[WXC/VFX] Help needed with SPA2102 network setup

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grant_k

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#11285 14-Jan-2007 09:43

I've just received my SPA2102 but haven't installed it yet. After reading through the manual, there are a couple of items in the network setup as well as physical connection that look to be pretty important regarding optimum operation of VFX:

1) QOS Settings -- Available options: NONE, CBQ or TBF. Which one should I use?

2) Because I already have another router with NAT, I figure the best place to put the SPA2102 is between the existing router and the rest of the network. Hopefully that way, the SPA2102 will be able to give priority to the voice packets over the traffic coming from the rest of the network. Have I made a valid assumption here?

3) The SPA2102 has a setup option NETWORKING SERVICE -- Available options: NAT or BRIDGE. Because my existing router already provides the NAT function, I figure that BRIDGE is the one to use. Is this correct?

I've had a look through the XNET VFX FAQs page, but these points are not covered. Any advice or comments will be appreciated.

maverick

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#57830 14-Jan-2007 10:14

Hi Grant,

1 & 2. QOS leave as default at this stage these will do with the settings if you use the LAN Side of the device which I guess you will no be doing and since you have another router that will need to be setup to give priority to the 2102, the SPA2102 will give priority to the Voice Packets at all times just like the WAG54g and WRTP54g

3. Leave as default Nat will work if you have anything behind on the LAN connection

Yes I am a employee of WxC (My Profile) ... but I do have my own opinions as well

https://www.facebook.com/wxccommunications

grant_k

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#57832 14-Jan-2007 10:23

maverick: ...if you use the LAN Side of the device which I guess you will no be doing and since you have another router that will need to be setup to give priority to the 2102...

My existing router isn't smart enough to give priority to anything, so for this reason, I DO intend to use the LAN side of the SPA2102 to connect all other existing devices on the network. My router has only one port.

maverick: 3. Leave as default Nat will work if you have anything behind on the LAN connection

Because I DO want to use the LAN connection, my setup will be:

Internet -> Router -> NAT -> SPA2102 -> NAT -> LAN

I was under the impression that 2 lots of NAT would NOT be a good idea, which is why I thought it best to use BRIDGE in the SPA2102.

Or doesn't it matter?

DLI

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#59755 5-Feb-2007 06:20

I just got a SPA2101 from SunRocket a couple of days ago and has it configured like you described.
Cable Modem --> Linksys SPA2101-R --> Linksys BEFW11S4 V.2 ---> computers
The BEFW is an older router with no QOS, so I depend on the SPA to provide QOS in this configuration.

The SPA is in gateway mode with WAN IP given by my ISP (Comcast);
and LAN IP = 192.168.0.1, LAN subnet mask = 255.255.255.0, DHCP=on with starting address 192.168.0.2 and # of DHCP IP's = 1, DMZ host is enabled for the host IP = 192.168.0.2

The BEFW is also in gateway mode with WAN IP of 192.168.0.2 (given by DHCP in the SPA);
and LAN IP = 192.168.1.1, LAN subnet mask = 255.255.255.0, DHCP=on with starting address 192.168.1.2 and # of DHCP IP's =50

One bonus for me is that the SPA2101 has a DNS proxy. So for one computer that I sometimes use as a web server I set the IP at 192.168.1.101 with the DNS address fixed to 192.168.0.1

Since the 192.168.1.1 gateway is in the DMZ, I make sure to set the BEFW to reject all WAM requests.  Testing by
http://probemyports.com/ showed all my ports to be stealth.

I have firmware version 3.3.5(A) in my SPA210 which I understand has fewer options available than previous versions.
In the QOS panel, I have the option of TBF or None. So I set it to TBF and use the default 128 kbps uplink speed.
So far my experience with this setup has been largely positive. All my voice calls have come through quite clearly during normal web surfing. I did not try using the phone during heavy downloads as I don't see having the need to use the phone then.

Having QOS with TBF definitely shows better VOIP performance (than none) as tested by http://www.TestYourVoip.com and http://www.myvoipspeed.visualware.com. But increasing the uplink speed seemed to cause more packet to drop.

As an upgrade, I am thinking about getting a Buffalo G54a (~$40) and use third party firmware DD-WRT for QOS. In which case, I will put the SPA after the Buffalo. Another option is to get a router with Ubicom's Stream Engine Net Accelerator (e.g. ZyxelX-550, ~50 with rebate).  Anyone has experience with either options ? It seems to me the Net Accelerator should be the best as it provides multiple pipelines in hardware for sorting different data.