Vonage with Rogers Hi-Speed in Kitchener/Waterloo

Posts: 508 · Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 11:41 am Post subject:

I am b/t K/W and London, using rogers 3M/384K service, I am using a Linksys RT31P2 router, behind another router, connected to the first router are: my RT31P2, a wireless router, a PS2, and a computer (that rarely gets internet used tho) I only noticed a problem one time and that when my bro had 2 PS2's connected..

otherwise I have very good call quality.. and have very good Rogers service too, which is the real surprise there! LoL..

when I run the speed test on this site, I fail it 90% of the time.. if I'm lucky it says I can support 1 Voip line.. usualy says i can't support any calls.. but my calls are always mint.. Rolling Eyes

Posts: 33 · Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 12:08 pm Post subject: QoS

DarKev wrote:

I think that you are assuming because everything is great with your connection it is going to be great for everybody else too.

I think anyone reading this will be informed that there is a bigger risk in going the PAP2 route, regardless of your happy-go-lucky situation.

I am professionally a System Engineer and you can learn about me by going to itexpertoncall.com

Posts: 336 · Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 12:24 pm Post subject:

I will not begin to list my technical strengths and my technical background. It goes on for more than 20 years, and I am very much involved with telephony. My main goal here is to be honest with people and they can make the decisions for themselves after that.

The fact is, the LinkSys PAP2 is an inferior Voip adapter and people should know about that.

So with all due respect, your occupation has no bearing on the technical limitations of the PAP2 adapter whatsoever.

Posts: 33 · Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 1:39 pm Post subject:

DarKev wrote:

So with all due respect, your occupation has no bearing on the technical limitations of the PAP2 adapter whatsoever.

Very well --- you may and can most certainly choose to believe whatever it is that gives you that worm and fuzzy feeling. Good Luck and best wishes.

Posts: 53 · Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2005 2:05 pm Post subject:

Well what else would you expect for $65. Of course it's inferior. As for taking a risk, we're talking telephones, not open heart surgery.

Plain and simple, PAP is the bottom of the line model that Vonage offers, and it's locked!

It serves a basic purpose and it works well for 'my' needs, basic service.

It's doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. We all have different needs and different equipment, not to mention different experiences.

Helping each other from the perspective of what we have in our home and office right now and from past experience is helpful. Flexing our credentials is another. A cold hard fact about technology is that there are to many could be's, we all see technology differently and we all have our own way of troubleshooting.

There are too many variables in setting up a Voip line to blame on just the adapter, a computer, the internet provider or even the subscriber. In then end, most times you can get the basic service to work well. Add all the extras in like a second line, downloading, bandwidth issues, wireless routers, cordless phones, virtual numbers and the formula becomes even more complicated.

Nothing against anyone, just my opinion.

Posts: 33 · Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2005 7:43 am Post subject: too many variables

odinyvr wrote:

There are too many variables in setting up a Voip line to blame on just the adapter, a computer, the internet provider or even the subscriber. In then end, most times you can get the basic service to work well. Add all the extras in like a second line, downloading, bandwidth issues, wireless routers, cordless phones, virtual numbers and the formula becomes even more complicated.

You are correct in stating that a number of variables need to be factored in and may in fact be hard to control outside of your home environment --- ISP/VoIP provider/Home Network.

Of the 3 variables noted above [(1) ISP (2) Voip provider (3) Home Network] 2 of the 3 are difficult and expensive to control [(1) ISP (2) Voip provider]. The Home Network can be controlled and where QoS can be applied with relative certainty. QoS can also be applied to (1) and (2) but that would be very expensive with a host of challenges specifically if the ISP and the Voip provider is not one of the same.

Most home users will not purchase commercial grade service levels because of the costs. So High Speed Internet service to your home via Cable has the most issues because of how the ISP distributes the bandwidth at each distribution node. I leave out the DSL part as that is a very different beast having its own set of issues primary with distance from your home to the carrier office.

OK, So if you've got Cable and your service is with Rogers, for most home users this means 4 levels of shared throughput. For Rogers the shared throughput I recommend is High-speed Internet Extreme [1st choice] or High Speed Express [2nd choice with issues].

High-speed Internet Extreme may provide the best Voip experience if the mix of traffic is going to include concurrent multimedia/VoIP utilization and if your home network has a router that incorporates 802.11e Quality of Service capability.

Take note that many Routers do not incorporate QoS capability unless their only router is the one proved by the Voip service provider like the Linksys RT31P2 Device which does incorporate QoS capabilty. If on the other hand one already had an existing home network with a Internet gateway [Router connected to a Cable Modem] the chances are high that the gateway does not incorporate QoS capability natively –and if that is the case then a Phone adapter like the PAP2 will not get the packet prioritization required to provide consistently higher quality of Voice. Service.

If the mix of traffic is not going to concurrently include multimedia/VoIP traffic then the High Speed Express service will be adequate -- however the service will be inconsistent.

Now if your existing Home Network does include a Router incorporates QoS capability and that QoS capability is turned on THEN the PAP2 device will have the Voip packet prioritization needed to assure highest quality of voice service – with a caveat – since the Home Network Router has ZERO influence over how the ISP provisions the shared bandwidth – the only control you as a consumer have is the traffic contained within your home network If the ISP/VoIP part of the traffic is erratic the QoS in your home network will be much less effective or ineffective.

The variables that a home user cannot control unless service levels are guaranteed is the ISP and the Voip provisioning of services