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Little off topic but could use advice

Started by mmd, March 03, 2011, 04:00:04 AM

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mmd

Not ancient but you guys know telephony better than anyone else I know.

I got myself one of those old modems for my Sega Genesis game console..  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Meganet

I use it through VoIP, and it works sometimes..  Sometimes when I dialup to a friends, I can play a game just fine, but sometimes it just gets kicked off, like the line disconnected..  The VoIP box (the vonage box I fixed, it did this before the fix btw), shows that the line is still active, and if I pick up a phone it sounds like they are just sitting quiet, no communications, then his will hangup the line..  He doesn't have VoIP.

I thought that perhaps the modem was bad.  Nope, does it on another modem too, even tried a different Genesis (tried a japanese mega drive, same thing!).  So I tried a regular land line at the neighbors house, works FINE, matter of fact, works perfect.

Is there some extra number I need to dial to perhaps make VoIP work with modems then?  Or some trick I'm missing?

I could try and call sega, but lol, this modem and console is from the late 80's, I don't think they'll give a hoot.  But the games are SO fun and I really want to do an old school multiplayer..

I did actually try calling Vonage, but they didn't want any part of it, even if it was a fax machine..
Brandon
Western Electric 302, 500

Dan/Panther

mmd;
Does the group you connect to have an option to lock out, kick off, or disconnect a player ? Some of the older game groups had that option. If two or more agreed you can be disconnected for whatever reason from that particular session.
I'm not even sure if that is what you are connected to.

D/P

The More People I meet, The More I Love, and MISS My Dog.  Dan Robinson

mmd

Nah, I'm just dialing up another console directly, like peer to peer.  No main server or anything.
Brandon
Western Electric 302, 500

Adam

#3
Remember, VoIP is VOICE over ip.  Not data.

Because of things like connection lag and jitter (packet retry) VOIP connections are just hit-and-miss for applications like FAX and modems which assume a steady stream of signal over an analog connection.

How is your ATA connected to the Internet?  If it is connected through a router, the router may have settings which can optimize VOIP use.  This is called QOS.

You might also try to make sure nobody else tries to the use your internet connection for anything while you're on the modem.  Any other internet use takes away bandwidth that the VOIP connection could be using, causing conditions like lag or jitter that the modem doesn't like.  There are applications that could be running in your computer(s) that use bandwidth without you actually being there, like file sharing and Skype.

The better your internet connection, the better your FAX/modem use will be.  The better your connection to your SIP PSTN provider, the better your FAX/modem use will be.  Some SIP PSTN providers work better than others for this, depending on their quality of connection and your closeness to their server, among other factors.

This is a common problem with VOIP users who find they cannot connect their alarm dialers or Direct TV boxes to their new VOIP line.
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

mmd

My VoIP box is connected to my Cisco Catalyst switch, setup on a VLAN to the modem directly.  Being my ISP provisioned our modem on a per IP basis and not on a per modem MAC basis, the VoIP gets full 10mbps down and 1mbps up, despite if my actual home network (on another VLAN behind a powerful router with a 680MHz CPU), using up it's bandwidth.

Someone told me I should try changing my VoIP boxes codec, but I don't even see that as being possible, it's onscreen menu is a little limited.  It does have a web GUI, but I never even tried to access it.
Brandon
Western Electric 302, 500

Adam

#5
Quote from: mmd on March 03, 2011, 01:12:02 PM
Being my ISP provisioned our modem on a per IP basis and not on a per modem MAC basis, the VoIP gets full 10mbps down and 1mbps up, despite if my actual home network (on another VLAN behind a powerful router with a 680MHz CPU), using up it's bandwidth.

This doesn't make sense to my brain, you only have a certain size pipe to the world, if one application in your house is using some of it, another application can't get all of it.  But, there's lots of recent internet electronics that I'm not up on...

Quote from: mmd on March 03, 2011, 01:12:02 PM
Someone told me I should try changing my VoIP boxes codec

Yes, as you have Vonage, it's very unlikely you'd be able to do that, as they supply the ATA and it's locked to them.  Only VoIP users who have a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) kind of a service, like CallCentric or VoIP.ms, have options like this.

Those other companies I mentioned, by the way, offer great service at MUCH LOWER COST than Vonage.
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

mmd

I work in the cable industry, so I understand it clearly.  There's two ways to provision a modem, per IP, or per modem MAC.  Per IP means every IP the modem gives has a max speed, and per MAC means the modem itself can't go over a certain speed.  Each DOCSIS format however has it's limit, so while you could in theory provision any modem to do say, 9999999Gbps, if it's DOCSIS 1-2, it'll be like 42Mbps the best it can really do.  Since I have 2 IP devices connected to the modem via a switch, the modem can address each device independently, and each device gets it's own 10Mbps/1Mbps pipe as the modem can do a max of 42Mbps down and 10Mbps up, so it's well within range of it's capabilities.
Brandon
Western Electric 302, 500

Adam

I wonder if a "VOIP accelerator" type product may help?

http://tinyurl.com/47yoo8g

If it does anything to keep your packet transmission as efficient as possible, that may help any kind of device that was designed to be used on an analog connection.
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820

mmd

Not too sure how that'll work considering it's not going through a router.  Kinda expensive for what it is though.  Seems like something that is just for QoS, when most routers these days have that feature built in.
Brandon
Western Electric 302, 500

Adam

I'm not sure because it's really hard to find good documentation on these things, but my impression is that these devices do more than QOS.

I think QOS has to do with insuring percentage of bandwidth.  But these devices also claim to do "packet prioritization", insuring concurrent packets are sent together, which is significant for VOIP because it means less jitter.  Do routers that do QOS have that feature?

I use one made by Hawking and it seems to have improved my voice call quality.  But you're right, they are pricey.
Adam Forrest
Los Angeles Telephone - A proud part of the global C*Net System
C*Net 1-383-4820