Primus TalkBroadband: dropping connection

[Andrew Webber]

I've had the Primus TalkBroadband service for a while, with mixed
results. When it works, the sound is as good as a regular landline.
The problem is with dropped connections. I'm hoping there's an easy
way to fix the problems I'm having.

The connection seems to be dropped after 5 minutes or so, sometimes I
can still hear them, sometimes they can still hear me, sometimes they
get the TB hold music. After hanging up and calling back, either the
connection will stay good, or it will cut off more and more.

--My internet service is Sympatico High-Speed (the medium-speed one).
--I have a router plugged into the modem. The router is Microsoft's
.11b wireless router which is pretty reliable. (I also have the
Microsoft .11g router which is problematic in general, and I went back
to the .11b).
--Then the D-Link VOIP box is plugged into the router.

This is the Primus recommended configuration.

When I contacted Primus about this before, they suggested plugging the
VOIP box directly into the modem, then the router into the VOIP. As I
recall, this worked fairly well, but it's a major issue to make this
the final solution.

One of the selling points of VOIP is to take it with me when I travel.
I can take it to my parents', or my girlfriends, or even a hotel room
with high-speed, plug it in, and I've got the same number and service.
This works really well if it's behind the router, since it just
expects a DHCP-assigned IP address from the router. When I plug it in
to the modem, I have to set it up with the dialling parameters of the
system where I'm visiting, I have to reconfigure their router, and I
have to change it all back again before leaving (and they have to give
me login and password, which could be a problem if I'm visiting other
than family), and it won't work at all in a wired high-speed hotel
room.

My cordless phone is 900MHz (went back to the old frequency when I was
getting too much interference from .11b wireless in general). And
this has happened when using a wired phone (or more accurately, the
base station's speakerphone).

Can anyone suggest a fix? If moving it before the router is my only
solution, I'll do it, but I don't see why (this isn't a function of
lots of network traffic since it sometimes happens when I'm not using
the computer).

Thanks!
andrew


andrew [***@wwwebbers.com]

[repatch]

--My internet service is Sympatico High-Speed (the medium-speed one). --I
have a router plugged into the modem. The router is Microsoft's .11b
wireless router which is pretty reliable. (I also have the Microsoft .11g
router which is problematic in general, and I went back to the .11b).
--Then the D-Link VOIP box is plugged into the router.
This is the Primus recommended configuration.

No, it's not, unless they've changed something major. The VOIP box MUST
be BEFORE the router. This is because it has to "reserve" bandwidth for
itself. If you plug it into the router it is sharing bandwidth with all
your other stuff, and even a file download will corrupt your calls.

When I contacted Primus about this before, they suggested

plugging the

VOIP box directly into the modem, then the router into the VOIP. As I
recall, this worked fairly well, but it's a major issue to make this the
final solution.

It's the only solution.

Now, if your Sympatico is dropping it's IPs often that's another problem,
but your first thing to try is putting the VOIP box between the modem and
router. TTYL

[Andrew Webber]

Post by repatch

--My internet service is Sympatico High-Speed (the medium-speed one). --I
have a router plugged into the modem. The router is Microsoft's .11b
wireless router which is pretty reliable. (I also have the Microsoft .11g
router which is problematic in general, and I went back to the .11b).
--Then the D-Link VOIP box is plugged into the router.
This is the Primus recommended configuration.

No, it's not, unless they've changed something major. The VOIP box MUST
be BEFORE the router. This is because it has to "reserve" bandwidth for
itself. If you plug it into the router it is sharing bandwidth with all
your other stuff, and even a file download will corrupt your calls.

Yes it is, I've had this service since March I think (maybe since
April) and I know how they told me to set it up. I knew the diagram
on their site showed the router behind the VOIP, and I was happily
surprised when they said to plug into the router. I'd have to dig out
the booklet they sent, but I know they did this because they sent it
configured to get a DHCP address and not to connect to Sympatico HSE.

Which is not to say I'm contradicting your statement of the reason for
doing it the other way, I understand that part and I agree.

If I'm not using the computer, is there anything that would cut off
the calls anyway? I'm wondering if there's a router setting I could
adjust to help?

Post by repatch

When I contacted Primus about this before, they suggested
plugging the VOIP box directly into the modem, then the router
into the VOIP. As I recall, this worked fairly well, but it's
a major issue to make this the final solution.

It's the only solution.
Now, if your Sympatico is dropping it's IPs often that's
another problem, but your first thing to try is putting the VOIP
box between the modem and router. TTYL

I guess I'll have to do that. And it won't be too bad at my parents'
since their on Sympatico too, and I can leave the VOIP to connect
using my account (I'm pretty sure I've done that before). If I'm
somewhere that they have a different DSL provider, e.g. Magma or
someone, would the VOIP still be able to connect direct to my
Sympatico account, or would I have to (a) get their login and
password, and (b) change their router setup to DHCP, then change it
back again when I leave?

And what about this as plan B. Could I plug a router into the modem,
the VOIP into that router, then the wireless router into the VOIP,
then the network into that? IOW,

modem <- routerA <- VOIP <- routerB <- network

That way if I visit a friend, their existing routerA (with login ID
and password) would still do that, and the VOIP would still get
priority over the network. The one thing I'd have to change would be
to disable wireless access on the routerA and activate it on routerB,
which would mean changing WEP and other settings. It wouldn't help in
a hotel, where I was able to use the phone but got cut off.


Thanks for your comments.

andrew


andrew [***@wwwebbers.com]

[wk]

Post by Andrew Webber
modem <- routerA <- VOIP <- routerB <- network

You could also try:
modem <- router <- VOIP <-switch <- computers

Where I have marked "switch" you could use a switch or your "routerB"
configured as a switch (don't use the WAN port and disable the router
functions and DHCP).

Before you try these configurations you should test:

modem <-router <-VOIP

with no computers. If that doesn't work properly then the other
configurations won't either. You may get different results with a
different router or router configuration.

The router connected to the modem should not be wireless, since that
adds the wireless in parallel with VOIP. Your "routerB" or my "switch"
(or router configured as a switch)can be wireless.

wk

[Andrew Webber]

Post by wk

Post by Andrew Webber
modem <- routerA <- VOIP <- routerB <- network

modem <- router <- VOIP <-switch <- computers
Where I have marked "switch" you could use a switch or your
"routerB" configured as a switch (don't use the WAN port and
disable the router functions and DHCP).

Pardon my ignorance, but I know what a router does and I know what a
hub does. How is a switch different?

Post by wk
modem <-router <-VOIP
with no computers. If that doesn't work properly then the
other configurations won't either. You may get different
results with a different router or router configuration.

That's a good one, I'll try that at some point. I guess that's the
way to find out if the router itself is cutting off the connection (I
can't imagine why, anything like "inactivity timeout" would hardly
apply when one is talking on the VOIP!).

Post by wk
The router connected to the modem should not be wireless, since that
adds the wireless in parallel with VOIP. Your "routerB" or my "switch"
(or router configured as a switch)can be wireless.

Right, that's why I would use a wired router at home (since they're
practically free anyway) but if I was visiting somewhere that they had
a wired router, I could disable wireless on their router (routerA) and
enable it on my routerB. Of course I'd have to get their WEP and
other info, but I could see that as less of an issue than giving me
their DSL login and password.

Thanks again!

andrew

andrew [***@wwwebbers.com]

[repatch]

Post by wk

Post by Andrew Webber
modem <- routerA <- VOIP <- routerB <- network

modem <- router <- VOIP <-switch <- computers
Where I have marked "switch" you could use a switch or your "routerB"
configured as a switch (don't use the WAN port and disable the router
functions and DHCP).

Pardon my ignorance, but I know what a router does and I know what a hub
does. How is a switch different?

A switch appears as a hub does (it doesn't "route" IP traffic), however
it is more selective about what ports it repeats a packet on. When a hub
receives a packet destined for computerA it sends that packet on every
port it has. A switch keeps a record of which port computerA is connected
and only send that packet on that port. This GREATLY reduces collisions on
Ethernet networks, making the network appear MUCH faster. Almost all
devices these days capable of 100Mbps are switches, not hubs. TTYL

[Andrew Webber]

Post by repatch

Post by wk

Post by Andrew Webber
modem <- routerA <- VOIP <- routerB <- network

modem <- router <- VOIP <-switch <- computers
Where I have marked "switch" you could use a switch or your "routerB"
configured as a switch (don't use the WAN port and disable the router
functions and DHCP).

Pardon my ignorance, but I know what a router does and I know what a hub
does. How is a switch different?

A switch appears as a hub does (it doesn't "route" IP traffic), however
it is more selective about what ports it repeats a packet on. When a hub
receives a packet destined for computerA it sends that packet on every
port it has. A switch keeps a record of which port computerA is connected
and only send that packet on that port. This GREATLY reduces collisions on
Ethernet networks, making the network appear MUCH faster. Almost all
devices these days capable of 100Mbps are switches, not hubs. TTYL

Okay, the situation has stabilized so I'd like to try this again.
Putting the VOIP directly into the Sympatico HSE modem did the trick.
So clearly sharing the router (between VOIP and other computers) was
the cause of the dropped calls.

I want to be able to use this VOIP box in three different places. Two
have Sympatico HSE (one mine, the other a friend's) and one has
cablemodem (another friend's). I can set up the various systems any
way I want, but I don't want to have to keep changing their routers
and/or the VOIP box each time I come and go. So I'd like to do this:

Sympatico HSE (2 places)
Modem <- WiredRouter <- VOIP <- WirelessRouter <- Network
[WiredRouter does the PPPoE stuff; VOIP is set up to receive DHCP;
WirelessRouter is either DHCP or is configured as a switch if I can
figure that out]

Cable (1 place)
Modem <- VOIP <- WirelessRouter <- Network
[VOIP is set up to receive DHCP; WirelessRouter is either DHCP or is
configured as a switch if I can figure that out]

To me this should mean I don't have to change their setup when I visit
the friends with Sympatico, and I don't have to change the VOIP box
when I go between my place and the friend with cablemodem.

Does this make sense? Should it work? Or are the WiredRouters at the
Sympatico houses still going to cut off the VOIP for inactivity?

Thanks!
andrew


andrew [***@wwwebbers.com]

[Madonna]

Post by Andrew Webber

Post by repatch

Post by wk

Post by Andrew Webber
modem <- routerA <- VOIP <- routerB <- network

modem <- router <- VOIP <-switch <- computers
Where I have marked "switch" you could use a switch or your "routerB"
configured as a switch (don't use the WAN port and disable the router
functions and DHCP).

Pardon my ignorance, but I know what a router does and I know what a hub
does. How is a switch different?

A switch appears as a hub does (it doesn't "route" IP traffic), however
it is more selective about what ports it repeats a packet on. When a hub
receives a packet destined for computerA it sends that packet on every
port it has. A switch keeps a record of which port computerA is connected
and only send that packet on that port. This GREATLY reduces collisions on
Ethernet networks, making the network appear MUCH faster. Almost all
devices these days capable of 100Mbps are switches, not hubs. TTYL

Okay, the situation has stabilized so I'd like to try this again.
Putting the VOIP directly into the Sympatico HSE modem did the trick.
So clearly sharing the router (between VOIP and other computers) was
the cause of the dropped calls.
I want to be able to use this VOIP box in three different places. Two
have Sympatico HSE (one mine, the other a friend's) and one has
cablemodem (another friend's). I can set up the various systems any
way I want, but I don't want to have to keep changing their routers
Sympatico HSE (2 places)
Modem <- WiredRouter <- VOIP <- WirelessRouter <- Network
[WiredRouter does the PPPoE stuff; VOIP is set up to receive DHCP;
WirelessRouter is either DHCP or is configured as a switch if I can
figure that out]
Cable (1 place)
Modem <- VOIP <- WirelessRouter <- Network
[VOIP is set up to receive DHCP; WirelessRouter is either DHCP or is
configured as a switch if I can figure that out]
To me this should mean I don't have to change their setup when I visit
the friends with Sympatico, and I don't have to change the VOIP box
when I go between my place and the friend with cablemodem.
Does this make sense? Should it work? Or are the WiredRouters at the
Sympatico houses still going to cut off the VOIP for inactivity?

If the dropped call is caused by a port getting closed by the router you
may try this solution:
I don't know if the VoIP box uses it, but it wouldn't hurt and might
also help to enable uPNP on the WiredRouter that's between the VoIP and
the DSL Modem. uPNP auto-configures needed incoming/outgoing ports.
If uPNP isn't supported by the router or used by the VoIP you could DMZ
the VoIP.

[Andrew Webber]

Post by Madonna
If the dropped call is caused by a port getting closed by the router you
I don't know if the VoIP box uses it, but it wouldn't hurt and might
also help to enable uPNP on the WiredRouter that's between the VoIP and
the DSL Modem. uPNP auto-configures needed incoming/outgoing ports.
If uPNP isn't supported by the router or used by the VoIP you could DMZ
the VoIP.

Thanks, I will try that.


One thing I forgot to ask before, when the VOIP is removed (to travel)

Post by Madonna
Sympatico HSE (2 places)
Modem <- WiredRouter <- WirelessRouter <- Network
[WiredRouter does the PPPoE stuff; WirelessRouter is either DHCP or
is configured as a switch if I can figure that out]
Cable (1 place)
Modem <- WirelessRouter <- Network
[WirelessRouter is either DHCP or is
configured as a switch if I can figure that out]

This is the point of having two routers in the Sympatico setup, I can
leave these networks as above, then insert the VOIP box in between
when I'm there, then take it away again when I leave, without touching
any of their settings (except initially).



andrew [***@wwwebbers.com]

[Madonna]

Post by Andrew Webber

Post by Andrew Webber
Sympatico HSE (2 places)
Modem <- WiredRouter <- WirelessRouter <- Network
[WiredRouter does the PPPoE stuff; WirelessRouter is either DHCP or
is configured as a switch if I can figure that out]
Cable (1 place)
Modem <- WirelessRouter <- Network
[WirelessRouter is either DHCP or is
configured as a switch if I can figure that out]

This is the point of having two routers in the Sympatico setup, I can
leave these networks as above, then insert the VOIP box in between
when I'm there, then take it away again when I leave, without touching
any of their settings (except initially).

Sounds good.
You can also have something equivalent if you get rid of the WiredRouter
and configure the DSL modem to handle the PPPoE. A speedstream 5200 can
do this.

[Andrew Webber]

Post by Madonna

Post by Andrew Webber

Post by Andrew Webber
Sympatico HSE (2 places)
Modem <- WiredRouter <- WirelessRouter <- Network
[WiredRouter does the PPPoE stuff; WirelessRouter is either DHCP or
is configured as a switch if I can figure that out]
Cable (1 place)
Modem <- WirelessRouter <- Network
[WirelessRouter is either DHCP or is
configured as a switch if I can figure that out]

This is the point of having two routers in the Sympatico setup, I can
leave these networks as above, then insert the VOIP box in between
when I'm there, then take it away again when I leave, without touching
any of their settings (except initially).

Sounds good.
You can also have something equivalent if you get rid of the WiredRouter
and configure the DSL modem to handle the PPPoE. A speedstream 5200 can
do this.

Thanks for the confirmation, we brought the VOIP box back from the
cablemodem-equipped location (didn't bother reconnecting the network
since no one is there for two days). Now it's in _my_ Sympatico
house, I've got two routers (both wireless, but the first has wireless
disabled) and the VOIP in between. It seems to work, sometimes calls
get dropped but we haven't isolated if any are _not_ "selecting
channel", i.e. between the cordless handset and base unit.

The only problem is that I'e got my old Microsoft .11b router as the
"wired" one, and my newer Microsoft .11g router as the wireless one
serving the network. I'd earlier abandoned the .11g because of
bugginess but the new firmware (July 04) seems to fix it.

Only problem is that it now allows itself to be configured locally
only in the pattern 192.168.x.1 and I've had all my routers as
132.216.73.1 Why? Because one notebook has a static IP address of
132.216.73.x and I thought that was the only way it could get on my
local network (I make the router 132.216.73.1 and everyone else is
DHCP and really doesn't care). Two questions, (a) am I right about
the necessity of 132.216.73.1 for the router in this case, and (b) am
I screwed from using the .11g for this?

I have a Speedstream 5360 but am not sure what you mean but the DSL
modem to handle the PPPoE. Is this sometimes I can get it to do?

Thanks again!
andrew


andrew [***@wwwebbers.com]

[Madonna]

Post by Andrew Webber
Only problem is that it now allows itself to be configured locally
only in the pattern 192.168.x.1 and I've had all my routers as
132.216.73.1 Why? Because one notebook has a static IP address of
132.216.73.x and I thought that was the only way it could get on my
local network (I make the router 132.216.73.1 and everyone else is
DHCP and really doesn't care). Two questions, (a) am I right about
the necessity of 132.216.73.1 for the router in this case, and (b) am
I screwed from using the .11g for this?

There are 3 address ranges for private networks:
10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255 (10/8 prefix)
172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255 (172.16/12 prefix)
192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255 (192.168/16 prefix)

132.216.73.1 is an address that belongs to McGill so you will have
problems communicating with them if you use it.

It would be better to set up the portable to use DHCP if possible. That
way you could also use the internet almost anywhere there is a
connection. Or maybe there is a way to tell your portable to select the
FixedIp profile or the DHCP profile when you boot.

Post by Andrew Webber
I have a Speedstream 5360 but am not sure what you mean but the DSL
modem to handle the PPPoE. Is this sometimes I can get it to do?

The 5360 is a plain-vanilla DSL modem, it cannot do the PPPoE.
With the 5200 you can set it up like a router and it will handle your
PPPoE userid/password and hand out DHCP addresses like a router does
(except that there is only one ethernet port instead of 4 on a real router).

[DevilsPGD]

Post by Madonna
It would be better to set up the portable to use DHCP if possible. That
way you could also use the internet almost anywhere there is a
connection. Or maybe there is a way to tell your portable to select the
FixedIp profile or the DHCP profile when you boot.

In XP you can do one better, you can set up what IP address will be used
if the DHCP server isn't available.

This can be used without dealing with profiles at boot time.

[Andrew Webber]

On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 06:50:35 GMT, DevilsPGD

Post by DevilsPGD

Post by Madonna
It would be better to set up the portable to use DHCP if possible. That
way you could also use the internet almost anywhere there is a
connection. Or maybe there is a way to tell your portable to select the
FixedIp profile or the DHCP profile when you boot.

In XP you can do one better, you can set up what IP address will be used
if the DHCP server isn't available.
This can be used without dealing with profiles at boot time.

That sounds nice! Unfortunately the notebook in question is still
running Win98, but _my_ machines are on XP now. I'll have to look
into that.


andrew [***@wwwebbers.com]

[Andrew Webber]

Post by Madonna
10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255 (10/8 prefix)
172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255 (172.16/12 prefix)
192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255 (192.168/16 prefix)
132.216.73.1 is an address that belongs to McGill so you will have
problems communicating with them if you use it.
It would be better to set up the portable to use DHCP if possible. That
way you could also use the internet almost anywhere there is a
connection. Or maybe there is a way to tell your portable to select the
FixedIp profile or the DHCP profile when you boot.

So far we've had no problem with the 132... address on the LAN side of
the router. I don't think we can use DHCP full-time on the notebook
(or it would have been done that way originally?). It may become a
non-issue in a few months.

The notebook is running Win98 and I'm loathe to tinker with that
either, at least at this point. Maybe as part of an overhaul of the
notebook later this year. Thanks for the advice.

Post by Madonna
The 5360 is a plain-vanilla DSL modem, it cannot do the PPPoE.
With the 5200 you can set it up like a router and it will handle your
PPPoE userid/password and hand out DHCP addresses like a router does
(except that there is only one ethernet port instead of 4 on a real router).

Which would be fine with a VOIP hanging off it! I actually thought
that if I didn't have enough routers (or if we'd gone with PPPoE on
the installation that ended up cablemodem), I'd hunt for one of those
old one-port jobs that were readily available when I paid $175 for my
first 4-port wired router/firewall. Luckily didn't need to.

Thanks again!


andrew [***@wwwebbers.com]

[Madonna]

Here is some information about "Local Network Addresses" from the Book
"Sams Teach Yourself TCP/IP Networking in 21 Days":
http://www.samspublishing.com/articles/article.asp?p=26643&seqNum=4

[repatch]

If I'm not using the computer, is there anything that would cut off the
calls anyway? I'm wondering if there's a router setting I could adjust to
help?

Buggy router. Most consumer routers are VERY buggy, most consumers don't
notice since the average use of a consumer router is something where the
problem would never be seen.

VOIP is using IP in a way it was never meant to be used, and therefore
bugs in the router can pop up in the forms you speak of.

And what about this as plan B. Could I plug a router into the modem, the
VOIP into that router, then the wireless router into the VOIP, then the
network into that? IOW,
modem <- routerA <- VOIP <- routerB <- network

That should be fine OK, assuming routerA isn't buggy. TTYL

[DevilsPGD]

Post by repatch
VOIP is using IP in a way it was never meant to be used, and therefore
bugs in the router can pop up in the forms you speak of.

huh? IP was built to transfer packets from one point to another.
That's it. The whole point of the design is that at the IP level, there
is no knowledge (or need of knowledge) of the actual data which is being
moved.

There's nothing special or magical about VoIP that's any more unusual or
stressful to a network then the various other network applications out
there.

[repatch]

Post by repatch
VOIP is using IP in a way it was never meant to be used, and therefore
bugs in the router can pop up in the forms you speak of.

huh? IP was built to transfer packets from one point to another. That's
it. The whole point of the design is that at the IP level, there is no
knowledge (or need of knowledge) of the actual data which is being moved.

Yes, IP was meant to transfer packets, however IP was NEVER meant to
GUARANTEE timely delivery of packets. It is THIS aspect of VOIP that IP
doesn't support: if a packet or two gets delayed IP doesn't care, it just
cares about the packet arriving, however for VOIP a late packet is the
worst things can get. THIS is why VOIP is so "hard" using IP, if another
protocol had been used for the net, one which includes isosynchronous
transfers VOIP would have been much easier.

Why do you think all "newer" protocols (IPv6, USB, even PCI Express)
support modes which guarantee a certain amount of bandwidth and a
guaranteed time of delivery.

There's nothing special or magical about VoIP that's any more unusual or
stressful to a network then the various other network applications out
there.

Yes, there is. When you transfer a file it doesn't matter if the stream
stops for 1 second, you as a user won't even notice that. With VOIP 1
second of missing traffic IS noticed, and can become EXTREMELY annoying if
it were to continue. Just look how annoying listening to audio and video
streams can be on websites. VOIP has mechanisms to try and dull the impact
of the deficiencies of IP, but they can never mask them 100%. TTYL

[Wayne]

Andrew Webber wrote:

<snip>

I got TalkBroadband in May or so and never was satisfied with the service.
Quite often had poor sound quality, dropped connections as you described,
etc. I switched to Vonage and have found it to be *much* better and for
what I want, it's cheaper too.

Wayne

[Andrew Webber]

Post by Wayne
I got TalkBroadband in May or so and never was satisfied with the
service. Quite often had poor sound quality, dropped connections
as you described, etc. I switched to Vonage and have found it to
be *much* better and for what I want, it's cheaper too.
Wayne

Thanks Wayne, my only significant complaint has been with the dropped
connections, which is now looking like it's entirely a function of
putting the VOIP behind the router (which is one of Primus's
recommended configurations, in fact when I signed it up was _the_
recommended setup).

I can see Vonage being cheaper for a lot of situations, I really like
the idea of having all the features and limited time. Primus is
really running theirs as an alternative phone system (basic plan with
no features but unlimited local calls, maximum 2 secondary numbers).

I started with Primus because I was using it ($20/mo for a Montreal
number) as a replacement for a London Telecom plan that was $20/mo for
lots of minutes in ON and QC -- so it was a no-brainer. Wouldn't have
worked as well with Vonage because I'd have gone from 1500min/mo to
500min/mo and added features I didn't much think I needed.

Also Primus was waiving the setup fee. :) And I didn't need a US
number.

Having discovered how well it worked, I bumped up to the $46 plan to
get the unlimited North America long distance, and the calling
features as well. At this level, there's less difference between
Primus and Vonage in terms of spec.

Still might switch to Vonage, might want to add a FL when a relative
goes south for the winter. By then Primus may offer that. And I
expect more services to come this fall, Yak (for example) is supposed
to be doing something interesting in September.

andrew


andrew [***@wwwebbers.com]

[Scorpion]

I have been using VOIP from packet8 for 5 month now with VOIP box plugged
into the router. I have absolutely no problems with talking on the phone and
surfing the net at full speed.

The line quality exceeds the regular landline, I've only had one dropped
call and maybe 2-3 times line quality was bad. Server was down just once in
five month for few hours. For international calls quality is FAR superior to
Bell Canada LD.

For US$19.99 per month that includes all features and unlimited LD to
USA/Canada I'm quite happy.

Post by Andrew Webber
Thanks Wayne, my only significant complaint has been with the dropped
connections, which is now looking like it's entirely a function of
putting the VOIP behind the router (which is one of Primus's
recommended configurations, in fact when I signed it up was _the_
recommended setup).

[Scorpion]

I have been using VOIP from packet8 for 5 month now with VOIP box plugged
into the router. I have absolutely no problems with talking on the phone and
surfing the net at full speed.

The line quality exceeds the regular landline, I've only had one dropped
call and maybe 2-3 times line quality was bad. Server was down just once in
five month for few hours. For international calls quality is FAR superior to
Bell Canada LD.

For US$19.99 per month that includes all features and unlimited LD to
USA/Canada I'm quite happy.

Post by Andrew Webber
Thanks Wayne, my only significant complaint has been with the dropped
connections, which is now looking like it's entirely a function of
putting the VOIP behind the router (which is one of Primus's
recommended configurations, in fact when I signed it up was _the_
recommended setup).

[Wayne]

Post by Andrew Webber

Post by Wayne
I got TalkBroadband in May or so and never was satisfied with the
service. Quite often had poor sound quality, dropped connections
as you described, etc. I switched to Vonage and have found it to
be *much* better and for what I want, it's cheaper too.
Wayne

<snip>

Post by Andrew Webber
Also Primus was waiving the setup fee. :) And I didn't need a US
number.

The waived setup fee was the reason I start with Primus as well. But I
don't have a US number with Vonage. It's a London number, just like with
Primus.

Wayne

[PC]

Hi Andrew, your home router has to have the newest firmware possible in
order to support RTP properly (Real-time Transport Protocol). This is
problematic with a lot of the older home routers where, the issue is usually
that the router will stop processing on the UDP port as it thinks the
connection had ended 5 minutes ago and it just times out. Please ensure that
you have the latest firmware and that your router is able to support RTP
properly. In the office here we use the service with a Dlink 604 with no
problems.

PC

Post by Andrew Webber
I've had the Primus TalkBroadband service for a while, with mixed
results. When it works, the sound is as good as a regular landline.
The problem is with dropped connections. I'm hoping there's an easy
way to fix the problems I'm having.
The connection seems to be dropped after 5 minutes or so, sometimes I
can still hear them, sometimes they can still hear me, sometimes they
get the TB hold music. After hanging up and calling back, either the
connection will stay good, or it will cut off more and more.
--My internet service is Sympatico High-Speed (the medium-speed one).
--I have a router plugged into the modem. The router is Microsoft's
.11b wireless router which is pretty reliable. (I also have the
Microsoft .11g router which is problematic in general, and I went back
to the .11b).
--Then the D-Link VOIP box is plugged into the router.
This is the Primus recommended configuration.
When I contacted Primus about this before, they suggested plugging the
VOIP box directly into the modem, then the router into the VOIP. As I
recall, this worked fairly well, but it's a major issue to make this
the final solution.
One of the selling points of VOIP is to take it with me when I travel.
I can take it to my parents', or my girlfriends, or even a hotel room
with high-speed, plug it in, and I've got the same number and service.
This works really well if it's behind the router, since it just
expects a DHCP-assigned IP address from the router. When I plug it in
to the modem, I have to set it up with the dialling parameters of the
system where I'm visiting, I have to reconfigure their router, and I
have to change it all back again before leaving (and they have to give
me login and password, which could be a problem if I'm visiting other
than family), and it won't work at all in a wired high-speed hotel
room.
My cordless phone is 900MHz (went back to the old frequency when I was
getting too much interference from .11b wireless in general). And
this has happened when using a wired phone (or more accurately, the
base station's speakerphone).
Can anyone suggest a fix? If moving it before the router is my only
solution, I'll do it, but I don't see why (this isn't a function of
lots of network traffic since it sometimes happens when I'm not using
the computer).
Thanks!
andrew
--
for PGP public key, send email with "send public key" as subject

[Andrew Webber]

Post by PC
Hi Andrew, your home router has to have the newest firmware possible in
order to support RTP properly (Real-time Transport Protocol). This is
problematic with a lot of the older home routers where, the issue is usually
that the router will stop processing on the UDP port as it thinks the
connection had ended 5 minutes ago and it just times out. Please ensure that
you have the latest firmware and that your router is able to support RTP
properly. In the office here we use the service with a Dlink 604 with no
problems.
PC

Thanks PC, it sounds like it might be possible then. I'll look up my
router and see, but I suspect it doesn't do RTP (or not properly,
depending how new RTP is).

Is RTP something that home-grade routers are likely to have? I want
to get a new router anyway (I'm back at .11b after my MS .11g router
turned out to be less than robust, to be polite) and was thinking of
going with .11a so it doesn't conflict with 2.4GHz (or even 5.8GHz)
cordless phones. I suppose going with a deadend like .11a is okay but
I wouldn't expect much in the way of firmware upgrades in future.

It's great that it can work this way, but I think Primus needs to do a
better job of screening this out. And while it means I can put the
phone behind my router here (if I get RTP support), I'll still be
faced with the same problem on the road. :(


andrew [***@wwwebbers.com]

[Madonna]

Post by Andrew Webber
My cordless phone is 900MHz (went back to the old frequency when I was
getting too much interference from .11b wireless in general). And
this has happened when using a wired phone (or more accurately, the
base station's speakerphone).
Can anyone suggest a fix?

The wireless phone and the speakerphone can both send silence when
you're not talking. Try a plain old wired phone.

I have a GE digital answering machine and it has a hard time when people
leave messages using a wireless phone and pause for a second.

[Andrew Webber]

Post by Madonna

Post by Andrew Webber
My cordless phone is 900MHz (went back to the old frequency when I was
getting too much interference from .11b wireless in general). And
this has happened when using a wired phone (or more accurately, the
base station's speakerphone).
Can anyone suggest a fix?

The wireless phone and the speakerphone can both send silence when
you're not talking. Try a plain old wired phone.
I have a GE digital answering machine and it has a hard time when people
leave messages using a wireless phone and pause for a second.

Thanks for the suggestion. I do have wired phones but like the
flexibility of two-line wireless.


andrew [***@wwwebbers.com]