Audio, video and multimedia services impose strict requirements on the loss, jitter and delay through the network. Some lesser requirements are set for services like web browsing, transactions and e-commerce.To meet these requirements, the routers use different traffic handling for the packets. For IntServ this is done on a per flow basis while for DiffServ it is done on a class basis. The latter therefore scales better and it is the preferred architecture in the Internet. For Diffserv,the packet handling is divided into two sets of tools, the scheduling of packets, and the discarding of packets when buffers reach certain watermarks. In order for Diffserv to be used to offer end-to-end QoS the traffic load must be limited, either through adaptable applications or through admission control. Congestion control signals, either as dropped packets or through marking of packets, can be used to signal congestion to the sources and thereby let them adapt to the situation.

Project coordinator: Professor Øivind Kure