Quality of Service (QoS): How to Prioritize Gaming IPs

Introduction: The Traffic Jam

If someone in your house starts downloading a massive 4K movie, your Xbox will immediately start to lag. The router treats all traffic equally, creating a digital traffic jam. To fix this, you must enable Quality of Service (QoS) on your router.

Setting the Priority

QoS allows you to set rules based on Local IPs or MAC addresses. You can log into your router and tell it: "The IP address `192.168.1.50` (my Xbox) is High Priority. If the network gets busy, always send the packets for the Xbox *before* you send any packets for the smart TV."

Conclusion

QoS is the easiest way to cure 'Bufferbloat' and ensure that latency-sensitive devices (like VoIP phones and gaming consoles) always have a clear lane on the highway. Test your bufferbloat score here.