How to configure Voice VLAN on Zyxel Switch (V4.80 firmware version)

Zyxel_Melen

Hi guys, let's have an example scenario using voice VLAN to separate voice packets from other service packets, and prioritize the voice packet to enhance the voice quality to users.

Scenario:

Nowadays IP phones are commonly used in office environments, to give voice traffic a higher priority is an important consideration when designing a network.

Common scenario of the installation, the IP phone is connected to a switch on one end while linking the PC or laptop on the other end bridging both devices. In this case, Voice VLAN is an important feature used to easily mark and prioritize voice packets from IP phone, separating data packets from the PC. 

In the following configuration guide, the goal to achieve is to separate traffic between the IP phone and PC without having to set individual VLAN tags for them. The Switch will add VLAN tags for voice & data packets separately upon receiving them and then forwarded to the uplink.

Configurations for Standalone Switch

The following steps for standalone switch configuration on V4.80 firmware version are applicable to the GS1920 smart managed switch series and above.

1.    Create VLAN interfaces

1.1 Create a VLAN for voice packets transmission, select ports which are connected to IP phone, unselect Tx tagging as to save efforts of configuring VLAN on each phones.
Path: Menu > Switching > VLAN > VLAN setup

1.2     Create another VLAN for data packets, check member ports, uncheck Tx tagging.

On the uplink port enable Tx tagging to transmit packets with VLAN tags.

1.3     Configure PVID to separate data packets from voice packets. PVID number should be the same as the VLAN number created for data packets.

After setting PVID for data packets, next step is to configure “Voice VLAN” feature for the switch to identify the voice packets.

2.     Configure Voice VLAN

2.1     Configure Voice VLAN number and priority to prioritize the voice packets. Voice VLAN number should be same as the VLAN number created earlier for voice service packets.
Path: Menu > Switching > VLAN > Voice VLAN Setup

2.2     Specify the OUI addresses. OUI are the first 3 bytes of a MAC address that represents the vendor. Through specifying the IP phone MAC address, the switch can identify voice traffic accordingly. Zyxel switch supports up to 6 vendor OUIs.