Abstract

The current Internet assumes the best-effort service model. In this model, the network allocates bandwidth among all the instantaneous users as best it can, and attempts to serve all of them without making any explicit commitments as to bandwidth or delay. Routers keep no state about end host connections, and when congestion occurs, all connections are expected to slow down and achieve a collective sending rate equal to the capacity of the congestion point. As the Internet has transitioned from a research network to a commercial, heterogeneous network, three problems arise. First, an increasing number of real-time applications require some kind of quality of service (QoS) guarantees from the Internet rather than the simple best-effort service. Second, a heterogeneous user base has a variety of different requirements from the network and some users are willing to pay to have their requirements satisfied, and the current Internet service model cannot offer a range of flexible services. ...

Citations