You ve also got to make sure the traffic you send reaches its destination. The cable networks are one of the first platforms that are going to provide really convergent applications in the way of data, video, telephony features and audio. That means your networks must be aware of the applications they carry so that programmers can develop intelligent applications that signal the network of their bandwidth and priority requirements. With such awareness, networks can dynamically adapt to the needs of users, Martinez said. Remember that elements at the network s edge and core perform different QoS functions.
Edge devices classify, mark and police ingress traffic, and they also shape egress traffic.
Network elements apply queuing and scheduling to traffic. Martinez advised that before you configure your network elements for QoS, you profile the traffic types generated by different applications to decide which QoS treatments are right for each application. A policy server can talk to other providers policy servers so they can negotiate QoS as traffic moves from one network to another. Until such capabilities become ubiquitous, consider using QoS-based processing in those network spots that tend toward congestion. Post your comments and questions to our Discussion Forum or email CT's Editor with feedback.