| Garry W 2005-05-24, 5:46 pm |
| Garry W <YahooMail@extremelyserious.org> wrote:
>So... I think I'll just wait... I just ordered Packet8. They have fewer of
>the features I need than Vonage, but maybe they'll have better voice-lag
>time. And maybe their box will handle the QoS problem better.
Well, got the Packet8. A "BPA 410" telephone box, with essentially zero
documentation. Not a router, not a NAT, no DHCP, no nothin'. Does have one
extra LAN port, which appears to be a straight pass-through (i.e., the box
acts as a 1-port ethernet hub).
Given the lack of routing, it can only be put at the head of the food chain
if it and the next thing down can -each- be given their own real Internet IP
numbers. I don't have that ability, so no way to test head-of-food-chain QoS
handling.
(The only recommended installation is =after= a router, as a leaf node. Yes,
according to Packet8 you must have a router to be able to set up the device.)
That said,
The thing doesn't seem to =care= that it's not at the head food chain! I ran
multiple ftp's simultaneously with a phone call, and I found it impossible to
get a phone burble.
Unfortunately.... the Packet8 service, as implemented through this box, does
suffer from a nasty voice-lag time. That may be how they avoid the burbles:
they don't even try to keep the conversation real-time.
(The Vonage, plugged into the identical DSL port, has a really small
voice-lag.)
So I'll be packing the Packet8 up now and cancelling the account.
Sigh.
After a lot of research and experimentation, I've about had it with VoiP.
Maybe I should wait and try the technology again in a few years.
Garry
|