Consumer router with GOOD QoS

[beatle]

I have a Linksys WRT54GS that I've been using as my router for close to a year now. I've had VOIP service through Voicepulse for the same amount of time. I tried the various GPL'd firmwares for my router, but I always had stability problems. I've since gone back to Linksys's firmware.

I'm having issues with QoS, however. Linksys now allows "high" and "low" values for priority. I've set the physical port that the VOIP box uses for "high" and all other ports are "low." Wireless is disabled completely. I'm still told that my voice is a little choppy when I'm uploading as little as 50KB/sec (I have a 2.0Mbps upstream). When I put a 200KB/sec+ load on my upstream, people on the other end say it's very difficult to hear me. With little or no uploading, my voice is clear.

Are there any other routers with better functionality? Is there a good, stable firmware that gives my Linksys the QoS that I'm asking for?

 

[blackangst1]

Firmware upgrade, I dont think so. But DLink makes a new gaming router which allows a pretty good QoS service. Check it out http://games.dlink.com/products/?pid=370&

 

[spidey07]

Well given how cisco is pushing linksys voice over IP systems into homes (wireless IP phones) I'm surprised they don't have something that works really well.

But I don't really follow the home market.

 

[beatle]

The DLink looks promising. I've also been wanting a gigabit switch, so that's a bonus. The reviews I found on the DGL-4300 were mixed, however. Some said it didn't help nearly enough to be effective, others said that jitter, latency and packet discards were much improved which translate into better voice calls.

Anyone here have any personal experience with VOIP and the DLink?

 

[blackangst1]

As a side note and as a heavy online gamer....QoS is important for us as well. And as of now this is really the only home router that offers any type of QoS beyong high/low settings. You could try one and if it doesnt work for ya....return it hehehe

 

[JackMDS]

It seems that most people do not get it.

The issue is not what you need, want, or hope to.

Entry Level Network Hardware was not developed to do VOIP, Video Streaming, Gaming, BT, etc. at the same time.

As far as QQS currently go, you have two options.

D-Link DGL-4300, or Linksys WRT54G v4 with 3rd party firmware.

Is it Good enough for what you/he/she/we/them wants to do is up to what the you/he/she/we/them specifically do?

Wishful thinking is not going to change it. Getting two, Internet accounts with SOHO Level Dual WAN Route might ( http://www.ezlan.net/loadbalance.html ).

:sun:

 

[beatle]

If it's not possible to get what I want with consumer level hardware then I'll just have to deal with it. I might give the DLink a shot. As cool as it sounds to have load balancing in the house, it kinda defeats the reason I got VOIP in the first place - cheap land line.

Any recommendations on a 3rd party firmware (and version of said firmware) to try? It seems like I've tried them all, but I'm sure there are some that are better than others.

Edit: My WRT54GS is v1.0.

 

[cmetz]

beatle, use OpenWRT. Steep learning curve, but it fully exposes Linux. There should be a Linux traffic shaping HOWTO around.

Sounds to me like your QoS is misconfigured. In particular, does your router know how big the upstream pipe is (2Mb/s)? If it doesn't, it can't effectively shape with priority queueing. If it does, try decreasing the value it thinks there is.

 

[beatle]

It's weird. When running a single connection, I rarely see more than 90-100KB/sec. If I have multiple uploads going, I'll top 200-220KB/sec. If I set my upstream too low, will I effectively cap it all the time, even when I'm not using VOIP? I'm not exactly sure how to arrive at an appropriate value. What do you suggest, given the nature of my outgoing bandwidth?