Quality of Service explained: How routers with strong QoS make better home networks

The devices connected to your router battle for bandwidth like thirst-crazed beasts jostling for access to a receding watering hole. You can’t see the melee, but you can feel its impact. Without intervention, the strongest competitors—a BitTorrent download, for instance—will drink their fill, even if it’s not essential to their survival, while others—a VoIP call, a Netflix stream, or a YouTube video—are left to wither and die.

Data integration is often underestimated and poorly implemented, taking time and resources. Yet it

A router with good Quality of Service (QoS) technology can prevent such unequal distribution of a precious resource. You can dip only one straw into the Internet at a time, after all. QoS ensures that each client gets its chance for a sip, and it also takes each client’s specific needs into account. BitTorrent? Cool your jets. If one of your packets is dropped, it’ll be resent. You can run in the background. Netflix, VoIP, YouTube? Lag results in a bad user experience. Your data gets priority.

That’s a gross oversimplification, of course. Here’s a more in-depth explanation. QoS, also known as traffic shaping, assigns priority to each device and service operating on your network and controls the amount of bandwidth each is allowed to consume based on its mission. A file transfer, such as the aforementioned BitTorrent, is a fault-tolerant process. The client and the server exchange data to verify that all the bits are delivered. If any are lost in transit, they’ll be resent until the entire package has been delivered.

That can’t happen with a video or audio stream, a VoIP call, or an online gaming session. The client can’t ask the server to resend lost bits, because any interruption in the stream results in a glitch (or lag, in terms of game play). QoS recognizes the various types of traffic moving over your network and prioritizes it accordingly. File transfers will take longer while you’re watching a video or playing a game, but you'll be assured of a good user experience.

Traditional QoS
Different routers take different approaches to QoS. With some models, you simply identify the type of traffic you want to manage and then assign it a priority: High, medium, or low. With others, you can choose specific applications, or even identify the specific ports a service or application uses to reach the Internet. Yet another way is to assign priority to a specific device using its IP or MAC address.

Router Quality of Service QoS
Many older routers, such as this Netgear WNR2000 802.11n model, have predefined Quality of Service for a limited number of applications, but you must configure your own rules for anything the manufacturer didn’t think of.

Configuring QoS this way can be very cumbersome, requiring lots of knowledge of protocols, specific details about how your router operates, and networking in general. Some routers, for instance, depend on you to inform them of the maximum upload and download speeds your ISP supports. Enter the incorrect values, and your network might perform worse instead of better.

Fortunately, router manufacturers have made great strides in making QoS easier to configure. In some cases, it’s become entirely automatic.

Intelligent QoS
Some routers include the option of automated QoS handling. Most newer models support the Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) standard, for instance. WMM prioritizes network traffic in four categories, from highest to lowest: Voice, video, best effort (most traffic from apps other than voice and video), and background (print jobs, file downloads, and other traffic not sensitive to latency). WMM is good as far as it goes, but it ameliorates only wireless network contention. It does nothing to resolve the battle for bandwidth among wired network clients.

Better routers go further to cover both sides of the network. They automatically choose which traffic gets priority based upon assumptions—putting video and voice ahead of file downloads, for instance. The intelligence behind each vendor’s QoS functionality, however, varies according to the quality of the algorithm in use and the processor power available to run it.

Router Quality of Service QoS
Qualcomm's StreamBoost technolog enables the the D-Link DGL-5500 to display exactly what's consuming the majority of your network's bandwidth.

Right now, Qualcomm’s StreamBoost traffic-shaping technology seems to be the hot QoS ticket. StreamBoost, first announced in January, 2013, is based on technology originally developed by Bigfoot Networks. Bigfoot, a company that Qualcomm acquired in 2011, designed network-interface cards targeted at gamers, who are among the most latency-sensitive computer users in the world.

Qualcomm doesn’t manufacture routers, but the company does design and manufacture processors that go into high-end consumer routers such as Netgear’s Nighthawk X4 and D-Link’s DGL-5500 Gaming Router. While there’s no technological barrier to running StreamBoost on a Marvel or Broadcom processor, Qualcomm currently doesn’t license the firmware separate from its chips.

StreamBoost can distinguish between and prioritize latency-sensitive traffic (audio, video, gaming, and so on) over latency-insensitive traffic (downloads, file transfers, etc.), and it can adjust its allocation of bandwidth to various network activities to ensure all clients get a good experience. If several clients are streaming Netflix videos at the same time, for instance, it can automatically reduce one or more of those streams from 1080p quality to 720p quality to ensure all the sessions have enough bandwidth.

What’s more, StreamBoost can distinguish among the types of client devices and reduce the image quality streaming to a smartphone or tablet, because the degradation won’t be as noticeable on those small screens as it would be on a big-screen smart TV.

Router Quality of Service QoS
StreamBoost lets you assign priorities to client PCs, so you can preserve bandwidth for a smart TV at the expense of a PC used for BitTorrent downloads, for instance.

StreamBoost’s bandwidth graphs and tools provide better visibility and more precise tuning than other QoS tools I’ve seen. And if you opt in to participate, you’ll receive ongoing updates from Qualcomm’s database in the cloud so that your router can continually optimize its performance and learn how to handle new devices that come on the market. StreamBoost support alone won’t make a crappy router great, but it can make a difference.

Don’t stop with QoS
Good Quality of Service is essential if you use your network to stream video, play online games, make VoIP and Skype calls, or watch YouTube (and if you don’t do any of those things, you wouldn’t have clicked on this story in the first place). The performance benefits you’ll realize might even save you from moving up to a pricier service tier with your ISP.

Linksys WRT1900AC Wi-Fi router
An 802.11ac router can deliver higher performance even with clients that are equipped with 802.11n adapters.

But there are other things you can do beyond traffic shaping. Perform a site survey using a tool such as Kismet to see which radio channels your neighbors are relying on, and configure your router to use something else. There are only three non-overlapping channels in the 2.4GHz frequency band: 1, 6, and 11. Use one of these if possible.

If you have a dual-band router that supports both the 2.4- and 5GHz frequency bands, use the less-crowded higher frequency for latency-sensitive traffic such as media streaming, and reserve 2.4GHz for things like downloads. There are many more non-overlapping channels at 5GHz, and the higher channels—150 and up—support more bandwidth than the lower channels.

Lastly, if you’re using an 802.11n (or older) router, consider moving up to a model based on the newer 802.11ac standard. Even if your clients are stuck with 802.11n adapters, you’ll still see a significant performance boost with an 802.11ac router.

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10 Tips to Ensure Your IT Career Longevity

Enjoying a long career doesn't happen by accident. It takes planning and effort. Use these tips to get your head in the game and keep your eye on the future.

Many people say that IT and technology are a young man's game, and if you look at most influential tech companies you might agree. Most IT workers employed at those companies there are under 35 and male. However, these big name firms employ only a fraction of tech professionals and there are plenty of opportunities out there for everyone. IT has one of the lowest unemployment rates of any industry because in most organizations technology touches every part of the business.

Be Responsible for Your Own Career
Achieving career longevity in the IT business takes time effort, time and resources -- and nobody but you can organize, facilitate and be responsible for all of it. To stay ahead of the learning curve you need to think about your goals and architect your future.

Many organizations are getting better at providing embedded employee performance and career management processes, according to Karen Blackie, CIO of Enterprise Systems & Data for GE Capital. However, she warns that you are your own best advocate and should always strive to "own" your career. Don't wait for your organization to do it for you because that day may never come.

This means stepping back and thinking about where you want to be in X amount of time and then outlining the different skills and experience needed to get there. With that information you can start mapping out your career. "Doing research into what interests you, setting goals and objectives and then having a plan around how you will accomplish those goals is very important," says Blackie. Remember positions get eliminated and things don't always work out so it's wise to consider alternate paths.

Flexibility and Agility Required
Technology moves at an unprecedented pace, which means you've got to be flexible. "Adaptability is key. CIOs who can't adapt to that change will see themselves - unfortunately - left behind in a competitive job market. But the CIOs who see each new change - whether mobile, BYOD, Cloud, IoT - as an opportunity are the technology executives who will continue to be in demand-- because they've proven that they can leverage new solutions to drive business value, "says J.M. Auron, IT executive resume writer and president of Quantum Tech Resumes.
Learn About the Business

"Having the business knowledge is a key foundational element to one's career, " says GE Capital's Blackie. Being a great developer isn't enough if you plan to climb the corporate ladder. You've got to understand your industry and how your company does business. This kind of data can also help you be a better programmer. By better understanding the business needs it will help you deliver products, software and services that better align with the business.

Always Be Learning
The price of career longevity in the world of IT and technology is constant learning. If you aren't passionate about it or you're complacent, it's easy to find yourself locked into outdated technology and left behind. There are many ways to stay current like a formal college environment or a certification course for example. "It is your career and it is up to you to keep educating yourself," says Robert P. Hewes, Ph.D., senior partner with Camden Consulting Group, with oversight for leadership development and management training.

Professional organizations, conferences, developer boot camps and meet-ups are all great ways to stay abreast in the newest technologies and build network connections within your industry. "It's often a place where you develop life-long friends and colleagues, "says Blackie.

Attend Industry Conferences
Industry conferences are great way to learn about the newest trends in technology as well as network with like-minded people who hold similar interests. Be selective about which conferences you attend and make sure you allot the necessary time to socialize and network with your peers.

"One mistake attendees often make at conferences is filling their schedule so tightly with panels that they miss out on the networking available during downtime. It's important to attend mixers and informal gatherings at conferences to meet your peers and build relationships that could last throughout your career," says Blackie.

Incorporate Time into Your Day for Reading
Set up a little time each day to stay current with the goings-on in your part of technology and beyond. "Become a regular reader of info in your industry, be it an industry journal or an online blog/magazine. There is a lot of information out there. Another quick way to find relevant information is via an aggregator, Pocket and LinkedIn do this," says Hewes.

Google News and a host of other news aggregators like LinkedIn Pulse or Reddit offer a daily stream of news and with alerts and notifications that allow users to focus on key areas of interest.

Pay Attention to Competitors
"It's important to get to know industry competitors and watch what they're doing. You can learn a lot from the successes and failures of your competitors," says Blackie. Being first isn't always required to be successful. Doing it better than the next guy is, however. Find your competitors as well as organizations that you think are thought leaders in your industry and follow them in social media or create a Google Alert for them.

Find a Mentor or Coach
Mentoring is useful at all levels of one's career. A mentor can help you negotiate internal politics or provide insight into how to solve lingering problems. You may also have different mentors throughout your career, each offering a different perspective or expertise.

Understand the Value of Social Media
Not everyone adores social media, but it's a necessary element in the race to separate you from the rest of IT professionals. Build and maintain profiles on relevant social media sites and then use them to explain the value proposition you offer.

Work on Soft Skills and Some Not-so-Soft Ones

Branding Skills
Branding is what help separates you from the rest of the pack and explains what your value proposition is to your employer or prospective employers. "Branding is another key for career advancement - and one that few technology leaders have fully embraced. Giving thought to that brand is key for career longevity and advancement," Auron says.

Communication Skills
According to Auron, the ability to find the right path, communicate value and build enthusiasm is a crucial step in transforming the perception of IT from that of a cost center to that of a business enabler. "The most critical skill is the ability communicates the real value of technology investment to nontechnical leadership. Some technologists can fall into one of two traps: giving so much detail that the audience's eyes glaze over or, appearing patronizing when intelligent - but nontechnical leaders - don't get a specific reference," Auron says.

Project Management Skills
At some point in your technology career you will be asked to lead a project. When the time comes make sure you've got the necessary tools. "It is critical if you are headed onto the management track. In fact, you should try to gain wide experience with all kinds of projects," says Hewes.

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The crazy cellphone ideas of 2004

Take a look back at the futuristic cellphone ideas of a decade ago.


A year is a long time in smartphone technology today, so remember if you can the changes that have taken place over the last decade.

In 2004, Apple had only just started working on development of its iPhone and no one outside the company knew about it, Samsung was focused on the South Korean market, and the hottest thing in wireless was the success of the I-mode mobile Internet service in Japan.

Here's a look back at the futuristic phones on display at ITU's Telecom Asia expo in Busan, South Korea in September 2004.

Samsung Satellite TV Phone
It seems improbable, but satellite TV direct to cellphones was a dream of Japanese and South Korean engineers in 2004. The service was broadcast from a custom satellite and didn't require the bulky dishes usually associated with satellite TV reception in homes. Samsung's SCH-B100 had a flip-out screen for watching the programs and packed an MPEG4 video recorder function with a two-hour memory. The 14-channel service cost US$11 per month at the time and was successful for a while, but was later eclipsed by free terrestrial TV and online streaming. In Japan, the service never achieved success.

Pantech Body Temperature Cellphone
If you think swiping left and right on a bulky smartwatch looks goofy, you probably don't remember Pantech's G670 cellphone. The phone had a body temperature sensor on it's rear that required it to be held up and pressed against the user's forehead to take a measurement.

NTT DoCoMo Fuel Cell Charger
Back then as now, battery life was a headache for phone users. NTT DoCoMo thought it had an answer with a portable fuel cell that could generate power from a little bit of methanol. The idea was that small methanol cartridges would be sold in convenience stores and, when your phone ran out of power, you could snap it in the charger cradle, squirt in some methanol in and back in business. Fuel cells were seen at the time as an answer to the on-the-go charging needs of phone and laptop PC users in part because the power generation was immediate. The charger never came to market, but some companies are still pursuing fuel cell technology.

Samsung Hard Disk Phone
Apple's new iPhone 6 packs as much as 128GB of storage and just this week SanDisk announced a 512GB SD card. Imagine how improbable that sounded in 2004 when Samsung proudly announced the first cellphone in the world ... with a hard-disk drive! The SPH-V5400 was only available in South Korea and packed an impressive (at the time) 1.5GB of storage capacity. The phone also featured an FM transmitter so stored music could be played through a radio.

LG Glucose Monitor Phone
Another phone with a medical twist was LG's KP8400. It had a built in sensor for measuring blood sugar. You'd put a drop of blood onto a glucose testing strip and slide that into a reader embedded in the clamshell phone. After a few moments, the phone would provide the blood sugar reading. There was even a facility to load the data to an online database over the phone's GPRS connection.

Pantech Gaming Phone
It's a gaming device! No, it's a phone! Whatever Pantech's PH S-3500 was intended to be, it was unique. A circular clamshell phone with a circular keypad that probably took a lot of getting used to, especially when tapping out text messages, the phone had a 2.1-inch color display and packed a 3D graphics chip -- a rarity at the time. Unfortunately for Pantech, just three months later Sony released the PlayStation Portable and handheld gaming was changed forever.

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