Network Configuration

Router Considerations

You can use any router you like, but Fonality will only provide installation advice and settings for our recommended router.  There are simply too many routers in the marketplace today for Fonality to qualify every single model on every single version of firmware available.

When you are selecting a router for VoIP, please keep in mind the following:

• Built-in RAM - the amount of physical memory available for network traffic determines the limits of how much data your router can handle at any given second.  While your router may have a transmission rate of 54 Gigabits per second or better, there are not 54 Gigabits of RAM hard-wired into the router, so if all 54 Gigabits worth of data arrived at the exact same second, some of it would need to be dropped.  Purchase a router with at least 32 MB of on-board RAM for best results.  The higher the better.
• QoS - Quality of Service controls in the administrative interface of your router are a must.  These options may take the form of:
  • Port Prioritization where you grant one physical port (LAN1, LAN2, etc.) on the router a higher priority than all the others.  Make sure your router can prioritize traffic.
  • Protocol & Port Prioritization where you instruct the router that UDP traffic on port 5060and any port between 10000-20000 is the most important.
• Security - nearly every wireless router available to the SOHO user these days includes security options for securing your wireless access.  Fonality recommends enabling WPA encryption with astrong password (e.g. 2A2adh765hlkj!) to prevent unauthorized access to your network via the wireless access point.
• PoE (optional) - Power over Ethernet is not a requirement for Fonality Connect service, but it eliminates the need for a power cable connecting your phone to a wall outlet.  In any office environment, the fewer cables required to make your infrastructure function - the better!  Routers that support PoE will cost more than non-PoE routers, but if you can afford it, Fonality strongly recommends using a PoE-enabled router (we use them here at HQ).

Recommended Routers

Fonality recommends two routers for all Fonality Connect clients, the TRENDnet TEW-633GR Wireless N router and the D-Link DIR-655 Wireless N router. To ensure the best possible call quality and product stability, we request you make the following adjustments to each routers firewall.

Configuring the DIR-655

Basic SIP setup

1. Connect the Internet port on the router to your Cable or DSL modem with a standard Ethernet cable
2. Connect the port labeled LAN1 on the router to your phone via a standard Ethernet cable
3. Connect the port labeled LAN2 on the router to your computer via a standard Ethernet cable (disable your computer's wireless temporarily)
4. Open a web browser on your computer (Fonality recommends Firefox!)
5. In the address bar, type in 192.168.0.1 (or try 192.168.10.1) and click GO or press ENTER
6. You will be directed to an admin login page, login with admin and leave the password blank (i.e. don't type anything).  Click LOGIN  
7. Select Advanced from the menu at the top.
8.  Enable the QOS engine. Note: There *are* more options (not shown) on this page, but they are not required nor are they recommended.
9. The page also displays the Measured Uplink Speed of your connection.  It is important that your Measured Uplink Speed matches (or measures extremely close to) your actual uplink speed as reported by your Internet Service Provider.  For example: If you purchased a 5 MB Cable modem with 768 Kbps uplink, but the TRENDnet router only reports 256 Kbps uplink - contact your carrier immediately.
10. Click Save Settings (top of page) to apply your changes.  Continue.
11. From the list of options on the left, click on "Firewall".  Scroll down to the bottom of the page and UNcheck the box next to SIP under ALG settings.
12. Click Save Settings (top of page) to apply your changes.  Continue.
13. Select SETUP from the menu at the top of the page.
14. Select NETWORK SETTINGS from the menu on the left.
15. Click Save Settings (top of page) to apply your changes. Reboot your router. 

Your D-Link DIR 655 Wireless N router is now configured and ready for use with the Fonality Connectsystem!

Configuring the TEW-633GR

Basic SIP Setup

1. Connect the BLUE port on the router to your Cable or DSL modem with a standard Ethernet cable
2. Connect the port labeled LAN1 on the router to your phone via a standard Ethernet cable
3. Connect the port labeled LAN2 on the router to your computer via a standard Ethernet cable (disable your computer's wireless temporarily)
4. Open a web browser on your computer (Fonality recommends Firefox!)
5. In the address bar, type in 192.168.10.1 and click GO or press ENTER
6. You will be directed to an admin login page, login with admin and leave the password blank (i.e. don't type anything).  Click LOGIN
   
7. Select Advanced from the menu at left
8. Select Streamengine from the list at left
9. Make sure that Enable Streamengine is enabled.  This option is enabled by default, so you likely do not have to do anything.
10. Check the Uplink Speed and set your Connection Type from the drop-down.  It is important that your Uplink Speed match (or measure extremely close) to your actual uplink speed as reported by the carrier.  If you purchased a 5 MB Cable modem with 768 Kbps uplink, but the TRENDnet router only reports 256 Kbps uplink - contact your carrier immediately.
11. Click Save Settings to apply your changes.  Continue.
12. From the list of options on the left, click on "Firewall".  Scroll down the page and UNcheck the box next to SIP under ALG settings.
13. Click Save Settings to apply your changes.  Reboot.

Your Trendnet TEW-633GR is now configured and ready for use with the Fonality Connect system!

Advanced QoS Traffic Prioritization

(This step may not be necessary if "automatic classification" at the top of the page is enabled.)

Go to Advanced -> StreamEngine.

Scroll down, and under "Add StreamEngine Rule", fill in Name: "RTP", Priority: "1", Protocol: "UDP" (from the drop-down), leave the other settings alone, and Destination Port Range: 10000 to 20000".  This should add the StreamEngine Rule shown in the screenshot after you save settings and reboot to apply your changes.

Your router will now prioritize VoIP traffic over all other types of traffic.  When you are not using your phone, the full bandwidth of your connection will be available to any other Internet-enabled device on your network (PCs, network printers, gaming consoles that connect to the Internet, etc.), but any time you are using the phone, the quality of the phone's connection will take priority over all other devices.

Streamengine

Streamengine is a TRENDnet technology that automatically classifies and prioritizes various types of traffic.  In our lab environment, Streamengine accurately and efficiently prioritized VoIP traffic ahead of all other traffic types on the network ensuring crystal-clear call quality.

Wireless N and Cordless phones (Aastra 9480i CT handset)

Wireless Draft N uses channel bonding: Instead of the 20-MHz-wide channels found in previous Wi-Fi standards, 802.11n can use 40-MHz-wide channels, which in theory should double their data-carrying capacity.

Unfortunately, the limited bandwidth of the 2.4-GHz range means that just one 802.11n router using channel bonding will take up virtually the entire 2.4-GHz spectrum, leaving no room for neighboring routers (or devices), and causing severe interference. For this reason, draft-2.0's so-called good-neighbor policies require that routers ship in 20-MHz mode, and that, when in 40-MHz mode, they drop to 20-MHz operation if they sense nearby Wi-Fi nets or other 2.4-GHz devices. The top link rate in 20-MHz mode is only 150 mbps (rather than the much-advertised 300 mbps).

If you are using an Aastra 9480i CT with the cordless handset and a Wireless N router, the wireless speed will automatically scale to operate only in 20 MHz mode meaning you will probably notice a decrease in the speed of your wireless devices (laptops, tablets, netbooks, etc.)

Do I have to use the LAN ports Fonality specifies?

No you don't have to use Port 1 for your phone.  However - we have to standardize on something for our documentation, so LAN1 it is!

Do I have to use the 10000-20000 UDP range?

Yes - SIP audio on the Fonality platform uses 1 port in this range for each phone call.  Because the phone may select ANY random port within this range, we have to prepare ALL the ports for quality.  

Is there a security risk to this configuration?

No - you aren't poking holes in your firewall to the tune of 10,000 ports.  You are only telling the router that legitimate connections using any of these ports should be treated like a VIP by the router.  This isn't the same as opening the ports to the world and allowing everyone to enter your network.

How do I setup my Wi-Fi?

Fonality Support does not cover any router configuration settings beyond the prioritization of VoIP traffic listed above.

Please refer to the Quick Installation Guide that came packaged with your router.

Troubleshooting

If remote phones are having difficulty staying registered, consider reconfiguring the router to use a reliable high-performance primary DNS server such as 8.8.8.8 (Google DNS).