A-Serv: A Novel Architecture Providing Scalable Quality of Service

QoS architectures define how routers process packets to ensure QoS service guarantees enforced. Existing QoS architectures such as Integrated Services (IntServ), Differentiated Services (DiffServ), and Dynamic Packet State (DPS) share one common property that the packet structure and the function of the routers are closely connected. Packets of one data flow are treated the same all the time at different routers. We propose to decouple such connection between packet structures and router functions. In our solution, packets carry as much information as possible, while routers process packets as detailed as possible until their load burden prohibits. We call such novel QoS architecture Adaptive Services (A-Serv). A-Serv utilizes our newly designed Load Adaptive Router to provide adaptive QoS to data flows. Treatments to data flows are not predefined but based on the load burden in Load Adaptive Routers. A-Serv overcomes the scalability problem of IntServ, provides better service guarantees to individual data flows than DiffServ and can be deployed incrementally. Our empirical analysis results show that compared with DiffServ architecture, A-Serv can provide differentiated services to data flows in the same DiffServ class and can provide better guaranteed QoS to data flows. Furthermore, A-Serv provides better protection to data flows than DiffServ when malicious data flows exist