WRP400: audio drops for 5..15 seconds on each packet error.

[kokoko3k3]

Hi,

On several calls i noticed that the outgoing audio stops for 5..15 seconds randomly.

I'd say it happens on an average of every 5 minutes.

When this happens, i can see that the value after "Call1 Packet error:" increases by one.

Why just a wrong packet may stop the outgoing audio for so long?

...i've much more packet losts (about 3%) but they give me no problem at all.

Since a little and cheaper Handytone HT502 gave me intermittent audio too, but the effect was much better (audio still stops, but in a second it comes back), i wonder if is there something i can do by tweaking the WRP400 settings, I'm still using firmware 1.01.00.

Thanks.

[Daniele Giordano]

The firmware 1.01.00 has a recognized voice cut-off issue. This problem was fixed from version 1.01.01 and 2.00.20.

This is the note about the problem:

Added two new configurable and provisionable parameters, “Soft IRQ polling

count” and “Voice Active,” to address an issue with voice cutoff. Users may

adjust these settings to fit their deployment.

URL to configure these parameters: http://192.168.15.1/VoiceDebug.asp

Use the following syntax for XML provisioning:

softirq_active_voice=0,softirq_polling_

cnt=1

My suggestion is upgrade the firmware to latest vesion 2.00.30.

Regards.

[kokoko3k3]

Thanks for answering and sorry for the long delay.

I'm unable to find firmware 1.01.01 for download, the latest 1x series i found is mine, 1.01.00, and i'm not sure i want to upgrade to 2.00.30 because i remember i read somewhere that i'll loose all of my settings when upgrading from 1.x to 2.x.

do you confirm that?

[Daniele Giordano]

I upgraded hundreds of WRPs via remote (from firmware 1.x to 2.x) without problems.

Regards.

[kokoko3k3]

I'll try asap,

Anyway i've no much hope that the fix will work for me, because it seems that the audio drop comes as soon as "packet error" count is increased.

We'll see, Thanks.

[Daniele Giordano]

VoIP Call Packet Error is the Number of invalid packets received.

Try to enable syslog during a call and capture voip events.

Check also the connectivity.

Regards.

[kokoko3k3]

I've a syslog server that captures the debug output, but i can't read anything related when packet error count increases.

My udp connectivity is pretty good, i've about 3% packet loss.

Again, with a cheap HT502 this never happened.

What puzzles me is why a lot of packet loss doesn't stop the audio (or at least i don't notice it), but a single packet error drops the (outgoing) audio for several seconds.

Could this be related to the irq polling thing?

I'm also having troubles finding the meaning or any kind of documentation on the settings you suggested: (2.20)

softirq_active_voice=??

softirq_polling_cnt=??

Have you some clue on sane values to start from?

Thank you for your support.

[Daniele Giordano]

See this:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/csbpvga/wrp400/release/notes/WRP400_RN_v2-00-26.pdf

Additional Provisioning Parameters

Additional provisioning parameters were added for configuring router/data parameters via open (XML-style) format.

NOTE

A sample XML profile can be generated by using the profile compiler tool (SPC). For instructions about provisioning, see the WRP400 Administration Guide at the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/csbpvga/wrp400/administration/guide/WRP400_AG_OL-19688.pdf

Two configurable and provisionable parameters are available to address an issue with voice cutoff. You can adjust the Soft IRQ for Voice settings to suit the deployment scenario.

To configure these parameters, connect to the following URL: http://192.168.15.1/VoiceDebug.asp

Use the syntax shown in the following example, and described below.

Example:

softirq_active_voice=0,softirq_polling_cnt=1

Parameters:

•softirq_active_voice: Enable or disable Soft IRQ for Voice. Valid values are 0 (disabled) and 1 (enabled)

•softirq_polling_cnt: Specify the polling count. Valid values are integers from 0 to 10.

After upgrade, default parameters fixed my cutoff issue.

Regards.