The following article will guide you through setting up QoS service settings on the WRT54G Wireless-G Broadband Router.

NOTE: Quality of Service (QoS) functionality with the WRT54G was added with firmware version 2.03.4.  If you have an earlier version than this, or if you do not see the QoS options in your router pages as seen throughout this article, be sure to upgrade your router to the latest firmware version.  See Answer ID 1508 for more information about upgrading the WRT54G’s firmware.

What is QoS?

QoS is a popular feature that “guarantees” better service to selected traffic on a network. The goal in configuring QoS is to give priority and attention to certain devices or services so that they can use the maximum available throughput and speed available on a certain network when it is needed. In the case of a Freevoice PBX Asterisk server priority priority needs to be given to the Freevoice PBX Asterisk server.

Accessing the Router’s Setup Page

1. Once in the Router’s Setup page, click on the Applications and Gaming tab.
2. Next, click on the QoS sub-tab.
3. Select the Enable option to turn on QoS features.
   
   NOTE:  If you do not see the QoS sub-tab, you must upgrade your router’s firmware to the latest version.  See Answer ID 1508 for more information.

The WRT54G offers three (3) different types of Quality of Service (QoS) options: MAC Address-based, Application-based, and Port-based. Choose the appropriate type for your needs. For a Freevoice PBX Asterisk Server we will use MAC Address-based QOS, assigning the highest priority. 

·         MAC Address-based QoS:  In the Device Priority section, you can specify the hardware MAC address of the computer or device that you wish to give priority to.  You can assign a Low or High priority for up to two (2) specific MAC addresses found on your local network.

      Freevoice PBX Asterisk Server QOS: Enter FreevoicePBX for the device name, set the priority to High, then enter the MAC address of the local ethernet card in the Freevoice PBX server. The MAC Address can be found by logging into the  Network Settings page in the Freevoice PBX/Trixbox admin. 

·         Port-based QoS:   In the Ethernet Port Priority section, you can control bandwidth according to which of the physical LAN ports your computer or device is plugged into.  You can assign a Low or High priority to computers or devices connected to any of the router’s LAN ports (1 through 4). 

NOTE: You can also Enable or Disable “Flow Control” for each LAN port, which is a technique that controls the speed at which data is received.  If Flow Control is enabled for a certain port, then a receiving device is not overwhelmed with data as it is coming in.  You can even control the flow further by specifying the Incoming Rate Limit to a certain speed.

·         Application-based QoS: In the Application Priority section, you can control bandwidth with respect to a specific application being used on the network.  You can assign a Low or High priority to a particular application or service.  There are several pre-configured Web services that use well-known ports, like FTP and HTTP, which you can use.  You can also customize up to three different applications by entering an Application Name and the Specific   Port # that the software application uses.  If you are unsure of the port number that is used for a particular application, contact the software manufacturer for more information.

4.  When you have finished configuring QoS settings, click on Save Settings button to save your changes.