Constructing end-to-end traffic flows for managing differentiated services networks

Abstract

Differentiated Services (DiffServ), presently being standardized by IETF is considered to be a promising solution for supporting different service characteristics to different classes of network users on the Internet. The IETF DiffServ working group has defined a general architecture of DiffServ and is elaborating more detailed features. A simple but powerful management mechanism is needed to operate, provision, monitor and control DiffServ networks. Managing end-to-end traffic flows is one of the key components for managing DiffServ networks. Various high-level management functions can be built by using the flow information. In this paper, we present our work on designing a system architecture for managing DiffServ networks using the SNMP framework. DiffServ routers with SNMP agents have been developed, and a management system constructing end-to-end traffic flows has been designed.