Implement Quality of Service (QoS) in Microsoft Teams desktop clients on Windows

  • Article
  • Applies to:
    Classic Microsoft Teams, New Microsoft Teams

There are multiple methods you can use to set the Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) markings for Teams desktop clients running on Windows. This article assumes you're using the default source port ranges as defined in Implement QoS in Teams. If you've customized the source port ranges for your environment, you'll need to adjust the following guidance to reflect the source ports being used.

Configuring DSCP markings using Intune

Microsoft Intune (and other Mobile Device Management (MDM) providers) use the eXtensible Markup Language (XML)-based Open Mobile Alliance-Device Management (OMA-DM) protocol for policy settings management. Windows implements OMA-DM XML via Configuration Service Providers (CSPs) - and for Quality of Service (QoS), the NetworkQoSPolicy CSP is leveraged.

To create the device configuration policy for QoS for Teams clients on Windows:

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft Intune admin center.

  2. Select Devices > Configuration > Create.

  3. Enter the following properties:

    • Platform: Select Windows 10 and later.
    • Profile type: Select Templates and then select Custom.

  4. Select Create.

  5. In Basics, enter the following properties:

    • Name: Enter a descriptive name for the profile. Name your profiles so you can easily identify them later. For example, Windows: Teams QoS DSCP Markings
    • Description: Enter a description for the profile. This setting is optional, but recommended.

  6. Select Next.

  7. In Configuration settings, select Add. Use the following tables to fill in the required OMA-URI settings (repeat for each row in the table).

    For the new Teams client, using the following table.

    Table 1. Intune OMA-URI Settings for new Teams

    Name Description OMA-URI Data Type Value
    Teams Audio: Application New Teams executable name. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/TeamsAudio/AppPathNameMatchCondition String ms-teams.exe
    Teams Audio: Ports Audio source ports used by the Teams client. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/TeamsAudio/SourcePortMatchCondition String 50000-50019
    Teams Audio: DSCP Marking Marking applied for audio (EF46) ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/TeamsAudio/DSCPAction Integer 46
    Teams Video: Application New Teams executable name. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/TeamsVideo/AppPathNameMatchCondition String ms-teams.exe
    Teams Video: Ports Video source ports used by the Teams client. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/TeamsVideo/SourcePortMatchCondition String 50020-50039
    Teams Video: DSCP Marking Marking applied for video (AF41) ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/TeamsVideo/DSCPAction Integer 34
    Teams Screenshare: Application New Teams executable name. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/TeamsScreenshare/AppPathNameMatchCondition String ms-teams.exe
    Teams Screenshare: Ports Screen sharing ports used by the Teams client. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/TeamsScreenshare/SourcePortMatchCondition String 50040-50059
    Teams Screenshare: DSCP Marking Marking applied for screen sharing (AF21) ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/TeamsScreenshare/DSCPAction Integer 18
    Teams Calling-Meeting Signaling: Application New Teams executable name. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/TeamsCMSignaling/AppPathNameMatchCondition String ms-teams.exe
    Teams Calling-Meeting Signaling: Ports Calling and Meeting Signaling source ports used by the Teams client. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/TeamsCMSignaling/SourcePortMatchCondition String 50070-50089
    Teams Calling-Meeting Signaling: DSCP Marking Marking applied for calling and meeting signaling (CS5) ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/TeamsCMSignaling/DSCPAction Integer 40

    For the classic Teams client, using the following table.

    Table 2. Intune OMA-URI Settings for classic Teams

    Name Description OMA-URI Data Type Value
    Classic Teams Audio: Application Classic Teams executable name. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/ClassicTeamsAudio/AppPathNameMatchCondition String teams.exe
    Classic Teams Audio: Ports Audio source ports used by the Teams client. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/ClassicTeamsAudio/SourcePortMatchCondition String 50000-50019
    Classic Teams Audio: DSCP Marking Marking applied for audio (EF46) ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/ClassicTeamsAudio/DSCPAction Integer 46
    Classic Teams Video: Application Classic Teams executable name. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/ClassicTeamsVideo/AppPathNameMatchCondition String teams.exe
    Classic Teams Video: Ports Video source ports used by the Teams client. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/ClassicTeamsVideo/SourcePortMatchCondition String 50020-50039
    Classic Teams Video: DSCP Marking Marking applied for video (AF41) ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/ClassicTeamsVideo/DSCPAction Integer 34
    Classic Teams Screenshare: Application Classic Teams executable name. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/ClassicTeamsScreenshare/AppPathNameMatchCondition String teams.exe
    Classic Teams Screenshare: Ports Screen sharing ports used by the Teams client. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/ClassicTeamsScreenshare/SourcePortMatchCondition String 50040-50059
    Classic Teams Screenshare: DSCP Marking Marking applied for screen sharing (AF21) ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/ClassicTeamsScreenshare/DSCPAction Integer 18
    Classic Teams Calling-Meeting Signaling: Application New Teams executable name. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/ClassicTeamsCMSignaling/AppPathNameMatchCondition String teams.exe
    Classic Teams Calling-Meeting Signaling: Ports Calling and Meeting Signaling source ports used by the Teams client. ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/ClassicTeamsCMSignaling/SourcePortMatchCondition String 50070-50089
    Classic Teams Calling-Meeting Signaling: DSCP Marking Marking applied for calling and meeting signaling (CS5) ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/NetworkQoSPolicy/ClassicTeamsCMSignaling/DSCPAction Integer 40

  8. Select Next

  9. In Assignments, select the group or groups that you want to target with this policy. The group membership must include Windows devices (and not user accounts) as this is a device policy.

  10. Select Next

  11. In Applicability Rules, define and desired rules (optional).

  12. Select Next.

  13. In Review + create, review the settings for accuracy, and when finished select Create.

Configuring DSCP markings using PowerShell commands

Endpoint DSCP markings can be set in PowerShell using the New-NetQosPolicy command. In the examples below, there are two commands each for audio, video, and application sharing. The following commands show creating policies for both the new Teams client (ms-teams.exe) and classic Teams client (Teams.exe). You can combine these commands into a PowerShell script and distribute to your desired endpoints.

Set QoS for audio

new-NetQosPolicy -Name "Teams Audio" -AppPathNameMatchCondition "ms-teams.exe" -IPProtocolMatchCondition Both -IPSrcPortStartMatchCondition 50000 -IPSrcPortEndMatchCondition 50019 -DSCPAction 46 -NetworkProfile All
new-NetQosPolicy -Name "Classic Teams Audio" -AppPathNameMatchCondition "Teams.exe" -IPProtocolMatchCondition Both -IPSrcPortStartMatchCondition 50000 -IPSrcPortEndMatchCondition 50019 -DSCPAction 46 -NetworkProfile All

Set QoS for video

new-NetQosPolicy -Name "Teams Video" -AppPathNameMatchCondition "ms-teams.exe" -IPProtocolMatchCondition Both -IPSrcPortStartMatchCondition 50020 -IPSrcPortEndMatchCondition 50039 -DSCPAction 34 -NetworkProfile All
new-NetQosPolicy -Name "Classic Teams Video" -AppPathNameMatchCondition "Teams.exe" -IPProtocolMatchCondition Both -IPSrcPortStartMatchCondition 50020 -IPSrcPortEndMatchCondition 50039 -DSCPAction 34 -NetworkProfile All

Set QoS for sharing

new-NetQosPolicy -Name "Teams Sharing" -AppPathNameMatchCondition "ms-teams.exe" -IPProtocolMatchCondition Both -IPSrcPortStartMatchCondition 50040 -IPSrcPortEndMatchCondition 50059 -DSCPAction 18 -NetworkProfile All
new-NetQosPolicy -Name "Classic Teams Sharing" -AppPathNameMatchCondition "Teams.exe" -IPProtocolMatchCondition Both -IPSrcPortStartMatchCondition 50040 -IPSrcPortEndMatchCondition 50059 -DSCPAction 18 -NetworkProfile All

Set QoS for calling and meeting signaling

new-NetQosPolicy -Name "Teams Calling-Meeting Signaling" -AppPathNameMatchCondition "ms-teams.exe" -IPProtocolMatchCondition UDP -IPSrcPortStartMatchCondition 50070 -IPSrcPortEndMatchCondition 50089 -DSCPAction 40 -NetworkProfile All
new-NetQosPolicy -Name "Classic Teams Calling-Meeting Signaling" -AppPathNameMatchCondition "Teams.exe" -IPProtocolMatchCondition UDP -IPSrcPortStartMatchCondition 50070 -IPSrcPortEndMatchCondition 50089 -DSCPAction 40 -NetworkProfile All

Configuring DSCP markings using Group Policy

You can create policy-based QoS settings within a Group Policy object (GPO). When creating the policies, you'll need to create a separate policy for audio, video, and application sharing.

To create a QoS audio policy for domain-joined Windows computers, first log on to a computer on which Group Policy Management has been installed. Open Group Policy Management (click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Group Policy Management), and then complete the following steps:

  1. In Group Policy Management, locate the container where the new policy should be created. For example, if all your client computers are located in an OU named Clients, create the new policy in the Clients OU.

  2. Right-click the appropriate container, and then select Create a GPO in this domain, and Link it here.

  3. In the New GPO dialog box, type a name for the new Group Policy object in the Name box, and then select OK.

  4. Right-click the newly created policy, and then select Edit.

  5. In the Group Policy Management Editor, expand Computer Configuration, expand Windows Settings, right-click Policy-based QoS, and then select Create new policy.

  6. In the Policy-based QoS dialog box, on the opening page, type a name for the new policy in the Name box. Select Specify DSCP Value, and set the value to 46. Leave Specify Outbound Throttle Rate unselected, and then select Next.

  7. On the next page, select Only applications with this executable name and enter the following name:

    • For new Teams enter ms-teams.exe
    • For classic Teams enter teams.exe

  8. Click Next. This setting instructs the policy to prioritize only matching traffic from the Teams client.

  9. On the third page, make sure that both Any source IP address and Any destination IP address are selected, and then select Next. These two settings ensure that packets will be managed regardless of which computer (IP address) sent the packets and which computer (IP address) will receive the packets.

  10. On page four, select TCP and UDP from the Select the protocol this QoS policy applies to drop-down list. TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) are the two networking protocols most commonly used.

  11. Under the heading Specify the source port number, select From this source port or range. In the accompanying text box, type the port range reserved for audio transmissions. For example, if you reserved ports 50000 through ports 50019 for audio traffic, enter the port range using this format: 50000:50019. Select Finish.

  12. Repeat steps 5-10 to create policies for Video, Application/Desktop Sharing and Calling and Meeting Signaling, substituting the appropriate values in steps 6 and 10.

The new policies you've created won't take effect until Group Policy has been refreshed on your client computers. Although Group Policy periodically refreshes on its own, you can force an immediate refresh by following these steps:

  1. On each computer for which you want to refresh Group Policy, open a Command Prompt as administrator (Run as administrator).

  2. At the command prompt, enter

    gpupdate /force

Verify DSCP markings in the Group Policy object

To verify that the values from the Group Policy object are set, perform the following steps:

  1. Open a Command Prompt as administrator (Run as administrator).

  2. At the command prompt, enter

    gpresult /R > gp.txt

    This will generate a report of applied GPOs and send it to a text file named gp.txt.

    For a more readable HTML report named gp.html, enter the following command:

    gpresult /H gp.html

  3. In the generated file, look for the heading Applied Group Policy Objects, and verify that the names of the Group Policy objects created earlier are in the list of applied policies.

  4. Open the Registry Editor, and go to

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\QoS

    Verify the values for the registry entries listed in Table 2.

    Table 2. Values for Windows registry entries for QoS

    Name Type Data
    Application Name REG_SZ ms-teams.exe
    DSCP Value REG_SZ 46
    Local IP REG_SZ *
    Local IP Prefix Length REG_SZ *
    Local Port REG_SZ 50000-50019
    Protocol REG_SZ *
    Remote IP REG_SZ *
    Remote IP Prefix REG_SZ *
    Remote Port REG_SZ *
    Throttle Rate REG_SZ -1

  5. Verify that the value for the Application Name entry is correct for the client you're using, and verify that both the DSCP Value and Local Port entries reflect the settings in the Group Policy object.

Implement Quality of Service (QoS) in Teams