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USER GUIDENetwork Diagnostics Tool

8x8 Network Diagnostics ToolUser Guide

Version 1.0, March 2011

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Table of Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Getting Accurate Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Start and Configure Network Diagnostics Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Saving and Sending Test Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

FAQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

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Introduction

The 8x8 Network Diagnostics Tool helps you measure your network performance relative to

8x8 Virtual Office telephone service . You download and install the application on a Microsoft

Windows computer . Please consult your 8x8 support representative to review and interpret

the results .

Getting Accurate Results

To obtain the most meaningful results:

1 . During the test period, make sure the Windows machine is running only the 8x8 Network

Diagnostics Tool .

2 . Avoid running any compute or network-intensive applications (e .g . a significant download/

upload or virus scan) while the 8x8 Network Diagnostics Tool is running .

3 . Run the test while your Internet connection is idle or under minimal usage conditions to

create a baseline .

4 . Run the test while call quality issues are occurring to help diagnose the cause .

5 . Save the test results and email them to your 8x8 support agent .

Note: This test does not calculate the number of 8x8 phones your network can support .

Please continue to use the VoIP Quality and Connectivity Speed Test found at:

http://www .8x8 .com/Resources/Tools/VoIPTest .aspx.

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Installation

The 8x8 Network Diagnostics Tool runs on Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, or 7 operating

systems and must be connected to the same logical LAN (Local Area Network) as the 8x8 IP

phone devices .

Operating the tool uses approximately 34MB of RAM and utilizes less than 1% of computer

CPU processing power (based on a dual core 2 .53 GHz laptop computer) .

Download the application from http://sims .8x8 .com/GetDocument .aspx?docid=710550 and

save to your computer .

Uncompress the .zip file and double click on the setup.exe file . Follow the installation wizard

instructions .

1 . Open the .zip file

2 . Double click setup.exe to install the application

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3 . Follow the wizard instructions to complete installation

Start and Configure Network Diagnostics Tool

Run the application from Windows Start menu by clicking on the launch icon .

Press the Configure Tests button and enter your contact information . Your contact

information will be included in the report that you email to 8x8 support .

4 . Press the Configure Tests button

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Company Details Tab

Enter your contact information

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Quick Tests Tab

Please leave the settings from the default values shown below . You can select between

Simulate G.729 (test regular 8x8 telephone calls) or Simulate G.711 (to test conference

bridge, voicemail, IVR recording, and HD Voice) .

Extended Ping Test Tab.

Please leave this setting at 60 minutes .

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Tests

This section outlines the various tests used to characterize your network . The example is

based on DSL Internet access in Sunnyvale, CA .

Test results are shown in the top panel . To view additional details on the test results you can

toggle through each tab: [DNS] [Ping] [Route Trace] [NAT] [Media] the [Fragmentation] in the

test results section as shown above .

Saving and Sending Test Results

Press the Generate Report button .

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Write a comment, if desired and press the Save Report to File button .

Save the test results file to your computer .

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Email the test results as an attachment to the 8x8 Support or Sales representative you are

working with .

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Extended Ping Test

The Extended Ping test is an extended version of the Ping Test found in the Quick Tests .

This test is designed to run for an extended period of time (up to an hour), in order to

characterize the long-term stability of your network connection . The round trip delay for

each individual ping test is logged and graphed in order to provide a visual display of the

stability of your network packet delivery capabilities .

The desired outcome of this test is a consistently low (less than 80ms) average round trip

time, which does not vary much . Voice over IP requires a stable packet delivery time in order

to preserve the real-time quality of voice communication, so any significant fluctuation in

latency is a warning sign that warrants investigation .

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FAQ

Q: When should I run the tests in the 8x8 Network Diagnostics Tool?

A: It is vitally important to run the test first while the Internet connection is idle or under

minimal use . This will give a baseline result and tell us how your network is running without

any load . Running the test again at the peak busy time or when you have call quality issues is

the second step and equally important . Our technicians will use both test results .

Q: Will the tests always provide the same results?

A: Not necessarily . While certain characteristics of the network are unlikely to change,

some might fluctuate . If you have changed something in your network, like your ISP, router

model, router firmware or local DNS server, consider running the tests again to test the new

characteristics .

Examples of permanent characteristics that should not change between test runs are:

•DNS SRV query support

•Type of NAT

• IP Fragmentation support

Examples of more dynamic characteristics that should not, but can change between runs are:

•Packet loss

• Jitter

•Latency

Q: The DNS test fails. What should I do?

A: Check your Internet connection and local connectivity . Check if the computer used to run

the 8x8 Network Diagnostics Tool is able to reach other public servers (e .g . www .google .com

or www .yahoo .com) from a web browser .

Q: The DNS test indicates a warning that SRV queries fail. What should I do?

A: Check with your Internet service provider and/or network administrator to find out

whether the DNS server in use supports DNS SRV queries . If so, consider upgrading your

NAT/router/firewall, it is often the case that the router will incorrectly proxy DNS SRV queries

and/or responses . Older routers or routers with old firmware are known to have such DNS

proxy problems .

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Q: The Ping test fails. What should I do?

A: Check your Internet connection . The application was unable to contact the 8x8

datacenter . This could happen for a number of reasons including:

•Your Internet connection is down

•The 8x8 data center is unreachable due to a routing/route failure somewhere in the

Internet . The trace route test should be able to determine at which route point (hop) the

communications failed .

Q: The Ping test indicates a warning. What should I do?

A: A warning is indicated if the round trip delay or packet loss rates exceed acceptable

levels for clear, low latency VoIP communications . Contact your ISP and have them diagnose

your Internet connection . Since the ping test contains a small sample of results, consider

reviewing the results of the Media test before reacting . The Media test is a far more accurate

representation of the connection’s latency, jitter and packet loss metrics .

Q: The Trace Route test fails. What should I do?

A: Check your Internet connection . The application was unable to contact the 8x8

datacenter . This could happen for a number of reasons:

•Your Internet connection is down

•The 8x8 datacenter is unreachable due to a routing/route failure somewhere in the

Internet . The trace route test should be able to determine at which route point (hop) the

communications failed .

Q: The Trace Route test indicates a warning. What should I do?

A: A warning is indicated if the round trip delay or packet loss rates to any of the hops along

the route exceed acceptable levels for clear, low latency VoIP communications . However,

since the trace route test contains a small sample of results, consider reviewing the results of

the Media test before reacting . The Media test is a far more accurate representation of the

connection’s latency, jitter and packet loss metrics . Contact your ISP and have them diagnose

your Internet connection .

Q: The NAT Test fails or indicates a warning. What should I do?

A: The NAT test is an informational test to provide some characteristics of your NAT/firewall .

Failure of this test should not have any impact on your VoIP service . However, a warning

indicates that the NAT/Firewall might interfere with VoIP signaling between the 8x8 IP

phones on your network and the 8x8 service . Consider disabling any SIP ALG (Application

Layer Gateway), SIP helper or SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) on your NAT/firewall .


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Q: The Media test fails. What should I do?

A: The media test will fail if any one of the packet loss, jitter or latency metrics exceeds

acceptable levels, or if the test call used to establish the metrics fails to initiate or complete

successfully . Check your Internet connection, and consider contacting your ISP to diagnose

the performance of your Internet connection . Be sure to tell your ISP that you are interested

in the packet loss, jitter and latency metrics of the connection .

Q: The Media test indicates a warning. What should I do?

A: The media test will indicate a warning if any one of the packet loss, jitter or latency

metrics exceeds a warning level, but is within the acceptable limit . This is a warning to check

your Internet connection, and consider contacting your ISP to diagnose the performance of

your Internet connection . Be sure to tell your ISP that you are interested in the packet loss,

jitter and latency metrics of the connection .

Q: The IP Fragmentation Test fails or indicates a warning. What should I do?

A: This should not impact your 8x8 service at this time, but consider upgrading your NAT/

Firewall/Router . Older routers or routers with old firmware are known to have problems

supporting fragmented IP packets .

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