Obtaining Peak Skype for Business Performance

This article addresses some of the factors that impact Skype for Business performance.  Many of these factors contribute to or take away from optimum Skype for Business audio and video performance and ultimately the quality of your Skype for Business experience. These factors can be summarized in the following categories:

Your Device

If possible, ensure your device is a recent model and up to date.  Hardware platform, processor, memory and video processing capacity all impact performance.  In addition, make sure that you have a current operating system (OS) installed and that you are up to date with all patches, updates and service packs.  

The Skype for Business Client

Your Skype for Business client determines the feature set you have available.  Make sure that you have the most current client for your platform and that you have applied all the available updates. Contact the ITS Help Desk or your assigned computer support for additional help. 

The Environment:

Environmental noise and poor lighting can contribute to our perception of a poor quality Skype for Business experience.  If possible, move to an environment more conducive to improving your Skype for Business experience. 

The Network

Network connectivity is one of the most critical factors as well as the most common cause of problems impacting Skype for Business performance.   Where are you located? Are you connected to a wired or a wireless connection? Do you have enough bandwidth (information carrying capacity)? Is the network congested (busy)?

Skype for Business users moving from a wired connection to wireless will be dropped from their active Skype for Business session. This can also occur for users when roaming on wireless networks when the individual moves from one wireless access point to another.

The loss of the Skype for Business session is due to normal network behavior and is not a Skype for Business issue. The Skype for Business user will have to rejoin the session. For best performance, ITS recommends staying in the same location if you have an active Skype for Business session such as a Skype for Business meeting or chat session.

Skype for Business Location Quality Matrix

Assuming that your device and Skype for Business client are up to date and operating at peak performance and that you are in an environment that optimizes your Skype for Business experience, your quality of experience will be determined by the Skype for Business feature you are using (chat, audio, video, etc.) and the type of network connection you have (wired, wireless, onsite, offsite, etc.)  The following matrix will help you determine the quality of experience you can expect in a variety of environments.  This legend will help explain the experience you should expect:

Legend

Recommended = Best or good quality of experience

Acceptable = Average quality experience, dependent upon available bandwidth and network congestion

Not Recommended = Intermittent or poor quality experience

(1)Current device, OS and current Skype for Business Client recommended

(2) Wireless roaming not recommended

Using Skype for Business for Remote Work

Skype for Business users utilizing the University VPN service will not experience any performance impacts.  Using Skype for Business with a personal VPN, Virtual Machine or Remote Desktop session may result in reduced performance.