Deterministic end-to-end guarantees for real-time applications in a diffServ-MPLS domain

Abstract

In this paper, we are interested in providing deterministic end-to-end guarantees to real-time applications in the Internet. We focus on two QoS parameters: the end-to-end response time and the end-to-end jitter, parameters of the utmost importance for such applications. We propose a solution, very simple to deploy, based on a combination of DiffServ and MPLS. The Expedited Forwarding (EF) class of the Differentiated Services (DiffServ) model is well adapted for real-time applications as it is designed for flows with end-to-end real-time constraints. Moreover Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), when applied in a DiffServ architecture, is an efficient solution for providing Quality of Service (QoS) routing. The results of our worst case analysis enable to derive a simple admission control for the EF class. Resources provisioned for the EF class but not used by this class are available for the other classes. © Springer-Verlag 2004.