How are you reading your network results? what tools are you using to investigate issues with Voice Quality. Again for this discussion Voice quality is simply defined as the level of Packet Loss, Jitter or Latency in your RTP Streams, not call drops. No matter HOW you look at the results for Packet Loss, Jitter and Latency the most important thing is to be looking on the correct network path, at the time the event happened, and over time as the network is a living breathing thing that changes second by second depending on the traffic flow at that given time.
Most popular is the Network Utility test running the Monitor Test. This simulates an RTP flow from the device running the tool to our data centers for 24 hours and produces the results. The results can be read yourself (
How to read the Network Utility Tool Results ) or by opening a ticket with support and reviewing the graph with your support agent.
The Ping Plotter test is another great option, (
How to Use Pingplotter for Network Troubleshooting )as it provides details over time, but unlike the Network Utility Test it does not use an RTP flow, but ICMP packets. Using ICMP Packets may (or may not) yield the same results, BUT may provide additional detail on WHERE the issue is happening due to the nature of how the test is performed using "tracert" and multiple ICMP pings.
Another "quick" option is using 8x8's
VoIP Test in your browser, which provides detail on Latency and Jitter (only) to the closest VoIP test server. This test is not as detailed as using Ping Plotter or the Network Utility test, but provides a quick snapshot.
For customers using a SDWAN option such as Velo/VMWare (and have properly configured the device) the built-in tools to monitor packet loss, latency and jitter provide an excellent source of details.
As always for support issues or questions please reach out to 8x8's support team for assistance.
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Paul Chase
8x8 Network Engineer (Pre-Sales and Deployment)
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