[ced1001]

Hi,
I am trying to decide if I should pay my ISP an additional amount for another IP so I can set the HT486 in bridge mode.

Can anyone help with feedback on what is the difference in throughput once I bridge through the ATA vs. ATA as a LAN point?

Does the HT486 do a good job with QOS so that I can be using my connection while still having good quality in my HT486?

Thanks.

[mberlant]

You will see no difference in performance based solely upon whether you have one or two IP addresses coming into your home. This is because you will still have the same bandwidth through your modem regardless of the number of IP addresses on the line.

I personally haven't tried the QoS that is integrated into the HT486, but it would certainly be worth your experiment to test it out. Just connect the HT486 WAN port to your modem and plug your router into the LAN port. Don't forget to change your router's subscription mode to simple DHCP (no PPPoE, for example) and you're good to go.

If the QoS in the HT486 doesn't do a good job for you you might need to replace your router with a QoS router like one from Linksys' WRT series.

[ced1001]

I assume that this connection would have to be in NAT mode since I have only one assigned ip from my ISP. I've read somewhere that the HT486 drops throughput dramatically while in NAT mode. I'll have to give it a try and let you know.

[mberlant]

I had not heard that. It is possible that this observation occurred while a VoIP conversation (or two) was in progress and that this was the result of a properly operating QoS function.

If it turns out that the Grandstream constrains traffic on the LAN port even when there is no conversation in progress you may yet need to replace your existing router with a QoS router.

At any rate, it won't cost you anything to run the experiment.