Controllerless Networks

Hello,

 

We have 2 floors of offices connected by an optic fiber. Both floors currently have 10/100 Mbps switches.

 

Floor A (20 users) is using soft SIP phones, installed either on Smartphones, or Laptops. There are no data or voice cables on this floor. All Data and Voice traffic is going on ARUBA Instant IAP-105.

Floor B is going to have proprietary IP desk phones (connected by data cables) for about 20 users (rest will be on Analogue.) These proprietary IP desk phones use DiffServ QoS as mentioned in the specifications.

 

The data and voice traffic from Floor A meets the traffic of Floor B at a Switch which is connected to the Router (Internet).

 

Currently we are experiencing bad voice calls by the Floor A users.

 

How I think to solve the problem:-

1. Create a Voice SSID and connect all laptops and smartphones on Floor A to that.

2. Change the existing 10/100 switches to 1 GB switches which have QoS options in them.

3. We'll be getting a FotiGate firewall - so configure VoIP QoS in that as well.

4. Change our existing ADSL Broadband connection to a Leased Line.

 

Doubts:-

1. Does doing the 1st step only would solve the issue - nothing else is required?

2. Does having QoS on IAP, and then on Switch, and then on Firewall adversely imapct the performance?

3. Is only changing to Gbps swtch would be enough - no QoS is required?

 

Any and all other suggestions from you are welcome....

 

Best,

Yagyesh

 

Please let me know if any more details are required from my end.

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@Yagyesh wrote:

Please let me know if any more details are required from my end.

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Yagyesh,

 

If you upgrade to IAP 3.1, there are now options like DSCP tagging, and 802.1p priorites to tag the VOIP traffic on your wired lan.  There is also disable scanning if your VOIP is using a non-standard SIP port.   Those can be added in access  rules of the VOIP devices that are on your network to improve the quality.

 

Please make sure that on your wired LAN you are prioritizing those VOIP packets, as well.

 

By default, SIP, SCCP, Vocera and Spectralink traffic is prioritized by default on IAP.

 

Good info

Thanks man

Thanks cjoseph, and Night Shader.

 

I don't understand these options in v3.1: DSCP tag and others. Could you please point me to some resource of knowledge on these?

 

Does a Cisco Switch (SG-200 Series) understand the type of QoS performed by Aruba IAP-105, and would give it the same type of priority? What QoS option should I look for in the Switch?

 

We don't have any Wireless phones, we are using only SIP based software clients on Laptops and Smartphones.

 

I have not noticed if the voice is clear inside the LAN and not for outside the LAN calls. But if it is clear in the LAN, is the culprit our ADSL connection?

 

We are using Panasonic TDE100BX IP-PBX inside our network, and not a service through the gateway.

 

Regards

Yagyesh

Okay since noone has answed you i will try to give it a shot.

 

Let start with your suggestions

 

How I think to solve the problem:-

1. Create a Voice SSID and connect all laptops and smartphones on Floor A to that.

2. Change the existing 10/100 switches to 1 GB switches which have QoS options in them.

3. We'll be getting a FotiGate firewall - so configure VoIP QoS in that as well.

4. Change our existing ADSL Broadband connection to a Leased Line.

 

Number 2 is valid that could be part of the problem.

Number 3 and 4 i got a question

Do you have the voice gateway on the internet? is not internally in your company?

If it internally in your company how does the calls works? do they work fine? or you still got issues?

Number 1 yes you could try to create a voice vlan but im not aware of what it does... not it does says specifically how does it work...

 

 

Doubts:-

1. Does doing the 1st step only would solve the issue - nothing else is required?

2. Does having QoS on IAP, and then on Switch, and then on Firewall adversely imapct the performance?

3. Is only changing to Gbps swtch would be enough - no QoS is required?

 

On number 1 im not sure i havent used this voice vlan never so i wouldnt know. 

on number 2 It should not impact the performance if you configure it correctly.

on number 3 not really 

 

Now i got some questions for you

Are you sure you dont have any source of interference? around?

Are you sure the issue is on the BW side? and not interference?

Are you using Band Steering? are you using just application for voice? or you using also wireless phones?

 

Did you notice that if a client is connected to 5ghz band does he has the same issue? 

 

Anyways

defenately you have to change those switches  as you will never reach max AP BW capacity with those.... it suposed you got 300mbs speed for each band  wich is a total of 600 mbs and in the port you got 100mbs limit right now... 

Do you have a free uplink port to test? when i mean uplink sometimes on some swithces they are 24 ports 10/100 and 2 ports which are 1000 and if you using just one for the uplink you might be able to plug one of those AP to that port and run your test on that specific AP.

 

Sorry im not that much hep but i have not used IAP almost never... we always for now have managed to sell aruba solution with controller, which it has more options...  

 

 

 

 

 

There are a number of Access Points around, and we experienced a lot of interference when we were using simple WAPs. But after we moved to Aruba sometime ago, the data part atleast had no interference, or may be we have not felt it! Voice is just introduced; so am not sure. How can I check this please?

 

I don't know Band Steering! Could that be of any help here?

 

If connecting the clients (Laptops and Smartphones) making Voice calls over Wi-Fi to the 5Ghz band improve the performance, I'd surely do so...but how to do this please?

 

I am working to change the Network Switches as well.

 

Regards

Yagyesh

 

 

i think it would be a good start if you identify if the issue is also on your internal network... if it work good on your lan then your internet is the culprit... but take in mind you still have fix the issues in your internal network like the swithc issue... the reason already i explained it before, that each band has a 300 mbs each and you just got 100 for both...

yes band steerig might help what it does is moving capable 5ghz client to the 5ghz band which got less interference, and  more channels... 2.4ghz just got 3 non overlapping channels..

about the dscp tag ill try to answer it but also would wait the feedback of cjoseph which knows a lot....
okay the dscp is used to tag important traffc like the voice traffic normally at least on switches i tag these voice traffic with DSCP value 46, now you mark it at the edge in this case the ap... now you need to maintain that DSCP value over the network... this way if it happen you are running out of BW let say on the switch that is plugged to the AP, then he wont drop or will try to not drop voice traffic as its tagged with higher priority... he will drop untagged traffic... this is why this is helpful and i didnt know you could do that on the Instant! but now i do thanks to Collin, its a good tool to know...

Anyways this is just a basic explanation.... you can find more about it on the web...

 

you could enable aritime fairness. it helps in the way that it wo nt let802.11g monopolize bw.... it makes the 802.11n clie ts goes slower.... airtime give them fair access...do you have 802.11g and 802.11a mixed with n clients?