how to configure QoS
wowlag
Newbie

imagethis is my ping when my dad watches his stupid asian drama whose servers are probably in asia. so fustrating how he hogs all the internet to himself. i cant do anything online -_-. i want to prioritize the internet a little more in my favor using the QoS but idk how since it's not in the same format as it used to be

image

*this is just my ping. my download speed is in the 0._ _ mb/s

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Re: how to configure QoS
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader

That is what I'm looking for.

Based on what I see so far, the easiest option here is to consider purchasing an Internet connection that is fast enough for the job. In this case, you will want to choose a connection that is faster than the maximum bitrate of the stream, but not rediculously fast to the point where the connection is a waste of money. 7Mbps is a good starting point, as most streaming services do not exceed 6Mbps bit rates. This gives the stream headroom to play at max quality, while providing headroom for your game and for other applications on the network to use. That in addition to using a router that has an "Automatic QoS"  engine for games will improve service.

For setting up QoS, there's a few things to keep in mind. One is the type of traffic you have. Games utilize a protocol known as UDP. That is a real time protocol that is designed for delivery of data that is not requesting reliability. For example, if your game's traffic is being lost due to packet loss, or is getting delayed due to latency, UDP has no checks in place to monitor for this. Basically, you're shooting blanks into the air and hoping they all land in the right spot. Other services, like streaming media, utilize a protocol known as TCP. TCP is designed for reliability rather than "real time" and uses a series of checks between the two remote computers to ensure data is being reliably delivered. Most streaming services today utilize HTTP or HTTPs, which utilizes the TCP protocol.

The second thing to keep in mind is how TCP is designed for reliability. TCP avoids losing data by using special data packets known as "ACKs" or Acknowledgements. As a computer sends data to another computer, the "other" computer sends data back upon receiving data indicating that the data was received successfully and checks out. if a connection is being overloaded, or if data is not arriving in a timely manner (latency or "high ping"), TCP will slow down the data rate, retransmit the data, and then maintain a reliable transfer rate until the connection improves.

With that said, the way to shape in this case, is to affect the "ACK" traffic of TCP. By slowing down the ACK traffic just slightly, this will slow down the transfer rate of the stream.

The third thing is about QoS in general. Most routers treat QoS as "defined rule" or "default rule" buckets. A defined rule, is traffic that matches a rule set up in QoS on the router. Default rules, is a catchall for all traffic that is not matching any rule. If you are targeting a specific type of traffic, you will need to make sure you create accurate rules to reliably flag the type of traffic. All other traffic should then be either classified with other rules, or thrown into the default rule.

Some things to look for during your search:

  • Verify what kind of traffic the streaming service uses. Most should be using TCP as I pointed out.
  • Look up what a TOS BIT is, and determine what the TOS bit for an ACK is on TCP.
  • Keep in mind that an IP address filled in as 0.0.0.0 typically means "Any"
  • Your netmask is otherwise known as the "subnet mask." If you are trying to slow down ACK data, you will likely use the netmask of 225.255.255.0

I don't have experience with how the ActionTecs handle QoS, so this is a case of spending some time to research network protocols and discovering how your network reacts based upon the types of rules you make, and finally, adjusting your rules as traffic changes. Don't be afraid to make a mistake - the worst that can happen is you have to remove the rules created.

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Re: how to configure QoS
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader

Asian dramas? Good choice! 

To start, what router or gateway are you using? Also what speed package does your home subscribe to? Most of the time, the QOS settings apply to only upload traffic, and the downstream traffic is uncontrolled. In this case we may be able to configure downstream, but take note that much of the latency is occurring on Verizon's end.  The latency is caused when the data queues up on the edge router at Verizon's end, before it is delivered to the DSLAM which will deliver the data to your home. 

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Re: how to configure QoS
wowlag
Newbie

Hey! thanks for the reply!

its the only drama they watch. nothing i can do about that.

its an actiontec GT784WNV router. and the speed package is 3 mb/s for $38 a month i think.

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Re: how to configure QoS
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader

Thanks. I edited my above post with some more useful information. Does the actiontec give you any option for displaying or enabling downstream QoS rules? It seems the manual on actiontec's website indicates the gateway can do downstream traffic shaping, but it is possible the Verizon gateway has this functionality stripped. 

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Re: how to configure QoS
wowlag
Newbie

image

this is what it shows entirely. not sure if this is what you're asking for tho.

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Re: how to configure QoS
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader

That is what I'm looking for.

Based on what I see so far, the easiest option here is to consider purchasing an Internet connection that is fast enough for the job. In this case, you will want to choose a connection that is faster than the maximum bitrate of the stream, but not rediculously fast to the point where the connection is a waste of money. 7Mbps is a good starting point, as most streaming services do not exceed 6Mbps bit rates. This gives the stream headroom to play at max quality, while providing headroom for your game and for other applications on the network to use. That in addition to using a router that has an "Automatic QoS"  engine for games will improve service.

For setting up QoS, there's a few things to keep in mind. One is the type of traffic you have. Games utilize a protocol known as UDP. That is a real time protocol that is designed for delivery of data that is not requesting reliability. For example, if your game's traffic is being lost due to packet loss, or is getting delayed due to latency, UDP has no checks in place to monitor for this. Basically, you're shooting blanks into the air and hoping they all land in the right spot. Other services, like streaming media, utilize a protocol known as TCP. TCP is designed for reliability rather than "real time" and uses a series of checks between the two remote computers to ensure data is being reliably delivered. Most streaming services today utilize HTTP or HTTPs, which utilizes the TCP protocol.

The second thing to keep in mind is how TCP is designed for reliability. TCP avoids losing data by using special data packets known as "ACKs" or Acknowledgements. As a computer sends data to another computer, the "other" computer sends data back upon receiving data indicating that the data was received successfully and checks out. if a connection is being overloaded, or if data is not arriving in a timely manner (latency or "high ping"), TCP will slow down the data rate, retransmit the data, and then maintain a reliable transfer rate until the connection improves.

With that said, the way to shape in this case, is to affect the "ACK" traffic of TCP. By slowing down the ACK traffic just slightly, this will slow down the transfer rate of the stream.

The third thing is about QoS in general. Most routers treat QoS as "defined rule" or "default rule" buckets. A defined rule, is traffic that matches a rule set up in QoS on the router. Default rules, is a catchall for all traffic that is not matching any rule. If you are targeting a specific type of traffic, you will need to make sure you create accurate rules to reliably flag the type of traffic. All other traffic should then be either classified with other rules, or thrown into the default rule.

Some things to look for during your search:

  • Verify what kind of traffic the streaming service uses. Most should be using TCP as I pointed out.
  • Look up what a TOS BIT is, and determine what the TOS bit for an ACK is on TCP.
  • Keep in mind that an IP address filled in as 0.0.0.0 typically means "Any"
  • Your netmask is otherwise known as the "subnet mask." If you are trying to slow down ACK data, you will likely use the netmask of 225.255.255.0

I don't have experience with how the ActionTecs handle QoS, so this is a case of spending some time to research network protocols and discovering how your network reacts based upon the types of rules you make, and finally, adjusting your rules as traffic changes. Don't be afraid to make a mistake - the worst that can happen is you have to remove the rules created.

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