TIPS Testing for crazy

Kevin Morwood

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Hello all!

I am having a small problem with a new PIAF installation. I don't actually think the problem is PIAF...but I have to test (hence the title).

The new installation is running on a new Intel NUC Celeron with 2Gb ram and 128Gb mSATA drive. The distro is PIAF Black. No special extras have been installed. Everything works beautifully on my bench (doesn't it always?).

The problem is the user reports (and I observe) intermittent voice quality issues. Sometimes its clear as a bell and other times whole words go missing. At first I thought it might be the ATA hardware I am using...or the old Pbx that I'm bridging was finally giving up the ghost. So I tried installing a couple known good quality VoIP phones. They exhibit the same problem.

I started to consider the problem was maybe the ISP. That's when I started to wonder if I was crazy. The ISP reports that they see no quality issues on the line.

At different times of the day (read: evening/over-night)...the issue seems to vanish.

I am continuing to read and hunt for other things to test. I am only hoping for a finger pointing to 'go look over there' or similar nudge in some other direction.

Any suggestions? Changing ISP's is being investigated.

Thank you all for any help.

../kevin
 

krzykat

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What else is running on the network? Have you done an internal test - to take the ISP out of play? I like to setup a line that just plays music on hold - so that you can call into it and listen for any audible gaps. If it does it internally - then its not your ISP and you have issues with your internal network.
 

Kevin Morwood

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Excellent idea...w.r.t. the MoH loop.

I have tested the call quality, device-to-device, in the office. No problem noticed. The network is exceptionally simple...but I do know that it only takes one wonky device to kill a network, no matter how small. I will isolate and test further.

Thank you for the idea!
 

jroper

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Hi

Rather than MOH, I use a test tone, this very quickly exposes dropped packets and quality issues.

To implement, add the following at the top of /etc/asterisk/extensions_custom.conf, before any other contexts, i.e anything in [square brackets].


Code:
; Test Tone
exten => *44,1,Answer()
exten => *44,n,Wait(1)
exten => *44,n,Milliwatt()
exten => *44,n,Hangup()

This means when you dial *44 from any extension, you will hear a test tone.

Don't forget to reload Asterisk, unless you are going onto the next step.

Now to add this extension as a custom destination so we can point a DID at it to test incoming calls.

Under Admin, click Custom Destinations, and put the following in the Custom Destination field:

Code:
from-internal,*44,1

Give it a Description like "Test Tone"

Now you can point a DID to it in Inbound Routes for testing from outside to in.

Using a test tone exposes quality issues more easily than MOH, and is easier for user support, as you can get them to dial *44 and they can tell you if it is a continuous tone, or if there are any breaks in it suggesting dropped packets, and poor internet connection.

Joe
 

Kevin Morwood

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Just a quick update.

Crazy was the result. For reasons I will never truly understand, the provider had installed two (2!) modems into this very small office. (One for the front office and one for the back?).

When my client called to check the health of the network the support tech only tested one of the modems. It passed their tests. The tech never tested the second modem. As luck (or lack thereof) would have it...the phone switch was routed through the unevaluated modem...which was definitely having some sort of trouble. Once I figured all of that out...and rebooted the second modem...the PIAF server got back to being the most amazing VoIP server ever.

I am re-wiring the office network this weekend to remove the need (??) for second modem.

And finally, thanks for all the great help.

Kevin
 

hbonath

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Hi

Rather than MOH, I use a test tone, this very quickly exposes dropped packets and quality issues.

To implement, add the following at the top of /etc/asterisk/extensions_custom.conf, before any other contexts, i.e anything in [square brackets].


Code:
; Test Tone
exten => *44,1,Answer()
exten => *44,n,Wait(1)
exten => *44,n,Milliwatt()
exten => *44,n,Hangup()

This means when you dial *44 from any extension, you will hear a test tone.

Don't forget to reload Asterisk, unless you are going onto the next step.

Now to add this extension as a custom destination so we can point a DID at it to test incoming calls.

Under Admin, click Custom Destinations, and put the following in the Custom Destination field:

Code:
from-internal,*44,1

Give it a Description like "Test Tone"

Now you can point a DID to it in Inbound Routes for testing from outside to in.

Using a test tone exposes quality issues more easily than MOH, and is easier for user support, as you can get them to dial *44 and they can tell you if it is a continuous tone, or if there are any breaks in it suggesting dropped packets, and poor internet connection.

Joe


This is an excellent tip - I wasn't aware of the Milliwatt() function.
I have a Sine Wave Sweep that I use for exactly this purpose - I needed it to do some research and reports on the effects of Jitter/Loss with various SIP Phones.
I'll attach it here just in case anyone else would like to use it, the tone method is much easier to hear imperfections than human speech or music.

Just unzip and upload the attached WAV file using System Recordings, name it "chirp_testfile" and add this code to /etc/asterisk/extensions_custom.conf

Code:
exten => *8378,1,Answer()
exten => *8378,n,Wait(1)
exten => *8378,n,Playback(chirp_testfile)
exten => *8378,n,Hangup()

then reload asterisk and dial *8378 (*TEST)
 

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