QoS in best-effort networks

Abstract

The QoS of today's best-effort network does not deliver the performance required for a wide range of interactive and multimedia applications that have demanding delay and bandwidth requirements. In this article we discuss how current research into congestion control has uncovered that best-effort networks, with just a few modifications to the existing equipment, can deliver the performance required for a range of applications. Furthermore, we describe how best-effort networks lead to a pricing mechanism that charges users in accordance to the stress they place on the network.