Resource Management and QoS Architectures in Access Networks

In a scenario of a network architecture which enables interoperability and information sharing amongst the nations, an IP-based infrastructure plays a leading role. The development of a multiservice network, integrated in the multiplexing and switching strategies, has converged to an IP-based infrastructure, reducing the relevance of other network architectures, such as the B-ISDN based on ATM. However, to develop a completely IP-based network, the issues related to the Quality of Service (QoS) support must be addressed both as it concerns the access and the core network. These problems are particularly relevant when wireless (terrestrial and satellite) access networks are considered, since the network resources can be limited and expensive. At the same time, Demand Assignment Multiple Access (DAMA) protocols permit to better exploit the satellite resources by dynamically allocating system bandwidth in response to user requests. In this scenario, the paper discusses the open issues concerning the application of the different QoS architectures (Integrated Services - Intserv, Differentiated Services – Diffserv, Multiprotocol Label Switching – MPLS) to a wireless access network (terrestrial and satellite). The paper deals also with the extension of MPLS to access network as well as the integration of the DiffServ and MPLS network architectures into a DiffServ over MPLS paradigm for QoS support. Furthermore, the advantages and the drawbacks of the proposed architectures are analyzed in detail and the interaction between the control plane of the MAC layer and the resource management at the IP layer is highlighted