VoIP Call Quality Monitoring and Testing

Minimize network jitter and maximize VoIP call quality

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Monitor Call Quality

Use VoIP Quality Tests

Prevent Issues

Correlate Call Quality

Monitor VoIP call quality metrics like packet loss, jitter, and network latency

VoIP Call Quality Test Monitor VoIP Metrics

VoIP quality tests allow you to closely monitor VoIP calls and generate real-time alerts when critical call performance thresholds are exceeded. VoIP call quality monitoring can also help you correlate call performance metrics with IP SLA operations to troubleshoot poor call quality and WAN performance.

SolarWinds^® VoIP & Network Quality Manager (VNQM) is designed to allow you to more easily use VoIP quality statistics to visualize site-to-site network performance, including the direction of performance issues.

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Use VoIP quality test software to monitor and reduce network jitter

Network jitter refers to variation in the latency between data packets, which can significantly reduce VoIP call quality. By monitoring calls and call detail records (CDRs), SolarWinds VNQM can give you real-time and historical insights into the VoIP call quality metrics to help you gauge and troubleshoot performance. You can even search and filter CDRs based on specific jitter metrics, common error codes, and threshold limits to help you drill down on specific issues with individual calls or connections.

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Prevent issues that can impact VoIP call quality by using proactive monitoring solutions

A lot of factors can affect VoIP quality, so testing and monitoring performance metrics like Mean Opinion Score (MOS), network jitter, packet loss, and network latency is crucial to maximizing VoIP call quality.

Using a VoIP quality test software like VNQM, you can start monitoring VoIP call performance metrics and gain a top-down view of call records to help you quickly identify VoIP call quality, WAN performance issues, and discover IP SLA-capable nodes.

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Extend VoIP quality testing by correlating call quality to network device performance

In addition to providing powerful tools for troubleshooting VoIP call quality, VNQM can also integrate with SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor to allow you to view detailed network performance metrics with a direct impact on VoIP quality, including CPU and memory utilization, interface status and utilization, latency, and response time of IP SLA source devices.

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Get More on VoIP Quality Tests

Do you find yourself asking…

How can I improve my VoIP call quality?
What factors can influence voice quality in VoIP calls?
What is the maximum latency for VoIP?
How does VoIP call quality monitoring work in SolarWinds VNQM?

VoIP calling offers several benefits for businesses, including reduced costs, flexible call and extension routing, and accessibility. However, these benefits aren’t useful if the VoIP call quality is unacceptable. An effective way to improve VoIP call quality is to ensure your hardware is up to date. Category 6 (CAT6) Ethernet cables, for instance, can send data twice as fast as CAT5 cables, and upgrading your Ethernet cable can often solve minor VoIP quality issues. Jitter buffers, which can be configured with the assistance of your VoIP vendor, are another common way to improve call quality. These function by briefly holding data packets in order before releasing them at even intervals into your network, helping ensure voice data is delivered accurately and intelligibly. VoIP-optimized routers or routers with Quality of Service (QoS) features are another option to improve VoIP call quality. These devices prioritize certain kinds of network traffic (such as VoIP calls) or dedicate a percentage of overall bandwidth to specific forms of traffic to maximize quality. Bandwidth usage can have a direct effect on VoIP call quality, so monitoring your network traffic and tracking VoIP call performance metrics is a crucial component of improving call quality. Using network monitoring software solutions can help you more easily monitor and protect data packet streams that transfer VoIP data, so you can more easily see which devices or routes might be creating bottlenecks, increasing latency, or impeding traffic.

VoIP calling offers several benefits for businesses, including reduced costs, flexible call and extension routing, and accessibility. However, these benefits aren’t useful if the VoIP call quality is unacceptable. An effective way to improve VoIP call quality is to ensure your hardware is up to date. Category 6 (CAT6) Ethernet cables, for instance, can send data twice as fast as CAT5 cables, and upgrading your Ethernet cable can often solve minor VoIP quality issues. Jitter buffers, which can be configured with the assistance of your VoIP vendor, are another common way to improve call quality. These function by briefly holding data packets in order before releasing them at even intervals into your network, helping ensure voice data is delivered accurately and intelligibly. VoIP-optimized routers or routers with Quality of Service (QoS) features are another option to improve VoIP call quality. These devices prioritize certain kinds of network traffic (such as VoIP calls) or dedicate a percentage of overall bandwidth to specific forms of traffic to maximize quality. Bandwidth usage can have a direct effect on VoIP call quality, so monitoring your network traffic and tracking VoIP call performance metrics is a crucial component of improving call quality. Using network monitoring software solutions can help you more easily monitor and protect data packet streams that transfer VoIP data, so you can more easily see which devices or routes might be creating bottlenecks, increasing latency, or impeding traffic.
Since VoIP calls work by translating sound into data packets and sending them as data packets via the internet, anything with an effect on bandwidth and connectivity can impact VoIP call quality. Transmission delays caused by network interference can also result in data packets being sent or received out of order or cause them to not arrive. This will have a noticeable impact on VoIP call quality, often causing jumbled or unintelligible sound.
The most common factors affecting VoIP call quality are:
Latency: Also known as “lag,” latency is commonly measured in milliseconds and refers to the delay between when an instruction is given to send data and when the transfer begins. In the context of VoIP quality tests, there are two ways latency can occur. The first is in the time it takes for the sound of one person speaking to reach the other, and the second is the time the VoIP application requires to translate sound into data packets and send them. An increase in the time it takes for either of these processes will likely also increase latency and have a noticeable effect on VoIP call quality.
Jitter: In ideal situations, VoIP data packets are sent in a continuous stream with even spaces between them. When the latency between individual data packets varies, it’s known as jitter. Network congestion is the primary contributor to jitter, which can create significant disruption in VoIP quality.
Packet Loss: Packet loss refers to when data packets don’t reach their destination. This can lead to jitter, gaps in sound on the receiving end, garbled sound, and even absence of received signals entirely.
Most end users may notice changes in VoIP call quality when roundtrip latency reaches 250ms or more. The recommended one-way latency for VoIP calls is 150ms, but it’s important to remember this is for the entirety of the voice path.
A variety of factors can contribute to latency. These include:
Location: The farther that data has to travel, the longer it will take to get there. Distance is one of the most significant contributors to latency in VoIP call quality.
Network Congestion: Generally, the more data being transmitted, the slower the network traffic will move. Latency is an important VoIP call quality metric to monitor because if it’s consistently higher than desired or acceptable, it could indicate more bandwidth is needed. Proper network management can help avoid over-provisioning and oversubscribing.
Network Hardware: Having all the bandwidth in the world won’t do you much good if you have outdated or faulty hardware. Some routers have governors in place to limit data transmission rates, and other devices may have limited or reduced processing power, so it’s important to ensure your hardware infrastructure can support your VoIP solutions. Wired networks typically experience less latency than their wireless counterparts because they aren’t affected by wireless interference, physical distance, or architectural features like concrete walls.
Network Software and Configuration: The configuration of network devices like routers and switches can impact the efficiency of throughput, and security software like firewalls can delay transmission if improperly configured. Ensuring device and application configurations are optimized is key to maximizing VoIP quality.
Using VoIP quality monitoring software to track and manage the transit latencies of your own network can help you more easily keep latency below 150ms and abide by network SLAs that may specify maximum latencies.