QOS-Enabled Networks, 2nd Edition

12Conclusion

A quality of service (QOS) deployment can be simple, maybe provocative but something the authors of this book strongly believe.

The key point is where and how to start. Understanding the foundations and the tools is critical, thinking about each tool as a black box that achieves one result. Analyze the traffic types present and who needs favoring and who gets penalized; there are no miracles or win–win situations. Also pay special attention to the network topology. Analyze the following: How is the traffic transported across the network? Is the transport protocol adaptive in any way? Can the network itself be lossless? And it is always equally important to keep it simple: use the features your deployment needs, and do not turn on any single new feature because it looks cool. Stay away from generic solutions. Think of it like a motorbike or car (depending if you are talking to Miguel or Peter); it is something tailored for your goals.

Everyone travels the same road, but ambulances can go first, while others wait for their turn. The tricky part of a QOS deployment is selecting what to classify as ambulances when the flashing lights show up.

In terms of future evolution there were times, which now feel like a very distant past, where it was argued that “just throw resources at the problem” approach placed a certain shadow over QOS. Not anymore, not just because overprovisioning is expensive but also because there are scenarios for which it is not tailored for.