SETTING UP QoS ON THE WRT54GL
This step is only really necessary if you have some service, like
Vonage, that you want to prioritize, or some service like BitTorrent
that you want to drop priority on. If you do not need any form of
prioritization, then you can just leave QoS disabled.
Upstream Bandwidth
1. With QoS disabled on the WRT54GL (APPLICATIONS AND GAMING, QOS, make sure "DISABLED" is selected, and click "APPLY" and wait 1-2 minutes).
a. Run a speed test like the ones found at www.dslreports.com/stest or any other speed test you prefer.
b. Take the resulting "upstream bandwidth" (labeled "upload speed", "up", "upstream", "you to Internet", or whatever, usually the LOWER number) which should be in kbps (somewhere in the 200-500kbps range is typical of a Cable connection) and multiply it by 0.9
2. Go back into QoS on the WRT54GL and set:
a. "ENABLE"
b. Upstream Bandwidth: MANUAL and the number you got above (90% of your tested upstream bandwidth [[Why 90%???]]).
Setting Priorities
The following steps require that you know the MAC addresses for your machines. The best way to see a list of MAC addresses is to go to the "STatus" page on the router, and click "Device List". You can also find MAC addresses printed on most hardware. If there are two MAC addresses, just plug it in, let it get assigned an address by the WRT54GL, then look at the device list and find the one that matches.
In an empty "device priority" row:
i. Device Name: Vonage
ii. Priority: Highest
iii. MAC Address: MAC Address for the Vonage router (yes, you have to enter it in little bits. Type carefully). ;)
You'll have to tune QoS over time. If you get reports of choppy calls on the other end, your P2P interferes too much with your web surfing, or you get unacceptable lag time in games, try lowering the "Upstream" number slightly.
You can also set another network device to HIGHEST priority and run the VoIP test at http://www.testyourvoip.com on that computer while uploading (NOT downloading, QoS only works on outbound traffic) large files on a separate computer that is on a lower QoS. testyourvoip should NOT be affected very much by another computer doing large uploads. If packet discards are high, lower the "Upstream" number by about 5kbps, wait a few minutes for it to settle, and try again. Eventually, you will hopefully find a setting that works for you.
I have a MUCH more detailed explanation of how QoS works, along with a discussion of why I chose 90% and why you might choose a different number. Follow this link to read it.I also have a summary screen for Thibor 14 (which has P2P-optimized QoS settings), which you can find HERE. It has little explanation, but reflects the settings I have used successfully.