An advanced QoS protocol for real-time content over the Internet

Abstract

This paper describes an upgrade to network functionality aimed at the support of a mass-market home-based supply of QoS-sensitive content. We describe a new protocol that deals with congestion conditions that may arise when too many simultaneous QoS-sensitive flows compete for bandwidth at a network link. It provides a solution to enable certain flows to be guaranteed, by making others (typically the latest flow, or another flow selected because of policy reasons), the subject of focused packet discards. The business context and the protocol are described, and some simulation results from the model, are presented. The protocol has been the subject of discussion recently at ITU-T meetings, and ETSI meetings, and in January 2005 a new transfer capability based on this protocol was added to the draft ITU-T standard Y.1221, Traffic Control and Congestion Control in IP-based networks. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2005.