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How To Know If You Need Qos: George Orwell'S "Anim L F RM

The document discusses Quality of Service (QoS) which allows for prioritization of certain network traffic like voice and video. It describes how QoS works and factors to consider like applications used. Simple QoS can be enabled on some routers by prioritizing certain applications, ports or devices. More complex routers allow finer control of QoS rules but require more expertise to configure. General network optimization tips are also provided to improve performance.

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Abi Annun
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68 views

How To Know If You Need Qos: George Orwell'S "Anim L F RM

The document discusses Quality of Service (QoS) which allows for prioritization of certain network traffic like voice and video. It describes how QoS works and factors to consider like applications used. Simple QoS can be enabled on some routers by prioritizing certain applications, ports or devices. More complex routers allow finer control of QoS rules but require more expertise to configure. General network optimization tips are also provided to improve performance.

Uploaded by

Abi Annun
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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QoS

By def*ult, *ll p*ckets of d*t* tr*veling *cross * loc*l-*re* network


(LAN) *re cre*ted equ*l. If *ll of the tr*ffic on * network is text- or file-
tr*nsfer-b*sed, the system is work*ble--*nd no one notices when *
40MB file is del*yed by 50 milliseconds *s more b*ndwidth is m*de
*v*il*ble to *ll users *nd *pplic*tions.
If one type of *pplic*tion on * network is dr*m*tic*lly different from the
others *nd requires f*r more b*ndwidth, however, problems c*n occur.
The most common ex*mples involve Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
phone service *nd stre*ming video.

D*t* p*cket del*ys c*n introduce out-of-sync sound *nd jittery,


pixel*ted im*ges, or worse. Left uncorrected, such * system m*y
deliver smooth video on some occ*sions, *nd *wful video on others.
One w*y to st*ck the odds in your f*vor is through Qu*lity of Service
(QoS)
c*p*bilities.

QoS is networking P l* George Orwell's "Anim*l F*rm": Some d*t*


p*ckets *re more equ*l th*n others. The preferred p*ckets will be *t
the top of the queue when p*ssing through * network port, while lesser
p*ckets cool their heels. The result is smoother *udio *nd video
present*tion, even when the network is humming with file tr*nsfers *nd
gener*l business tr*ffic.

How to Know If You Need QoS


Whether you need QoS depends on the mix of *pplic*tions th*t run on
your network. Whether you c*n *chieve it depends on your network
infr*structure's c*p*bilities. Let's look *t e*ch of these f*ctors.
For the v*st m*jority of network users, QoS boils down to m*king sure
th*t voice *nd video *pplic*tions perform well. If your comp*ny's only
voice c*lls occur over Skype *nd involve person*l communic*tions, *nd
if its only video use consists of YouTube downlo*ds viewed during
employee bre*ks, then QoS isn't worth the bother.
On the other h*nd, if you use VoIP *s your st*nd*rd office
phone system, or if you w*nt to m*ke extensive use
of videoconferencing to repl*ce business tr*vel, proper *ttention to QoS
c*n signific*ntly upgr*de employee productivity *nd your comp*ny's
perceived qu*lity in the m*rketpl*ce. But how do you est*blish QoS on
your network?

Getting St4rted With QoS


QoS h*s * specific set of me*nings in networking, *nd it's distinct from
v*rious things you c*n do to improve the over*ll perform*nce of the
network. (At the end of this *rticle we'll look *t w*ys to boost network
perform*nce.)

In most inst*nces, sm*ll businesses will see QoS est*blished in the


network's router, *nd perh*ps elsewhere. If you dive deeply into the
intern*l structures of network tr*ffic, you'll find two b*sic fl*vors of
QoS: Integr*ted Services (IntServ) *nd Differenti*ted Services
(DiffServ). IntServe permits rel*tively fine-gr*in control of tr*ffic
stre*ms *nd tends to be used within sm*ll networks or between closely
rel*ted networks. The DiffServe protocol works on * less precise b*sis
*nd most often is used between service providers *nd Internet
b*ckbone comp*nies.
For sm*ll businesses, however, the critic*l distinction is between
"simple" *nd "complic*ted" QoS. The difference rel*tes to the softw*re
on the router itself. Some routers, such *s the Linksys WRT54G, provide
t*bs in the setup *pplic*tion where you c*n turn on QoS *nd give
priority to tr*ffic stre*ms b*sed on *pplic*tions, ports, or Medi* Access
Control (MAC) *ddresses.

The e*siest p*th to QoS in this simple situ*tion is to turn on QoS, select
'*pplic*tions' *s the b*sis for priority, *nd then design*te VoIP *nd
video-conferencing *pplic*tions to receive high priority. There*fter, the
router will give tr*ffic stre*ms priority b*sed on *pplic*tion inform*tion
cont*ined in the he*ders of the d*t* p*ckets.
Bec*use m*ny VoIP services use different ports for tr*ffic *t different
times, b*sing QoS on ports c*n dem*nd consider*ble network
monitoring *nd *pplic*tion knowledge. MAC *ddress-b*sed QoS is
v*lu*ble if *ll of your voice or video tr*ffic comes from one or two
computers, but it's f*r more restrictive th*n the *pplic*tion-b*sed
option.
Routers intended for the sm*ll-enterprise m*rket *llow for more-precise
QoS control, *t * cost of f*r gre*ter complexity in setting up the rules
for qu*lity. Such complic*ted routers--from comp*nies like Cisco--
en*ble you to conduct network monitoring *nd *n*lysis *nd then use
the results to m*ke QoS d*t*-priority decisions b*sed on the ports *nd
protocols of tr*ffic between specific *ddresses. If this type of router sits
*t the he*rt of your business network, either your tr*ined network
st*ff or * third-p*rty network engineer with solid experience in QoS
should t*ke over.

Over4ll Network Perform4nce

Without getting c*ught up in form*l QoS processes, you c*n do sever*l


things to improve the over*ll perform*nce of your network--*nd of your
VoIP *nd video services *long with it. For inst*nce, you c*n *utom*te
b*ckup processes *nd regul*r l*rge-file tr*nsfers to occur l*te *t night,
when fewer people *re in the office; you c*n cre*te *n environment th*t
limits m*ss e-m*iling of the l*test YouTube c*t video; *nd you c*n
suggest th*t not every c*ll needs to employ high-def, l*rge-screen
video.

On the h*rdw*re side, m*ny Wi-Fi *ccess points will switch *ll users to
* lower-performing st*nd*rd (such *s 802.11b) if *ny user *tt*ches *t
the slower speed. Ensuring th*t *ll comp*ny l*ptops use the l*test,
highest-performing wireless protocol will help keep everyone moving
d*t* *long more quickly. In m*ny c*ses, moving *w*y from wireless
entirely is the best *nswer. If your comp*ny's worksp*ces c*n
*ccommod*te c*bled connections, encour*ge users to plug in
to reduce the lo*d on the wireless network.
Of course, e*ch workst*tion, whether port*ble or not, should be fully
equipped with RAM *nd well m*int*ined, with *ll softw*re fully p*tched,
h*rd disks defr*gmented (if the oper*ting system supports *nd requires
this), *nd e*ch computer's sound *nd video systems m*tched to the
correct drivers. These steps will contribute to better perform*nce for
VoIP, video, *nd other *pplic*tions.

Properly h*ndled, QoS c*n m*ke *n immedi*te difference in the qu*lity


of VoIP c*lls *nd videoconference meetings. The *udio *nd video
stre*ms will be smoother, jitter *nd *rtif*cts will be reduced, *nd the
over*ll user experience *t both ends will dr*m*tic*lly improve. Adopting
these common-sense network *nd computer optimiz*tion tips will yield
signific*nt improvement *t little or no c*pit*l cost.

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