What are the best methods for diagnosing and troubleshooting voice quality issues in a voice platform?

Diagnosing and troubleshooting voice quality issues in a voice platform involves methods like packet loss analysis using tools like Wireshark, assessing jitter and latency, and monitoring network bandwidth. Employing Quality of Service mechanisms helps prioritize voice traffic. Conducting codec analysis ensures compatibility and testing equipment and connection identifies potential hardware issues. Analyzing call signaling and checking for echo or noise assists in pinpointing problems. Regularly monitoring and interpreting call detail records provides insights. Collaborate with network administrators and service providers, and employ diagnostic tools to swiftly identify and rectify voice quality issues for optimal communication performance.

Nice to understand get a visual, but it boils down to the integrity of the network within each leg. Phone A to phone A fired or edge Phone A edge to Phone A ISP Internet between A & B Phone B ISP to Phone B edge You get the picture. I never trust metrics

It depends. Is the circuit TDM or VoIP? If TDM, first check switch programming and Central Office continuity. Then check transport (cable, service wire, inside wire) for faults. Isolate and resolve faults and restore service. If VoIP, use appropriate tools to examine switch and router operation. Use appropriate network tools to check transport for circuit integrity; jitter, wander, packet loss. Isolate problem and resolve.

Troubleshooting voice quality issues on a network starts far previous to the cutover date.Communication and documentation are your best friends here.Assuring that all partners understand non-burstable bandwidth, static IP addresses, and communications protocals provides the necessary tools for successful troubleshooting of jitter, loss, and latency should they occur.Providing the tools to the team who must maintain quality in the long run will assure their ability to add a new product, new vendor, or new technology to the infrastructure developed during install with confidence and minimal disruption. Troubleshooting is truly based on knowledge of hardware, software, cabling, and transport inter and intra network long before trouble begins.

Wireshark (or another tool capable to decode RTP streams) packet captures can help us narrow down the source of the issue with these steps. Step 1. Create a simple topology that shows the path that the RTP packets takes. This example uses this topology, the issue is that the customer on the PSTN side has audio quality issues when listens to the user, the user can hear the customer without issue. With this information, you know to focus only on the RTP packets that travels from the user side to the customer side. Step 2. Once you have the topology written out, the first step is to take packet captures on one side of the topology and work your way to the other end of the topology.

Dissecting what is reported based on perspective is an art form. What one describes as bad quality is subjective to understanding what is being described. Defining quality and call termination issues (1 way) can convelute what is described and experienced.

Network Monitoring Tool are very important to Network Quality but more important is a highly qualified and experienced staff that can put the data together and perform more root call analysis and know what the fix is.

Tools can if used properly and understood be surgical insturments to pin point and or guide to discovery of the origins of quality issues. Hardware such as firewall, or ISP provided modems, badly configured routers, bufferbloat, fragmentation are most common root causes. Have not touched on load blancers, traffic shaping SPI. VoIP is only as good as your network can handle. The myth of more bandwidth is just a myth.

Actually nice if you are in a lab. Has no purpose in a production enviroment. Production is not a lab sound studio. Just my opinion, I always go back to hardware and network.

Packet captures at the edge both ingress/egress. Logs Pcaps never are subjective,. Always take the stand if you are trouble shooting "You own the issue" until proven otherwise. There are elements that are always suspect and need to be isolated for discovery. Phone A to firewall (1) Firewall to ISP (2) ISP to firewall (3) Firewall to Phone B (4) Headsets, OS audio drivers, phone firmware etc all need to be checked off.