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Monitoring IP Connections

Contents

Connection Details

The number of active audio streams and connections is displayed on the Home screen via Cxns. In the following image two connections (left bracketed number) and two audio streams (right bracketed number) are currently in use.

Home screen - 2 x connections and streams

1.Press the HOME button to return to the Home screen.

2.Use the navigation buttons to select Cxns and press the button.

3.If only a single IP audio stream is connected, the Connected IP screen displays details of the active connection. When multiple audio streams are connected, navigate to the one you want to view in the Connections screen and press the button to view more details.

For IP connections you can view the IP address dialed and the LQ (link quality) on the screen. Use the down navigation button to view the algorithm being used, the connection bit rate, total bytes used and the amount of jitter buffer delay over the IP network.

Connected IP-IP address and LQ displayed

Link Quality (LQ) Readings

Send and return LQ numbers can also help to determine if a problem is occurring at either end of a connection. For example, on an IP connection the Return reading represents the audio being downloaded from the network locally (i.e. audio data is being sent by the remote codec). Conversely, the Send link quality reading represents the audio data being sent by the local codec (i.e. being downloaded by the remote codec). To ensure a stable connection, try to maintain a reliable reading of 80 or higher for both the Send and Return LQ reading.

Important Note:

•The Return link quality reading is the same as the Local (L) setting displayed on a G3 codec.

•The Send link quality reading is the same as the Remote (R) setting displayed on a G3 codec.

Viewing Connection Statistics

Navigate to Status in the Connected IP screen and press the button to display the Cxn Stats (connection statistics) screen. This displays the performance of the codec in sending IP audio packets across the network. Analysis is historic and assessed over 60 seconds and 10 minutes of connection time.

Cxn Stats screen explanation 1

	Feature	Description
1	Lost Packets	Packets sent that failed to arrive
2	Empty (Jitter Buffer)	Indicates how often the jitter buffer ‘reservoir’ empties causing loss of audio
3	Late Packets	The number of packets that arrive late, i.e. after audio play out
4	FEC Packets	Indicates the number of forward error correction (FEC) packets that have been sent if it is enabled in the codec
5	1 minute	Statistics listed for the last minute of network activity
6	10 minutes	Statistics for the last 10 minutes of network activity

Important Note: If the jitter buffer, FEC or the connection bit rate is changed, we recommend assessing a minute of recent connection performance in preference to 10 minutes of historical connection performance. 10 minutes of data will include connection settings which may no longer be relevant. ‘Packet arrival history’ is cleared when you hang up a connection.

Following is a packet arrival analysis table with solutions for any noticeable packet loss statistics displayed on the screen.

Packet Analysis	Displays	Possible Causes	Possible Solutions
Loss	Packets sent and that failed to arrive.	•LAN/WAN congestion •Unreliable ISPs •Unreliable networks •Inferior IP hardware	•Renegotiate connection bit rate downwards •If link quality good add or increase FEC as required •Assess ISPs QoS if very bad performance
Empty	Indicates how often the jitter buffer ‘reservoir’ empties causing loss of audio.	•High number of packets being lost or arriving late •Signal dropouts using cell-phone networks •Renegotiation causes the jitter buffer reservoir to empty	•Once could be an anomaly – assess lost & late packets •If many lost packets and network is unreliable – renegotiate bit rate and /or FEC down •If many late packets, increase jitter buffer
Late	The number of packets that arrive late and after audio play out.	•Network congestion •Jitter Buffer depth is too low	•Auto-jitter buffer will adjust automatically •For manual jitter buffer settings increase jitter buffer depth 50-100 ms & reassess (if only a few packets arrive late over time, audio repairs will be automatic and may not require buffer changes).
FECd	Indicates the number of FEC repaired packets if FEC active.	•Packets have been lost or corrupted over the network	•Assess audio quality & the number of FEC repairs – if many packets are being ‘lost’ perhaps reduce FEC &/or renegotiate bit rate down.