switch it made VOIP noticeably worse. Ooma wants the device between the modem and router, but I won't do that and have to use the old low speed routing port of the Ooma. I have Comcast broadband with around 25Mbps download speed, and about 5Mbps up. I have IPV6 enabled. I am reasonably certain the Ooma does only IPV4.

It appears that my PCs are doing some QoS, but I don't know if that matters or what I should do about it.

So - finally the question. How should I set up the router to give the VOIP the best chance of working the best it can?

 

[alternety]

Still trying. The documentation I have found from Asus does not seem to map well to what I see in the router firmware screens. Could easily be a problem with me being unable to translate terms properly.

The forum and documentation for ooma (the VOIP device I am using) have not really helped me. The recommendations tend to contradict each other and there seems to be no single "cleansed" version of what to actually do nor conclusive tests of results.

Here is what I have found in the ooma forum about what net resources the box uses:

Ooma uses the following application ports for data and voice traffic,
UDP 53, UDP 123, UDP 514, UDP 1194, UDP 3386, UDP 3480, UDP 10000-20000, TCP 53 and TCP 443

My current interpretation of everything is the following:

Alt 1 -

1. Set up a rule list entry for the MAC address of the ooma.
2. Leave the destination port empty.
3. Protocol to TCP/UDP.
4. Not precisely sure what to put in the transferred fields.
5. Priority to highest.
6. Add rule.
7. Change next two default rules to high.
8. Leave the last two rules alone at low.

My thinking would be that that will set all the ports on that MAC to follow the QoS priority and settings.

Alt 2 -

• Do Alt 1 with a port and either TCP or UDP for each item in the list at the top of this post taken from the ooma forum.

I also found a suggestion on the ooma forum to simply add the ooma to a DMZ from the router. I really don't understand how that would actually affect QoS. My feeling is that doing that will expose the ooma to the internet and I am not sure if that is such a good idea. Although it is designed to be connected directly to the modem, it is old and no longer gets firmware updates.

I have not tried any of these solutions yet. I don't want to screw something up.

I would appreciate some input. This needs to be from the Merlin population because of the differences from Asus pages. My VOIP really is not working very well. Bad delays and connections dropping. Sometimes completely clean. Other times, not so much.

 

[balcy24]

I use Phonepower VoIP but it works basically the same way. For my home network I set DNS, Time, NTP, RSVP (port 53, 37, 123, 3455, transferred 0-10) and my NAS as the highest priority, Phonepower as high, web surf (port 80, 443, transferred 0-512) at medium and file transfers (port 80, 443, transferred 512~) as low priority. I left the port for Phonepower/NAS empty. I got it from someone on here and it works very well. My ISP is Charter at 30 Mb/3Mb.

I wouldn't put the VoIP in the DMZ unless absolutely necessary.

 

[MoInSTL]

Personally I would try this first: "Change the Ooma setting to Use Built in INTERNET Port MAC Address". If that doesn't fix it (it did for me) then try the following steps.

I always start out using the simple fixes first. I would try it and then proceed from there. I opened a ticket with Ooma and ended up with 768 up and 0 down. I also have 24/5. YMMV. Try the 0/0 suggestion first. I have IPV6 OFF. Have the newer Telo. Inserted another link below so you can reference that as well.

Hope this helps.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Plug your Ooma's "To Internet" port (called "Modem" port on the older Hub hardware) into a router LAN port. Plug a phone into Ooma's "phone" port. Power up your Ooma. Wait until your Ooma comes online - all blue.

At this point, everything should be operational; phone(s) connected to Ooma's "phone" port should work like a champ.

More things to do if you want your setup to be optimal:

Connect a (wifi turned-off) computer to Ooma's "Home Network" port (called "Home" port on Hub) using ethernet cable.
Do the "Change the Ooma setting to Use Built in INTERNET Port MAC Address or Modem Port MAC Address" portion of this post:http://www.ooma.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9536#p66155 But don't need to power cycle all devices after "Update."
Disable QoS: within http://setup.ooma.com page, select "Advanced" on the navigation menu and look for the "Quality of Service" section on the page. Set both Upstream Internet Speed & Downstream Internet Speed boxes to 0 (and Update).
Setup port forwarding rule within Ooma setup page so you can access http://setup.ooma.com without having to connect your computer to the "Home Network" port ("Home" port on Hub) in the future.
Leave your Ooma's "Home Network" port empty; don't connect any computer or anything else to it.
Get to your router setup page and configure QoS for your Ooma device (have router give your Ooma high priority); need to consult your router manual for this one (either based on MAC address, reserved DHCP IP address, or LAN port #).
If you have voice quality issues, try looking at these suggestions: viewtopic.php?t=10023#p72442

 

[alternety]

Hub already set to use native MAC. QoS is off. I do not believe the Hub has any settings for IPV6. IPV6 is in use on my systems. I have asked ooma multiple times if the Telo supports IPV6 with no answer. Does the Telo have an IPV6 setting, and can it actually use IPV6?

Let me ask a more specific question: Will leaving the port field empty as I show in ALT 1 actually allow ANY port on that MAC to pass and have its' priority set?

 

[MoInSTL]

Telo does not have IPV6. I have it turned off in my NIC and off on the router. http://www.ooma.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=11116 I also am not using QoS settings in the RT-N66U. Is there any reason you are running the beta version instead of 374.40?

Should have corrected it by changing to Internet port setting:
Ooma is setup to automatically spoof the MAC address of whatever is connected to the home network port (called home port if older Hub hardware). For most people, this works fine but this configuration sometimes creates throughput problems and voice quality issues.

So you could reverse the above process and use the MAC address.

Since you are having voice quality issues if it were me, I would start from scratch and correct those first before QoS settings. What happens when on a call with QoS off in the router? Are you using 0/0 in the Ooma QoS? Try changing the upstream to 768. I only suggest that as we have similar Internet speeds. Once you get your phone calls stable, then try enabling/configuring QoS on the router.

Edit: FWIW, I have the Telo plugged into the router. How recently have you checked your speed? http://www.speedtest.net/

 

[alternety]

Reason for the beta = recommended because of security fixes.

As I noted in my original post, my Hub is behind the router. Copying a MAC seems like a bad idea since it would provide 2 identical MAC on a single network. Since the Hub has only one port on the router, I am not even sure what MAC it would try to duplicate. There is nothing behind it. I really can't see a reason why that would be an issue or solvable.

I have tried the ooma between the modem and router. I will not leave it there for reasons I noted initially. Did not help. I have tried with ooma QoS on and off with it before and after the router. I have tried all of the 3 or 4 recommendations for the up and down stream numbers. I have pretty much tried all of the conflicting recommendations on the ooma forum in various permutations with zero success. I may have missed some combinations along the way, but I don't think they were important if I did. With the Hub sitting on a router port, none of that would seem like it would make a difference. But who knows what the ooma firmware gerbils have done.

Will entering a router QoS rule with the MAC but no port entries, apply to all of the ports on that MAC? Or must I use ALT 2 in my initial post?

 

[MoInSTL]

All the fixes in the beta are rolled up into the release. So there is no reason to continue with the beta version.

Someone else will have to hopefully help as what I suggested is to start from scratch and then implement QoS. You are trying a workaround to something that is already broken. In that case, go with the basics first. I noticed that I had to really make sure the end of Ethernet cables really had to be pushed in firmly. QoS won't fix what's already broken.

Try the rule. Try ALT2. Just note what you did in case you need to change it back.

 

[alternety]

Re: beta

I was looking at the wrong router (AC).