VOIP, ADSL, VPN & Routers?

[kirboy]

I wonder if you can help?
We are looking to implement a VOIP solution for 3 remote workers to our main office. We already have an IP Office (phone system) with all the bits for VOIP and have successfully made VOIP calls accross ADSL, using IPSEC Tunnels for VPN's using the Draytek 2600 Vigor Routers.

Our Problem is that we have no QOS. Do you know of any routers / firewalls that offer VOIP QOS that will ensure the quality of our calls? If possible we are looking for something that is not Cisco based (nothing against cisco - we just don't want to pay for engineers to train / learn on cisco kit for what is essentially a small task).

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ccmuser]

quite honestly QOS here is not a major concern. If you hace not mapped your DSL connection into private circuits your tunnel will be traveling over the general internet anyway and your QOS will be thrown out the window. Barring MPLS endpoints or something of the such. But not wanting to pay a pricey eng. I don't think you are going that route.

For the single home office phone over DSL I would not worry about QOS.

 

[kirboy]

Thanks for that ccmuser.

The problem we have is that if the end user is downloading / sending emails at the same time as a VOIP call, it kills the quality of the call. I appreciate that we have no control on incoming traffic, nor what occurs on the internet, but just wondered if I could prioritse the traffic hitting the routing from the internal side. i.e the user web browsing, sending emails etc?

 

[trickenb]

Hi !
I use VOIP daily, with MCK EXTenders, Cablemodem, DSL,
through the internet. The best bang for your router dollar is the Linksys/Cisco BEFSR81. This 8 port router does a good job at prioritizing by port, ip address, etc.....I put my own business calls on it. tom@rickenbackercommunications.com

 

[kirboy]

Thanks for that trickenb - will look into the linksys offering.

 

[ADB100]

You will still have a problem here without end-to-end QoS. If you think about this logically, you can set and control (prioritise) your outbound traffic but you have little control over your inbound stuff. A file download will still typically cause voice quality issues unless you have end-to-end QoS.

I think until some more work is done on QoS within the Internet (between ISPs etc), voice over the internet is more of a gimik at the moment.

Andy

 

[computerhighguy]

I have to disagree with you on this one ADB100. For the last 5 years, I have been using VoIp between my Germany office (munich) and my US office (S. NJ) going over the Internet. We both have 1.5 meg connections to the Internet. I do not have QoS setup at the moment (but may to prioritize outbound traffic is needed). I hop 5 or more carriers bepending on the state of the Internet and I have zero, let me repeat, zero problems. I use G711 codecs and cannot be happier. I also run VoIP to some people's homes via Cable modem and yes I do have QoS setup on them to prioritize outbound VoIP traffic only. The cable company doesn't do QoS and we have zero problems (as long as the line is up of course). VoIP over the Internet is a reality. How else could you explain Vonage and AT&T Call Vantage?


It is what it is!!
__________________________________
A+, Net+, I-Net+, Certified Web Master, MCP, MCSA, MCSE, CCNA, CCDA, and few others (I got bored one day)

 

[dearingkr]

I have a similar setup...

Corp site is full VoIP (Nortel BCM).
VPN is MS Win2k.

I have many remote sites with broadband internet access.

Looking for a solution to give me a site-to-site VPN, as well as a VoIP device to give me analog dial tone for faxes, analog phones, etc.

Any help would be appreciated.

MCSE CCNA CCDA

 

[ADB100]

computerhighguy - You have 1.5mb connections.......

What loading are you experiencing on these links? I assume they are not heavily loaded hence why you experience no quality problems.

We have tested similar setups for customers with the VPN scenario - High-speed Internet connectivity at the core site and ADSL broadband connections at the remotes (home workers etc). Voice works fine (regardless of the protocol - H.323, SCCP etc) until there is a load on the ingress at the home workers end and then the quality drops off. You can restrain this somewhat by forcing the home worker to access the Internet via the central site (tie the routing table down, ACLs etc) and then prioritise the central site Voice traffic.

I have sucessfully used voice over the internet for a couple of years with ADSL connections but click on a fast download and listen to the voice break up......

Andy

 

[computerhighguy]

thos must be some pretty slow dsl connections to clog up the inbound pipe. We don't even consider voice unless there is at least 1.5K download adn 256 upload.

What codec are you using? I just find it a little hard to believe that 1 user would suck up that much bandwidth on the download. I have over 100 users here and 2 T-1s and they have a pretty tough time peaking them out.


It is what it is!!
__________________________________
A+, Net+, I-Net+, Certified Web Master, MCP, MCSA, MCSE, CCNA, CCDA, and few others (I got bored one day)

 

[ADB100]

In the UK the most common ADSL services are 576Kbps download and 288Kbps upload. Believe me it is pretty easy to kill voice calls.

With 100 users you should have plenty of bandwidth with 1.5Mbps unless they are all heavy downloaders. Do you actively monitor the connection usage? what do you peak at?

Andy

 

[liorz66]

BOScom Bosanova VoIP family is support QOS and TOS! however it is implemented only between its products - no QOS to 3rd party equipment is supported.

L

 

[computerhighguy]

Esandman,
Most professional products support QoS and ToS. The problem here is that you have zero control over what the ISP does (typicaly). Most ISPs either strip packets of their QoS settings or ignore them all together. Thus your voice packets get the same priority as someone who is surfing yahoo.com. That can be a real problem when it comes to voice due to its time sensative nature.

AB100,
I can see where you can run into an issue. Here in the states, it is almost unheardof to have a residential DSL service that is slower than 1.5Mbs download. The upload is typically 256Kbs or better. At least in the area I deal with. I wouldn't implement VoIP unless you have at least a 1Mbs downlink. So I guess it all comes down to where you live. Here is the states, we don't have as much of an issue with bandwidth as you seem to have in the UK. However, in Japan, I hear that they have 10 Mbs on both the upload and download of most residential Internet connections. How sweet would that be?


It is what it is!!
__________________________________
A+, Net+, I-Net+, Certified Web Master, MCP, MCSA, MCSE, CCNA, CCDA, and few others (I got bored one day)

 

[NX01]

Kilroy, There are some ways you prioritze and even lock down ip's. Look into the Linksys WRT54 G or GS. Sveasoft makes a firmware that will allow you to cap the bandwidth by lan port or ip (if they are all static). This should allow you to get 64kbs up and down for your VoIP constantly.

In the future everything will work...