Call Quality Monitoring: How To Address VoIP Call Issues

Whether you're new to VoIP or have been using it since Skype became so popular, call quality monitoring should be your top priority. You should know how to do it, and you should know how to address the issues that you find.

Knowing all about call quality monitoring and what it entails ensures that you enjoy the best of VoIP. VoIP is supposed to be the better alternative these days, when it comes to cost, features and quality. But like all technology, there are kinks that need to be ironed out along the way. VoIP is dependent on your internet connection and the amount of traffic your network has. Your equipment -- and your network and service provider's equipment, of course -- also affect how much you get out of it.

The first step here is to get set up with VoIP Spear. With VoIP Spear, you monitor your digital phone's endpoint 24/7/365 for key parameters that determine good VoIP quality of service. Single endpoint monitoring is free, with limited reporting extras. The paid packages are affordable for what you'd get.

VoIP Spear is your best option when it comes to call quality monitoring. Other comparable VoIP monitoring services will have you buying expensive equipment that you'd need to hire an engineer for. These options are really not practical when all you want is to get performance profiles of your VoIP service at a regular basis.

Now, have you set up an account? Did you plug in your endpoints? That's all you need to do. You are now ready for call quality monitoring.

When you login, you will have access to online reports. If you have a paid account, you can be alerted when your VoIP service performs below your set thresholds. The reports are for the primary measures of VoIP quality: MOS, latency, jitter and packet loss. Your reports will show scores of 1 to 5, with 5 as the highest.

Of course, a low score, especially at consistent intervals daily, is something that you'd need to address.

One of the VoIP problems that you can try to address from your end is latency. Latency pertains to delays in the transport of data/voice packets. This can be caused by a variety of reasons. Or, the cause can be on the side of your network or VoIP service providers -- which you can't do anything about except contact for tech support or change service providers. But, if the problem is at your end, there are basic troubleshooting that you can implement. (Btw, latency problems may also be causing packet delays and jitter. So it really does help to do these basic troubleshooting tips first.)

1. Check your cables: Sometimes, VoIP call quality problems are just caused by less than perfect cables. These may be cut or too old. A visual inspection can pinpoint cable problems. To fix this, just buy compatible cables, ideally from a tech store.

2. Turn off other applications that use heavy bandwidth: Delays in your VoIP can be caused by applications "fighting" to use your limited bandwidth allotment. When it is important to have VoIP available -- say, for your home use -- try shutting down other apps that eat up bandwidth, such as networked gaming programs. If you are experiencing VoIP delays because of inadequate bandwidth and you're at the office, it's time to upgrade your network and VoIP service; or assign a separate network for your VoIP. It is important to get consistently available good call quality for business VoIP.

3. Configure your QoS: All modern routers provide access to the system's QoS (Quality of Service). Here, you can update your router's settings to give priority to voice applications. While you do this, make sure to deprioritize gaming appls and other bandwidth eaters.

Note that this is only a call quality "patch." Your system is most likely inadequate to support voice calls and you will need to upgrade an equipment or two.

VoIP Call Quality Issues

When you transition to VoIP, be prepared to deal with typical service problems. These are natural conditions. Normally, you shouldn't experience any service disruption or distortions even when you have these. However, if you are with a so-so network or VoIP service provider, you will feel the effects of VoIP call quality issues.

• Know about problems before they affect your day-to-day operations
• Stay on top of how your VoIP service performs
• Enjoy the full benefits of VoIP

Typical VoIP call quality issues should not affect your VoIP performance. For instance, latency, which is the delay transport of data/voice packets, is normal. Even traditional telecommunications experience latency. But if it goes beyond 150ms one way, you will definitely experience voice quality distortions.

For certain circumstances, you can address VoIP call quality issues yourself. Here are some tips:

Slow connection: This is one of the worst things to have when you want to use VoIP. Digital communications rely on your network connections. Fast connections mean that you can have unhindered conversations. When you suffer from slow connections, the best thing to do is upgrade your service. This means either getting a better service project with the same or a different service provider.

Bad equipment: It could be that you experience VoIP call quality issues and the problem is on your end. You may have the wrong router for prioritizing VoIP calls. Or, you may have outdated equipment that result in voice quality distortion. The best solution here is to upgrade to a better router wherein you'd be able to configure the QoS. With the router's QoS, you can prioritize VoIP. This lessens the bandwidth allotment for other applications, particularly the bandwidth-heavy applications ones, like gaming applications.

Delays: All forms of telecommunications experience delays or latency. The crucial issue is the length of delay. There's tolerable delay and there's delay that ruins your overall user experience. With VoIP, the two-way delay should only add up to 250ms. A rate above means that there is disruption every so often. The delays may even be causing dropped packets and gaps in the conversation.

There are several ways of dealing with delays, depending on the cause of delays. If the cause is on your end – your equipment may be out of date or defective, or your network and VoIP connections may be bad – these are situations for which you can implement fixes.

Cut wires and incorrectly setup equipment can be fixed by changing cable wires, or upgrading to a newer model.

Sometimes, too, a simple way of fixing delays is to set yourself up closer to your router. Connecting via wi-fi will cause delays and if its too much, all you need to do is go closer.

A surefire way of correcting delays caused by your system is by prioritizing voice packets. You do this by configuring your QoS. Most modern routers now come with QoS access where you can set how much priority is given to different applications. To prioritize VoIP, you just have to prioritize voice applications while reducing priority of bandwidth heavy applications, such as gaming applications.

To stay on top of how your VoIP performs, set up an account with VoIP Spear, a VoIP monitoring service that offers free trial accounts and personal, residential and business options.

VoIP Quality Test: Latency

Let's talk about the different VoIP quality parameters that a typical VoIP quality test system monitors. In knowing more information about these parameters, you may be able to address VoIP performance issues better before turning over troubleshooting to your service provider.

• Know more about your VoIP quality test system
• Address immediate VoIP performance problems yourself
• Have in-depth knowledge about VoIP

One of the most important VoIP quality test parameters is latency. Latency pertains to the delays in the transport of data/ voice packets. These delays may occur in all the components of VoIP communication, from each party of the conversation and throughout the network where packets travel through. This means that delays may be rooted in packetization, propagation and jitter butter. In a way, how your entire VoIP system performs affects how much delays you experience.

Understand however that delays are normal. Packets travel from your phone system through your network and its servers and other hardware, before reaching your intended recipient. When your recipient says something back, packets need to travel back through the same route. So naturally, there will be some delays.

This is true even for traditional telephony – so naturally, you have it too in digital telecommunications.

The crucial aspect of latency is when it adds up to too much, such that you already experience degraded VoIP user experience. The maximum one-way latency is only 150ms. Even then, reduced VoIP quality is already noticeable at this rate.

When you experience service degradation or disruption, it pays to know what's going on. This is where your VoIP monitoring service comes in. The reliability and consistency of your VoIP testing becomes important because it is through consistent testing that you get an idea of your VoIP performance profile. You will know problem areas (the parameters of VoIP quality, such as latency, jitter and packet loss), how much and at which period within a typical day.

If your VoIP performance profile shows issues with latency, there are steps you can take on your end before relying on your VoIP network service provider for solutions.

For the reliable VoIP monitoring service, check out VoIP Spear.

VoIP Quality of Service Test: What and How

One of the first things that you need to do for yourself or your business after switching to VoIP is to set up a consistent and continuous VoIP quality of service test, or a VoIP monitoring system that runs 24/7/365. This is the guarantee that your VoIP service delivers the good and reliable service it's supposed to. Otherwise, switching to VoIP is a moot move. If you can't get consistent service, you risk lost opportunities and connections.

What a VoIP Quality of Service Test Monitors

Regular VoIP quality of service test, through VoIP monitoring, involves mapping the performance of key VoIP quality indicators: MOS (Mean Opinion Score), Latency and Packet Loss.

Mean Opinion Score has its roots in traditional telephony, wherein testers scored voice quality while listening for impairment in a quiet room. In VoIP, the scoring system is more objective, wherein service impairment is assessed according to network performance.

Latency pertains to delays in the transport of data/ voice packets, which can originate from the sender, recipient or network. Latency can be rooted to packetization, jitter buffer or propagation. Whatever the cause, high latency rates affect your VoIP quality.

Packet loss pertains to dropped data packets that are usually caused by network congestion and faulty equipment. Even a small fraction of packet loss is unacceptable in business VoIP.

So how do you test for VoIP quality of service? Get the services of a reliable VoIP monitoring company, such as VoIP Spear.

How: Your VoIP Monitoring Options

There are different kinds of VoIP monitoring services to consider.

For big businesses with wide operations and big pockets, Appneta provides a good option. Its PathView network and server monitoring offers monitoring beyond what's required in VoIP monitoring because it also monitors applications. This is really more for the big boys with heavy monitoring needs. Plus, you need big pockets for this too. A device costs $5,000 each and you need one per server that you want to monitor.

Another option is the low-zero cost monitoring systems that you use whenever you want to test your VoIP network. An example here is Visualware's MySpeed testing service, which tests your VoIP only when you want it to.

While this is comparatively very cheap, it is also useless. Remember that in true VoIP testing, you need to test 24/7/365. This gives you a true profile of your VoIP quality. One-time testing only shows you your VoIP network performance  that one second when you sent test packets. It doesn't show you how your system performs 99.99% of the time -- when your clients and partners might actually be trying to get in touch with you.

The better option, especially for small- and medium-sized business, is VoIP Spear's no-installation 24/7/265 global VoIP monitoring service. VoIP Spear tests your VoIP endpoints from our strategically-located servers worldwide. The system tests your MOS, and other VoIP quality performance parameters, such as jitter, latency and packet loss.

One of the best things here is that you don't need an extra hand to manage and assess your VoIP testing results. Once you sign up, you can access your account, and configure your control panel. It's only a matter of plugging in your VoIP endpoints and selecting your testing server. Reports are easy to understand. And there's an online guide to help you out, just in case. 

Sign up now: http://www.voipspear.com/signup 

VoIP Spear Adds New Monitoring Servers

It's good to know that the VoIP Spear team has expanded its network of testing servers. We are already relying on their VoIP monitoring service. The addition of servers means that test results become more accurate, especially when it comes to endpoints outside North America. With new testing server locations in North America, Europe, Asia and South America, users can now select where monitoring tests originate.

North America: New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Miami
Europe: London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Moscow, Milan, Madrid
Asia: Hong Kong, Japan (Tokyo), Singapore, India (Chennai)
South America: Chile (Vina del Mar), Panama (Panama City)

VoIP Spear's lead development team took 6 months to perfect this truly global VoIP monitoring service. Users have free reign on which servers test their endpoints. They can set it up when they set up or edit endpoint (bottom of the page). We're happy with how things turned out. We've updated some of our endpoints. The rest are in the USA so they're good, as is.

We are looking forward to more from VoIP Spear. Even without these new servers, we were already quite happy with their service. I suppose we should be ecstatic now lol! But seriously, VoIP Spear is providing us VoIP service providers with a great, reliable and hassle-free service. I really appreciate that the team continues to work toward improvement and expansion. http://voipspear.com/signup

Securing Your VoIP Service

One of the least talked about topics when it comes to VoIP is VoIP security. Popular concerns have been performance and cost, and for the right reasons. However, you shouldn’t forget VoIP security. The simple fact that data/ voice travels through networks as a data packet means that at certain points of voice conversations, calls become vulnerable to attacks. Attacks could range from eavesdropping to the potentially more costly call fraud and phishing.

The cost of letting your VoIP service be vulnerable to attacks can add up, and not just monetarily. You may lose time and opportunities just trying to recover from an attack,

VoIP Security: An Investment in Savings

When you want uninterrupted optimal VoIP performance – and this is immensely important for businesses that have switched to VoIP – you need to invest in measures that secure your service and ensure consistent good quality connections.

To do this, you need to sign up with a good VoIP service from the get go. The protocols used to transport your voice and multimedia calls are important in securing your VoIP conversations. Basic services offer to the use of session initiation protocol (SIP) and real-time transport protocol (RTP). These two protocols are innately vulnerable. Data and multimedia packets may be captured just by using a basic protocol analyzer.

The better VoIP service uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) for SIP calls and secure real-time transport protocol (SRTP) for multimedia calls. So, it is important to check with your service provider first to ensure that you are getting this.

Another security measure to look for is the use of IP-VPN networks. If your service provider uses this, it means that VoIP traffic is separated from normal net traffic. This segregation keeps VoIP calls safe from cyber attacks.

When you’ve secured your VoIP, ensure that its performance is consistent and efficient. Set up an account with a VoIP monitoring service like VoIP Spear. This layer of safeguard guarantees that your security measures are not for nothing and that you really do enjoy the best of VoIP.

Three Questions To Ask Before Your Switch to VoIP

Switching to VoIP is a major step and is something that you need to do when you want incomparable savings in your phone bill. This New Year is a great time to do this. Not only will you benefit from the leaps and bounds made by VoIP technology. You will enjoy low signup rates and phone bills.

If you want VoIP for your business, however, there are questions you need to answer first. These give you a good assessment of your organization’s readiness in making the big switch.

Will it improve your work efficiency and productivity?

One of the things you’d want to happen with a switch to VoIP is an increase in productivity and efficiency. After all, VoIP – through communications convergence – lets you do so many things with data in digital format. Plus, don’t forget the savings from VoIP. You can do a lot with that to improve your day-to-day performance.

However, VoIP can take its toll on your network. If you are not sure about the capacity of your network because all that you’ve been doing is browsing and file-sharing, then test it using the services of VoIP Spear. Being on a poor network can cost you. The data packet that run through your network will multiply by at least 4X because of voice packets. If your network cannot take this much traffic, then you are also compromising other tasks done within the network. This can affect the quality and quantity of work done within a day.

Can your network handle VoIP?

This is the logical ‘next question,’ of course. Your network directly affects your VoIP benefits. If you have limited bandwidth, you will need to upgrade your account. However, if your network is really bad, it is ideal to not switch to VoIP until you find a better one, a service provider with proven support for VoIP telecommunications.

An incapable network means that you are likely to suffer from bad voice call quality. You will experience delays/ pauses in calls, as well as jitter and packet delays.

Can you afford to equip your office for VoIP?

A typical office cannot use VoIP just via computer and headphones. This takes away from accessibility and convenience. SIP phones or ATA boxes are necessary for workstations with phone units. You will also need an IP PBX system or a gateway device for your old PBX. All this can cost. So, alongside your VoIP account fees, you will need to take care of this at the start.

When you do make a switch to VoIP, treat this as an investment. Install whatever’s necessary so that this investment lasts. Make sure that you have an account with VoIP Spear, and that you are monitoring all your endpoints. This tests your endpoints for performance lapses, which you or your support team can then address.