Part 2 - The Solution

The only solution for your problem is to remove the NAT (Network Address Translation) from between your VOIP Router and the VPN located on the PC.

In the graphic on the left, you can see the typical setup described by a VOIP Provider.

They tell you to configure your network with default settings on the router and to connect all the computers to the router they provided.

What they don't know, you have other VPNs on the network and they don't tell you of the hell they are creating for you.

The first thing you will need to do to resolve this, contact your Internet Service Provider and get a block of 8 Static IP Addresses.

We will see in later posts how to properly configure these static IP Addresses. But for now, make sure you can get them from your ISP.

If your ISP doesn't support static IPs, you will need a new ISP that does.

I have a block of 8 Static IPs from my ISP, these cost me $14.95 per month with a $50 setup charge from my ISP Qwest with Windows Live.

In the past, Qwest used to make you change your ISP to Qwest.net in order to get Static IPs. Now you can get Static IPs from Qwest with MSN Premium or Qwest with Windows Live.

For this, I never loose either the VPN or the VOIP connection.

As an added benefit, my pings have improved by 5-11ms depending on the site and if you would like you can run your own server from your home. (great for game play)

The reason for this may be obvious, no NAT means no delayed packets.

Once you have the static IPs, you need to understand what additional hardware will be needed prior to configuring the Static IPs.

(Note: The PC will be attached directly to the Internet, you need to have a good firewall for this. Windows Firewall won't cut it.)

One possible way to remove the NAT and use your new Static IPs, is to plug both the VOIP Router and the PC with the VPN directly to the Gateway (DSL Router/Cable Modem).

You need to check your Gateway to see if it supports more than one connection.

You can check this by examing your Gateway physically to count the number of ethernet ports and/or USB Ports. If your Gateway has both, you can normally use any combination of USB and ethernet ports for configuring your network.

If you only have one connection available on your Gateway, you will need to purchase a Network HUB.

A Network HUB doesn't cost very much, you can pick up a used one from FRY's Electronics normally for about $5, you shouldn't spend more than $19.95 for a network HUB.

A Network HUB is just a glorified line spliter, it will give you the additional connections you need on the Gateway.


In Future Posts I will show you how I configured my own VOIP and Gateway with static IPs.