Modem-Ooma-Router .vs. Modem-Router-Ooma

[joe123]

Sorry, Juan more question

So now that I have Ooma behind my router (Modem-Router-Ooma) setup with QoS at the Highest Level on my Router for Ooma, I like to setup Ooma Up/Down Steam to it's maximum.

To set Ooma Upstream Internet Speed & Downstream Internet Speed to their max, do I set those to ZERO ? Or do I enter a really big number?

[thunderbird]

Sorry, Juan more question

So now that I have Ooma behind my router (Modem-Router-Ooma) setup with QoS at the Highest Level on my Router for Ooma, I like to setup Ooma Up/Down Steam to it's maximum.

To set Ooma Upstream Internet Speed & Downstream Internet Speed to their max, do I set those to ZERO ? Or do I enter a really big number?

For the Modem-Router-Ooma connection, Ooma suggests using Zero for both. But for the current firmware versions that we are using right now, settings of 90% seems to be working best. You could also set you MAC address to Use Built In, which if set to Automatic, often give problems. Below is how to set.

To help stabilize your Ooma Internet connection turn off MAC address Spoofing by doing the following:
If your connection is Modem-Router-Ooma, temporarily connect a network cable from your Ooma device home port, to the wired LAN port of a computer. Temporarily turn off Wi-Fi in the computer, if turned on. Reboot the computer (or use Port Forwarding). Access your Ooma Setup pages by typing http://172.27.35.1 in your computer browser window. The Ooma Setup pages open. Click on Internet, go down to INTERNET Port MAC Address: and change setting from Automatic to Use Built In. Click on Update device. Remove power from your Modem, your Router and Ooma Device. Repower the Modem. When the Modem is done booting repower your Router. When the Router is done booting, repower your Ooma device.


Access the Ooma Setup Advanced page. Under Quality of Service set both the Upstream Internet speed and Down Stream Internet speed to 90% of the measured Upload and Down load speeds as measured by http://www.phonepower.com/speedtest. After running Phonepower Speedtest, click on the Advanced tab at lower left side. Take the Download Speed and the Upload speed, and multiply .9 times for each number. The resulting numbers are the numbers that you enter into Ooma Setup, Advanced page under Quality of Service Upstream Internet Speed (kbps): and Downstream Internet Speed (kbps): boxes. Click on Update. Then test making and receiving calls.

[joe123]

So setting Ooma Telo Upstream & Downstream to ZERO makes the bandwith 100% on the Ooma ( Maxed out )?

I am asking because I thought I saw a post that ZERO meant a preset number. I don't want that, I don't want any restrictions on the UP & Down streams becuase it's behind my Router now and I can control the QoS of my Ooma via my router.

It does not make sense to make Ooma 90% of measured speed becuase my router is now doing a percentage across all ports (Ooma, computers, wireless phones, video streaming, etc). My Router for my Ooma port has the highest QoS available, but this is not 100% since there are devices to contend with no matter how low of a priority (QoS) those other devices have.

So setting Ooma to 90% would realistically be less than that because the router is doing it's own measuring. So if my router devotes 80% bandwidth to Ooma and I set Ooma to 90%, real UP/Down Stream would be 90% of 80%, or 72% devoted to Ooma.

So this is why it would be wrong to set Ooma to 90% when behind a router. I want to set it to 100%, just not sure how it is done ( ZERO or a really big number )?

[thunderbird]

joe123:
Setting both readings to Zero, is supposed to shut-off QoS in the Ooma Telo. But it doesn’t seem to do that for all Ooma Telo users. What happens is it seems that with settings of Zero, that the Ooma Telo QoS seems to somehow kick in, or there is some kind of negative interaction between the Router and Ooma QoS functions, which then intermittently loads down their Internet LAN connections to very slow speeds. Many people find that using somewhere between 80% & 90% of measured Upload and download speeds works best; so it doesn't load down their Internet LAN connections. Many people will use the Speedtest.net or Phonepower Speedtest results to find their speeds "sweet spot" after multiple tests are run. Reports lately are that around 90% seems to be working best. My connection is Modem-Router-Ooma, and I have always had problems setting my Upload and Download speeds to Zero. In the past I have set both readings to numbers much higher than the measured Upload and Download readings for my Internet connection. But after the latest firmware updates came out, and after seeing a post in this forum, I lowered mine to 90% also, and it's been working great for me.

[joe123]

Thunderbird:

Do you realize that having the Ooma Telo behind the Router with a 90% UP/Down stream on the Ooma is not really 90%?

The router takes a percent (varies, but it takes a chunck) of the available bandwith to spread accross all available ports and wifi.

So if you set your Ooma to 90%, you are actually setting it to ~72%. On my Netgear Router, I ran some tests with HD video streaming on port 4. Ooma is set to port 1. When I change the QoS of these two ports and had HD video running and also doing the Speedtest from Ooma web page, there was at least a 20% difference (more depending on the video content).

So a rough number for my router is that setting my Router port QoS to Highest available setting for Ooma, it only produced around 80% or less of available bandwidth to Ooma. This is *because* my router has to devote *some* bandwith (no matter how low QoS) to other devices.

So setting Ooma to 90% (Modem-Router-Ooma) when other things are taking bandwidth is really NOT 90%. 90% would be true IF Ooma was before my router (Modem-Ooma-Router).

So the 90% rule is not the same with Modem-Router-Ooma verses Modem-Ooma-Router.

Thus why, correct me if I am wrong, you want to set Ooma to 100% when Ooma is BEHIND the router ( Modem-Router-Ooma ).

[murphy]

With Ooma behind the router, and nothing connected to the Home port, QOS in the Ooma has no meaning. There is no data flow through the Ooma that needs to be controlled. Set both values to zero to turn off the QOS code in the Ooma and forget about it.

[thunderbird]

Thunderbird:
Do you realize that having the Ooma Telo behind the Router with a 90% UP/Down stream on the Ooma is not really 90%?

Yes, and the actuals will very as the Internet load varies through out the day.

The router takes a percent (varies, but it takes a chunck) of the available bandwith to spread accross all available ports and wifi.

So if you set your Ooma to 90%, you are actually setting it to ~72%. On my Netgear Router, I ran some tests with HD video streaming on port 4. Ooma is set to port 1. When I change the QoS of these two ports and had HD video running and also doing the Speedtest from Ooma web page, there was at least a 20% difference (more depending on the video content).

So a rough number for my router is that setting my Router port QoS to Highest available setting for Ooma, it only produced around 80% or less of available bandwidth to Ooma. This is *because* my router has to devote *some* bandwith (no matter how low QoS) to other devices.

So setting Ooma to 90% (Modem-Router-Ooma) when other things are taking bandwidth is really NOT 90%. 90% would be true IF Ooma was before my router (Modem-Ooma-Router).

So the 90% rule is not the same with Modem-Router-Ooma verses Modem-Ooma-Router.

Thus why, correct me if I am wrong, you want to set Ooma to 100% when Ooma is BEHIND the router ( Modem-Router-Ooma ).

If you want 100% set your Upload and Download QoS settings to Zero as I mentioned previously, that Ooma recommends for Modem-Router-Ooma connections.
But now you now have the advantage of knowing what a few other Ooma users are experiencing. If your have dramatic LAN speeds slow downs, you will know what to do. If you have time you can test with numbers higher than the measured speeds to see what the actuals are.

Be sure to change MAC address from Automatic to Use Built In. If not, many people experience dropped calls, and Dramatic LAN speed slow downs also.

[joe123]

Be sure to change MAC address from Automatic to Use Built In. If not, many people experience dropped calls, and Dramatic LAN speed slow downs also.

What is the difference from Built In verses Use Custom with respect to the issue of dropped calls? Is Built in and Custom the same with respect to this issue? I am using Custom because I am setting the machine address all to "AA" so that I can recognize Ooma on my network easlily.

Should I switch it back to use Built to avoid the possible dropped call syndrom?

[joe123]

With Ooma behind the router, and nothing connected to the Home port, QOS in the Ooma has no meaning. There is no data flow through the Ooma that needs to be controlled. Set both values to zero to turn off the QOS code in the Ooma and forget about it.

Ah! That is correct, thank you for clarifying that.

The QoS on Ooma is for data traffic going from the Interner Port to the Home Port. With Modem-Router-Ooma, the Ooma Home Port is not used (no ethernet cable) and thus QoS is a moot point.

Thanks for clarifying that, that was my wrong understanding.

[murphy]

What is the difference from Built In verses Use Custom with respect to the issue of dropped calls? Is Built in and Custome the same with this respect? I am using Custom because I am setting the machine address all to "AA" so that I can recognize Ooma on my network easlily.

Should I switch it back to use Built to avoid the possible dropped call syndrom?

Custom is fine. The problem is with the Automatic selection. Automatic usually starts using the built-in address. Then for whatever reason it decides to spoof the MAC address of the device connected to the Home port. In the modem-ooma-router configuration this is the MAC address of the router's WAN port. The instant this happens the connection through the modem is blocked because the modem is configured to accept the first MAC address that requests a connection. All subsequent requests from different MAC addresses are ignored. This is how your ISP guarantees that you can't get more than one IP address from them. Power cycling the modem makes it forget the MAC address that it memorized.

You should not be changing MAC addresses to random numbers. No two devices on the internet are allowed to have the same MAC address. Think of the problems that can ensue if two people are assigned the same phone number. The MAC address is a piece of digital hardware's "phone number".