Optimizing call quality in Microsoft Teams Phone is crucial for seamless remote communication. By following the best practices described here, you can ensure that voice and video calling quality is top-notch. From network configurations to Quality of Service (QoS) settings, we'll explore ways to minimize latency, reduce jitter, and achieve optimal audio and video clarity during your virtual meetings and conversations.
The best practices are:
In Microsoft Teams, ports and protocols act as communication pathways, transmitting audio and video data between your device and the Teams servers. These elements directly influence the performance and reliability of calls, and having the necessary ports and protocols open ensures that this data can flow freely and without unnecessary interruptions.
Microsoft Teams Phone relies on specific ports and protocols to establish connections between devices and servers. Properly configured ports prevent communication barriers, reduce latency, and prevent packet loss, all of which lead to enhanced call quality.
By opening the necessary ports and protocols, you facilitate the smooth exchange of data packets. This helps in maintaining a stable connection, minimizing disruptions, and ensuring high-definition audio and video during calls. Ignoring these configurations might result in distorted audio, video freezes, and dropped calls due to blocked communication paths.
In highly regulated industries such as financial services, firewall measures may be enhanced. To prevent traffic from Microsoft Teams from being blocked in these scenarios, firewall settings may need to be re-configured to open relevant ports and protocols.
And finally, make sure those ports and protocols are open to the Internet as well. In the past, when connecting to an on-prem environment that wasn’t required, but in cloud-based scenarios it is essential.
Click here for a full list of technical details on this from Microsoft >>
Proxies act as intermediaries between devices and servers, often employed by organizations to enhance security and manage network traffic. But with Microsoft Teams, they don’t enhance security because the traffic from Teams is already encrypted. Instead, proxies can inadvertently introduce latency, jitter, and packet loss, resulting in compromised call quality during audio and video conversations. Bypassing proxies enables data to flow directly between devices and servers, eliminating the detours that can degrade communication quality.
Take Layer 7 Deep Pack Inspection (DPI) as an example, which monitors networks to examine the contents of each packet to identify and control specific types of traffic. While this technique can be useful for enforcing security policies, it can also negatively impact the performance of real-time communication applications like Microsoft Teams Calling. Layer 7 DPI can introduce delays, increase packet loss, and potentially even block important traffic.
Although proxies and DPI can offer advantages in specific scenarios, they may not be optimal options for Microsoft Teams Phone. Bypassing proxies can allow for performance optimization and a fluid user experience.
Traditionally, VPNs route all network traffic through their encrypted tunnels, providing security but potentially causing congestion and latency. This is where split tunneling comes into play. By selectively routing traffic through the VPN and allowing other traffic to travel directly through the local network, split tunnelling minimizes the strain on the VPN and optimizes data flow.
When applied to Microsoft Teams Phone, split tunnelling can work wonders. Voice and video calls require real-time data transmission and demand minimal latency. By directing Teams Phone traffic outside the VPN tunnel, split tunnelling reduces the likelihood of bottlenecks, thus improving call quality.
Teams calls consume a lot of bandwidth which can be an issue if a user is on a slow or limited internet connection. Split tunnelling can also reduce bandwidth usage. By directing Teams Calling traffic through your regular internet connection, you can avoid using up all of your VPN bandwidth and improve call quality.
More resources on split tunnelling are available from Microsoft here >>
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Antivirus scans, while crucial for safeguarding against threats, can inadvertently introduce delays and disruptions in real-time communication. By exempting Microsoft Teams from these scans, the path is cleared for seamless data flow, reduced latency, and minimized jitter during calls. Excluding Teams from security scanning doesn't compromise protection as the application itself incorporates robust security features.
This exclusion not only optimizes the application's performance but also contributes to call stability. It prevents potential interruptions caused by security-related activities, ensuring uninterrupted and crystal-clear conversations.
Data packets are the carriers of real-time audio and video information during Teams calls. For optimal call quality, the principle here is simple: data packets should take the shortest possible route to the internet.
When data packets travel over a longer route, there is the potential for latency to creep in – the delay between sending and receiving data. This delay disrupts the real-time flow of conversation, leading to awkward pauses and disjointed communication. Additionally, the longer the journey, the more susceptible data packets become to congestion and jitter, where their arrival times vary unpredictably.
By optimizing data packet routes for Microsoft Teams Phone, organizations can improve their calling quality. This involves ensuring that data flows through the most direct channels, minimizing unnecessary detours. With reduced latency, consistent packet arrival, and uninterrupted communication, the user experience is improved.
At its core, Quality of Service (QoS) is a mechanism that prioritizes and manages network traffic to guarantee optimal performance for real-time applications like voice and video calls. Microsoft Teams Phone employs QoS to allocate network resources intelligently, ensuring that essential data packets for calls receive preferential treatment over less time-sensitive traffic.
QoS operates on the principle of traffic classification and prioritization. During a Teams call, QoS classifies data packets related to the call and assigns them a higher priority. These prioritized packets are then directed through the network with reduced latency and minimized chances of congestion.
The benefits of QoS for Microsoft Teams Phone are vast. By minimizing latency, conversations flow naturally without awkward delays. Jitter, the variance in packet arrival times, is kept in check, ensuring a smooth and clear audio experience. Additionally, QoS mitigates packet loss, preventing audio or video dropouts that can hinder effective communication.
DNS (Domain Name System) serves as the Internet's address book, translating domain names into IP addresses. In the context of Teams calls, local DNS resolution entails using a DNS server that's physically closer to your location. This strategic choice expedites the translation process, reducing the time it takes to establish connections.
By opting for local DNS resolution, latency is minimized. When making or receiving Teams calls, this reduced delay translates into smoother conversations, with better call quality. Additionally, the risk of jitter is also mitigated, ensuring audio and video streams remain consistent.
Local DNS resolution also plays a crucial role in load distribution. By utilizing nearby DNS servers, the network's overall traffic is distributed more efficiently, minimizing congestion and potential call disruptions.