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

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