VI. Feature Setup
ExpiredMicrosoft Teams: Prioritise Teams with Quality of Service (QoS) on a DrayTek router
DrayTek's Quality of Service can help to make the most of an Internet connection. It does so by splitting up the connection into multiple Queues of different levels of importance and time-sensitivity. Unclassified traffic is treated as the least time sensitive, which is fine for video streaming services and general downloads.
Each of the QoS Class groups (Class 1, 2, 3) is assigned priority in order, with Class 1 (and Auto-VoIP) being the highest priority, then Class 2, Class 3 and then Unclassified. Each Class group can have bandwidth reserved for it, ensuring each Class always has sufficient bandwidth available to give the best performance to all services.
Assigning services like Teams to a QoS Class and configuring Quality of Service to give the best experience, requires a few steps:
| 1 | Configure Service Types | Set up the Service Type entries that Quality of Service can use to identify the data sent and received by Teams |
| 2 | Configure QoS Classes | Assign those Service Types to Quality of Service Classes so that they can be prioritised |
| 3 | Enable & Tune QoS | Activate Quality of Service for a WAN interface and ensure it's properly tuned to give the best performance |
| 4 | View QoS Statistics | Check the activity of Quality of Service in real time |
Step 1 - Configure Service Types
To classify Teams traffic with Quality of Service, it's first of all necessary to set up the Service Types.
A Service Type defines the port range and type of traffic being sent, for instance HTTP traffic mostly uses TCP port 80, which the router has pre-defined along with some other standard services. Application specific settings need to be configured so that they can then be applied as a QoS Class Rule.
If we check the Microsoft Teams QoS Documentation, we can see that it uses the following ports for operation, with the most time sensitive sound data being sent through ports 50000 to 50019 using both TCP and UDP protocols.
| Traffic Type | Port Range | Protocol |
|---|---|---|
| Teams Audio data | 50000 to 50019 | TCP and UDP |
| Teams Video data | 50020 to 50039 | TCP and UDP |
| Teams App & Screenshare data | 50040 to 50059 | TCP and UDP |
To set up these Service Types, go to [Bandwidth Management] > [Quality of Service] and click Service Type - Edit
On the User Defined Service Type page, click Add to create a new Service Type:
Service Type - Audio
Create one Service Type for Teams Audio data:
| Service Name | TeamsAudio |
| Service Type | TCP/UDP |
| Port Type | Range |
| Port Number | 50000 - 50019 |
Click OK to save that and click Add to make the next Service Type entry.
Service Type - Video
Create a Service Type for Teams Video data:
| Service Name | TeamsVideo |
| Service Type | TCP/UDP |
| Port Type | Range |
| Port Number | 50020 - 50039 |
Click OK to save that and click Add to make the next Service Type entry.
Service Type - Screenshare & Application
Now create a Service Type for Teams Application and Screensharing data:
| Service Name | TeamsApp |
| Service Type | TCP/UDP |
| Port Type | Range |
| Port Number | 50040 - 50059 |
Click OK to save that and go back to the main [Bandwidth Management] > [Quality of Service] page.
Step 2 - Configure QoS Classes
Each Class defines the importance of the traffic. Assign important and time sensitive traffic to Class 1, less time sensitive traffic to Class 2, then Class 3 can be used to prioritise data that needs to be higher priority than streaming video etc.
Now the Service Types can be assigned priority in the QoS system.
To do this, go to [Bandwidth Management] > [Quality of Service] and click Rule - Edit for Class 1:
Setting up a Class Rule - Example
In the list of Rules for QoS Class 1, click the Add button to create a new rule. In this example, we'll set up a rule for TeamsAudio traffic. Just select the Service Type from the list.
If you want to limit QoS to a specific Local IP Address, or range of addresses, you can specify them here as well.
Click OK to save and apply the rule.
Class 1 Configuration
The low bandwidth but highly time-sensitive audio data goes into Class 1:
Class 2 Configuration
The Teams Video and App / Screenshare data are both entered into Class 2. They are slightly less time sensitive than the audio data, but can still benefit from having bandwidth reserved, which will be configured in the next step.
Class 3 Configuration
Other traffic that still needs to be prioritised but is less time sensitive can be put into Class 3. In this example, SSL VPN traffic is prioritised over regular traffic.
Step 3 - Enabling and Tuning Quality of Service
Once each of the Classes have the necessary rules configured, go back to [Bandwidth Management] > [Quality of Service].
Tick the Enable checkbox for each WAN interface that you want to apply Quality of Service to:
| WAN Type | Inbound / Outbound Bandwidth | Class 1 / 2 / 3 / Others Bandwidth Reservation % |
|---|---|---|
| WAN1 on DSL Routers | xDSL routers determine the correct speed to use from the DSL sync rate |
Consider the amount of bandwidth that each Class might potentially require and set the reservation % accordingly. The upstream bandwidth is usually the limiting factor, with lower speeds than download bandwidth. Set the reservation to account for the lower amount of upstream bandwidth available. VoIP call audio (including MS Teams) with a high quality codec can use around 100Kb/s per call. |
|
WAN2 on DSL Routers All WANs on Ethernet Routers |
While QoS is not enabled, check the available bandwidth with a speed testing website. Once you've determined the maximum bandwidth, set the Inbound/Outbound Bandwidth values to be maybe 5% lower than that maximum rate. Setting a slightly lower value can give better overall performance, especially with time & latency sensitive traffic. |
Click OK to apply the QoS settings.
The router will now begin to prioritise traffic passing through to the Internet, based on these Quality of Service settings.
Step 4 - Viewing QoS Statistics
To view the status and performance of Quality of Service, go to [Bandwidth Management] > [Quality of Service] and click the Status - Status link for the desired WAN interface:
This shows in real time how traffic is handled by the router.
In this example, a Teams video meeting is taking place while a VPN connection transfers files and others users are watching YouTube.
The router allocates all the bandwidth required for the audio and video data of the meeting and sends those packets out first, while file transfers and video streaming continue to operate:
How do you rate this article?
- First Published: 08/04/2020
- Last Updated: 22/04/2021