Introduction
QoS, or Quality of Service, is a term used in VoIP circles but often misunderstood and as a consequence rarely implemented, despite the best of intentions. Depending on the network(s) involved in handling your VoIP traffic and in particular the RTP audio element of calls it can make the difference between a better-than-PSTN experience and VoIP being unusable.
In this guide we attempt to clarify some misunderstanding in technically minimal terms and give you a practical guide to ensure you are doing what you can to implement QoS, or at least understanding where your efforts are fruitless and why. We concern ourselves with SIP and RTP here rather than other flavours of VoIP but the principles are fundamentally the same.
We conclude with an Action Plan to give you end-to-end QoS by configuring the elements you control and shining a light on those you can’t. If you’re serious about quality you will know what to look for in replacing the elements you can’t control to optimise the experience for your customers.
