VoIP Monitoring (Voice Quality Test)

VoIP monitoring refers to tools used to test voice quality in your network, primarily via jitter, latency, and packet loss measurements. Simply put, it is monitoring the quality of service (QoS) of VoIP calls, which combines both network metrics and mean opinion scoring. 

What is VoIP Monitoring?

VoIP monitoring is the tracking of different metrics including jitter, latency, and packet loss, all of which affect the quality of a VoIP call. Simply put, it is monitoring the quality of service (QoS) of VoIP calls, which combines both fault and performance management.

How VoIP Call Quality is Measured

Scoring:

  • MOS
  • QoE
  • QoS

Common sources of low quality VoIP / call quality issues in VoIP:

  • Jitter
  • Latency
  • Packet Loss

Benefits of Voice Quality Tests

While VoIP is an essential component of enterprise communications, calls through VoIP can be difficult to manage and troubleshoot. Packet loss, jitter and VoIP latency are the three elements that most influence call quality. Legacy VoIP monitoring systems rely on Call Detail Records (CDRs), and at best, packet capture will only highlight issues after something has already gone wrong. This reactive approach also provides little or no visibility across multiple networks. Legacy VoIP monitoring software struggles even more as enterprises migrate to cloud-based UC solutions. VoIP data packets are especially susceptible to underlying network conditions that most VoIP monitoring software can't detect.

Third party monitoring provides visibility into your VoIP network performance, server issues, VoIP quality, traffic, end user devices and much more. It gives you a complete end-to-end view of your entire VoIP network from one clear window so that you can use the available metrics for proactive problem resolution.

VoIP Monitoring Tools

Your VoIP monitoring solution should include:

  • Connection stability monitoring with live visual feedback in the system dashboard
  • Measures to indicate QoS issues, such as jitter and packet loss
  • Capacity and performance thresholds that trigger alerts
  • An analysis function to assess historical performance statistics
  • Assistance to implement traffic shaping measures to improve VoIP performance
  • A free trial for assessment or a free tool
  • A comprehensive paid system that is worth the price or a free tool that is worth using

How to Test VoIP Quality with Network Monitoring Tools

Designed specifically to improve customer experience, the AVOXI Dashboard shows weekly, monthly, and daily Mean Opinion Scores (MOS) on all answered calls. Customers can drill down into call details and review. Once activated, all completed calls, including voicemail calls will receive a quality score.  

The Mean Opinion Score (MOS) is a commonly-used metric to measure the overall voice call quality for decades. A MOS score of 4.2 or higher is generally considered to be a good quality call. If MOS is 3.5 or below, look at which of the input metrics is most impacting the score for recommendations on how to address it. 

Benefits of Voice Quality Tests

The VoIP quality metrics displayed by your tool should include:

  • Packet Loss — occurs when one or more packets of data traveling across a computer network fail to reach their destination
  • Jitter — Related to the variation in the delay of the delivery of packets, causing some packets to arrive out of order
  • Jitter Buffer Discard Rate — shows the percentage of delayed packages that were discarded because of a long delay time.
  • Latency — a measure of delay; how much time it takes for a packet of data to get from one designated point to another in a system.

What is a good VoIP quality score?

A MOS score of 4 or above is a good call quality score in VoIP networks, while anything below 3.55 is low and should be addressed before your customers get fed up with your choppy calls! VoIP travels a long distance from your network, through the Internet, and up to your Service provider. That means that, when a problem occurs, no matter where it is, you need to manage it.

  1. Great: 4 & Above
  2. Fair: 3.55-3.99
  3. Poor: 3.55 & Below

Improving your latency, packet loss, and jitter issues reported by your VoIP monitoring tool should organically increase MOS scores. 

Try VoIP Monitoring Software for Free

AVOXI is a global voice platform with VoIP monitoring tools built in! Monitor your VoIP network's jitter, latency, and packet loss in real-time. VoIP Quality with MOS Score and start to proactive identify and troubleshoot VoIP issues before your users even know they exist!

Start with AVOXI’s free trial or contact us toschedule a demo.

Related Content

 

 

Interested in Learning More?

AVOXI is the cloud communication platform of choice for enterprises and companies with international markets. The road to modernized communications has never been easier, learn what AVOXI can do for you today.

TALK TO US