Patent ID: 7395350

Claim:
A control system for a communications network for optimizing quality of service experienced by each one of a plurality of users through use of an associated one of a plurality of application terminals connected to the network, the control system comprising: a network control server, connected to the network, for establishing a communication channel, through the network, having a predefined technical quality of service (TQS) associated therewith to be delivered by the channel and for subsequently changing the technical quality of service as requested by the terminal, the channel being for use by a specific application then provided to said each user through the associated application terminal thereby defining a plurality of corresponding specific applications for the users; and a quality-control server, connected to the network and responsive to information, provided by the associated application terminal through the network, the information reflecting both characteristic properties of the associated application terminal and operational settings of the specific application and also quality information, the quality information reflective of quality of service for the channel as requested by said each user (UQS) for use by the specific application and quality of service as actually delivered through the associated application terminal to the user (UQS′), wherein the quality-control server: once the channel is established, compares values of the requested and delivered qualities of service to yield a difference there between, and optimizes, in response to the operational settings and the terminal characteristics, the delivered quality of service (UQS′), by instructing, via the network, the associated application terminal to modify the operational settings of the specific application and, when necessary, the characteristic properties of the associated application terminal so as to request a different quality of service from the network in order to minimize the difference; and when appropriate and in response to the difference, also instructs the network control server to modify the technical quality of service to be provided by the channel; and wherein: the quality-control server further comprises a different corresponding user agent for every one of the users so as to define a plurality of user agents, and the associated application terminal comprises a respective agent-setting application such that operational settings desired by said each user for the corresponding specific application are passed to the corresponding user agent at the quality control server.