random jitter and bad audio

Posts: 12 · Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:24 pm Post subject: random jitter and bad audio

1. Los Angeles, CA
2. Speakeasy.net DSL
3. Download speed: 4670016 bps
Upload speed: 507912 bps
4. Briteport
5. RTP300
6. Here is my network layout:

7. choppy audio, but it was working fine for 3-4 months. also there is a lot of fuzz in the line that didint used to be there.
8.
Speed test statistics
---------------------
Download speed: 4670016 bps
Upload speed: 507912 bps
Quality of service: 64 %
Download test type: socket
Upload test type: socket
Maximum download pause: 109 ms
Average download pause: 14 ms
Minimum round trip time to server: 88 ms
Average round trip time to server: 89 ms

Voip test statistics
--------------------
Jitter: you --> server: 13.2 ms
Jitter: server --> you: 32.4 ms
Packet loss: you --> server: 0.0 %
Packet loss: server --> you: 15.7 %
Packet discards: 0.0 %
Packets out of order: 0.0 %
Number of supported Voip lines: 6
Estimated MOS score: 3.8

Posts: 105 · Vonage Forum Senior Joined: Nov 19, 2005 Posts: 105

With that many computers connected to your internet connection I would replace the WAN switch with something that can proritize Voip traffic assuming what you have now cannot do that. You may have something on the LAN that is hoggin bandwidth intermittently. If you can, disconnect the hotbrick firewall next time you have problems to see if that solves it.

Try do a tracert to this LA Vonage PSTN gateway server and see if there are any bottlenecks
69.59.241.133 (Vonage LA PSTN gateway IP)

Posts: 12 · Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:02 pm Post subject:

The wired thing is i have a voicepulse line on the Trixbox and pap2 that i use for my business and i dont have any sound problems, thats why i am thinking its not my network thats to blame.

What would you suggest to mange traffic?

currently there is not much IP traffic from the computers, no P2p or anything, just email, web and lot of ssh traffic but that does not use up that much bandwidth.

Here is a tracert to the LA Node.
Tracing route to rtp64-33-wil1.klax1.s.vonagenetworks.net [69.59.241.133]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 12 ms 13 ms 15 ms dsl017-096-001.lax1.dsl.speakeasy.net [69.17.96.1]
2 11 ms 12 ms 12 ms 220.ge-0-1-0.cr2.lax1.speakeasy.net [69.17.82.197]
3 11 ms 11 ms 12 ms ge-3-1-440.ipcolo2.LosAngeles1.Level3.net [4.78.194.17]
4 11 ms 12 ms 11 ms ae-12-53.car2.LosAngeles1.Level3.net [4.68.102.77]
5 26 ms 32 ms 33 ms 4.78.195.22
6 * * * Request timed out.
7 24 ms 25 ms 25 ms rtp64-33-wil1.klax1.s.vonagenetworks.net [69.59.241.133]

Trace complete.

Posts: 105 · Vonage Forum Senior Joined: Nov 19, 2005 Posts: 105

so you should not have much consistent delay based on that latency.

There may be instantaneous latencies from lot's of low bandwidth traffic. Every packet that is going out is competing with Voip packets on a first come first server basis so that could certainly contribute to jitter. If you get a little burst of data that could cause problems even though it is not necessarily saturating your WAN.

I would be curious what that "WAN switch" is.

I would suggest something like this as a minimum.
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1152745343585&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper

Once you have something like this you simply prioritize the ports connected to the Voip devices.

I would keep pinging that IP to see if there are any intermittent delays due to your ISP at times when you have excessive jitter/delay. It could simply be congestion on the ISP end at which point you don't have many options other than to complain to them and/or switch to cable or ?.

Posts: 12 · Posted: Fri Jul 28, 2006 11:07 pm Post subject:

the WAN Switch is a NETGEAR FS116 16 Port Fast Ethernet Switch with Auto Uplink (10/100)

Do you think that this may help?
LINKSYS OGV200 10/100Mbps Network Optimizer for Gaming and Voip 2x RJ-45

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833124065&ATT=33-124-065&CMP=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r

Ill keep a eye on the network traffic, I called Vonage support and they changed some settings on the rtp-300 and it seems to have helped, but its too soon to tell.

Posts: 105 · Vonage Forum Senior Joined: Nov 19, 2005 Posts: 105

x9networks wrote:

the WAN Switch is a NETGEAR FS116 16 Port Fast Ethernet Switch with Auto Uplink (10/100)

Do you think that this may help?
LINKSYS OGV200 10/100Mbps Network Optimizer for Gaming and Voip 2x RJ-45

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833124065&ATT=33-124-065&CMP=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r

Ill keep a eye on the network traffic, I called Vonage support and they changed some settings on the rtp-300 and it seems to have helped, but its too soon to tell.

That Gaming optimizer and the Netgear are TOYS! I have a a Linksys WRT54G and it is a border line toy as well. The QoS does not work all that great on it. You need a more business grade solution IMHO.

Posts: 12 · Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:39 pm Post subject:

Ok, since i cant afford a $200 managed switch now i setup a whr-g54s and loaded DD-WRT on it and am setting up custom QOS services.

I also have a few IPTABLE tricks that i know that i will use to help with the problem.

So far the phones sound good.

Here is a new test:
Speed test statistics
---------------------
Download speed: 5031160 bps
Upload speed: 510256 bps
Quality of service: 99 %
Download test type: socket
Upload test type: socket
Maximum download pause: 32 ms
Average download pause: 13 ms
Minimum round trip time to server: 83 ms
Average round trip time to server: 83 ms

Voip test statistics
--------------------
Jitter: you --> server: 14.8 ms
Jitter: server --> you: 1554.4 ms
Packet loss: you --> server: 0.0 %
Packet loss: server --> you: 2.1 %
Packet discards: 0.0 %
Packets out of order: 0.0 %
Number of supported Voip lines: 6
Estimated MOS score: 3.8

Posts: 105 · Vonage Forum Senior Joined: Nov 19, 2005 Posts: 105

With a network setup like that I would have thought you could budget in a couple hundred bucks.

On the Linksys, your best bet is port priority because that is probably the least software intensive. The Linksys with DD-WRT is what I use. Even with port priority I have outgoing conversation problems when using P2P so it does not work all that great IMHO. Mind you, P2P is probably the absolute worst case stress test of QoS as it is just pummeling the router with all sorts of traffic in both directions!

It definitely works better than no QoS at all though.

Posts: 12 · Posted: Sun Jul 30, 2006 9:26 pm Post subject:

Normally i would be all for buying a managed switch, but currently i am looking for a new job since i am going back to school this fall.

the router i used is actually a Buffalo WHR-G54S not a Linksys WRT-54G.

Its cheaper then the Linksys and its more compatible then the latest V5- v6 linksys routers.

I have to say that the flashing on the Buffalo went so much more smooth then any linksys i have flashed..

Since no one in the house uses any P2P i'm not even going to worry about filtering that traffic.

Mustardman wrote:

With a network setup like that I would have thought you could budget in a couple hundred bucks.

On the Linksys, your best bet is port priority because that is probably the least software intensive. The Linksys with DD-WRT is what I use. Even with port priority I have outgoing conversation problems when using P2P so it does not work all that great IMHO. Mind you, P2P is probably the absolute worst case stress test of QoS as it is just pummeling the router with all sorts of traffic in both directions!

It definitely works better than no QoS at all though.