Linksys RT31P2, QOS setup, and maybe a new router

Posts: 4

Hello everybody - I've been looking today for a way to set up my small-office network to minimize dropouts, and I figured you guys should be able to help me. I have very little bandwidth to work with as my DSL is 512 down/128 up, so any additional traffic on the connection causes drops - the Vonage connection appears to need at least 90KB upstream to stay clean.

I have the Linksys RT31P2 phone adapter, but unfortunately my DSL modem is also the wireless access point (a cutesy little 2Wire 1070 with NO QOS settings whatsoever).

So right now my network looks like:

Internet Cloud - DSL Modem - Built-In Access Point & Linksys (both have same priority)

I need a way to give outgoing calls absolute priority over any other traffic, so I was wondering if there was anyone who could guide me through how I should set up the Linksys to enable this.

I do have another 802.11b access point that I could use, so it would be possible to go

Internet-DSL Modem-Linksys-Access Point

but I just need some tips on what to set up on the RT31P2 to make QOS work.

If need be, I could purchase a new router if it would allow me to basically give absolute priority to the phone - I've heard the Trendnet TEW-611BRP mentioned as being a good inexpensive router - would it give me the bandwidth throttling/QOS functionality I need?

Thanks for reading, thanks for helping!

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2006 8:41 pm Post subject:

None of the Vonage routers does very well on QoS, so you can forget about that. Wink

Anything with the Hawking StreamEngine works well (so I've heard), or my personal favorite is the WRT54GL coupled with aftermarket software. Your call

http://vonage.nmhoy.net/qos.html
http://vonage.nmhoy.net/wrt54gl.html

Posts: 6 · New Forum Member Joined: Apr 27, 2005 Posts: 6

StrykerGT wrote:

Hello everybody - I've been looking today for a way to set up my small-office network to minimize dropouts, and I figured you guys should be able to help me. I have very little bandwidth to work with as my DSL is 512 down/128 up, so any additional traffic on the connection causes drops - the Vonage connection appears to need at least 90KB upstream to stay clean.

I have the Linksys RT31P2 phone adapter, but unfortunately my DSL modem is also the wireless access point (a cutesy little 2Wire 1070 with NO QOS settings whatsoever).

So right now my network looks like:

Internet Cloud - DSL Modem - Built-In Access Point & Linksys (both have same priority)

I need a way to give outgoing calls absolute priority over any other traffic, so I was wondering if there was anyone who could guide me through how I should set up the Linksys to enable this.

I do have another 802.11b access point that I could use, so it would be possible to go

Internet-DSL Modem-Linksys-Access Point

but I just need some tips on what to set up on the RT31P2 to make QOS work.

If need be, I could purchase a new router if it would allow me to basically give absolute priority to the phone - I've heard the Trendnet TEW-611BRP mentioned as being a good inexpensive router - would it give me the bandwidth throttling/QOS functionality I need?

Thanks for reading, thanks for helping!

I have been happy with my TEW611 BRP. I got it for the QOS, which was really bad with the RT31P2. I am now just using the RT31P2 for the phone and it is behind the new Trendnet router. I gave it a very high priority, which seems to have helped the choppy voice problems i was having.

Posts: 4 · Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2006 11:36 am Post subject: linksys vs linksys vs Trendnet

Ok, so now my next question is - for my specific application, is it worth the extra bucks between the Linksys WRT54G and the GL? I'm really not interested in optimizing for P2P (with upgraded firmware like on the nmhoy page), just in keeping the line clean. I've got amazon prime for the next few days, so I'll probably be buying thru them- the WRT54G is $49.99 after rebate, and the Trendnet is $59.99 after a much bigger rebate. What do you guys think? If this works, I may duplicate it in a few of our other locations around the world, since it seems like high-upstream DSL is pretty uncommon in other countries.

Wireless range on the router isn't a big concern, down here all the walls are full of wire/rebar and it just slaughters the range, which is OK since all of our meeting spaces and offices are colocated.

Posts: 6 · New Forum Member Joined: Apr 27, 2005 Posts: 6

StrykerGT wrote:

Ok, so now my next question is - for my specific application, is it worth the extra bucks between the Linksys WRT54G and the GL? I'm really not interested in optimizing for P2P (with upgraded firmware like on the nmhoy page), just in keeping the line clean. I've got amazon prime for the next few days, so I'll probably be buying thru them- the WRT54G is $49.99 after rebate, and the Trendnet is $59.99 after a much bigger rebate. What do you guys think? If this works, I may duplicate it in a few of our other locations around the world, since it seems like high-upstream DSL is pretty uncommon in other countries.

Wireless range on the router isn't a big concern, down here all the walls are full of wire/rebar and it just slaughters the range, which is OK since all of our meeting spaces and offices are colocated.

The Trendnet is 49.99 after $40 rebate at newegg.com if that influences your decision. I don't know anything about the WRT54G. Maybe someone else can discuss its merits.

Posts: 2257

StrykerGT wrote:

Ok, so now my next question is - for my specific application, is it worth the extra bucks between the Linksys WRT54G and the GL? I'm really not interested in optimizing for P2P (with upgraded firmware like on the nmhoy page), just in keeping the line clean. I've got amazon prime for the next few days, so I'll probably be buying thru them- the WRT54G is $49.99 after rebate, and the Trendnet is $59.99 after a much bigger rebate. What do you guys think? If this works, I may duplicate it in a few of our other locations around the world, since it seems like high-upstream DSL is pretty uncommon in other countries.

Wireless range on the router isn't a big concern, down here all the walls are full of wire/rebar and it just slaughters the range, which is OK since all of our meeting spaces and offices are colocated.

If you are going to go for a WRT54G series, I'd recommend the WRT54GL. You may not have any use for the P2P functions in the aftermarket firmware, but the other features it adds are VERY nice, like Static DHCP and access to the Linux command line for IPTABLES direct modification if that floats your boat....

The newer WRT54G is a good router, but it is closed source and is not modifiable in any way. For a lot of people, that doesn't matter. You have to make your own decision about that, of course, but the ability to fix problems and unleash the open source community on a router is a strong selling point in my opinion.