Introducing QoS

Understanding the Need for QoS

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

QoS v2.21-1

Before Converged Networks

Traditional data traffic characteristics:

Bursty data flow First-come, first-served access Mostly not time-sensitive delays OK Brief outages are survivable

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

QoS v2.21-2

After Converged Networks

Converged traffic characteristics:

Constant small-packet voice flow competes with bursty data flow Critical traffic must get priority Voice and video are time-sensitive Brief outages not acceptable

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

QoS v2.21-3

Converged Networks: Quality Issues

Telephone Call: I cannot understand you; your voice is breaking up. Teleconferencing: The picture is very jerky. Voice not synchronized. Brokerage House: I needed that information two hours ago. Where is it? Call Center: Please hold while my screen refreshes.
2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. QoS v2.21-4

Converged Networks: Quality Issues (Cont.)

Lack of bandwidth: Multiple flows compete for a limited amount of bandwidth. End-to-end delay (fixed and variable): Packets have to traverse many network devices and links that add up to the overall delay. Variation of delay (jitter): Sometimes there is a lot of other traffic, which results in more delay. Packet loss: Packets may have to be dropped when a link is congested.

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

QoS v2.21-5

Lack of Bandwidth

Bad Voice Due to Lack of BW

Bandwidth max = min (10 Mbps, 256 kbps, 512 kbps, 100 Mbps) = 256 kbps Bandwidth avail = bandwidth max / flows
Maximum available bandwidth equals the bandwidth of the weakest link. Multiple flows are competing for the same bandwidth, resulting in much less bandwidth being available to one single application.

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

QoS v2.21-6

Ways to Increase Available Bandwidth

Upgrade the link: the best solution but also the most expensive. Forward the important packets first. Compress the payload of Layer 2 frames (it takes time). Compress IP packet headers.
2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. QoS v2.21-7

End-to-End Delay

Bad Voice Due to Delay Variation

Delay = P1 + Q1 + P2 + Q2 + P3 + Q3 + P4 = X ms

End-to-end delay equals a sum of all propagation, processing, and queuing delays in the path. In Best-Effort networks, propagation delay is fixed, processing and queuing delays are unpredictable.
2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. QoS v2.21-8

Types of Delay

Processing Delay: The time it takes for a router to take the packet from an input interface, examine it, and put it into the output queue of the output interface Queuing Delay: The time a packet resides in the output queue of a router Serialization Delay: The time it takes to place the bits on the wire Propagation Delay: The time it takes to transmit a packet

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

QoS v2.21-9

Processing and Queuing Delay

Processing Delay: The time it takes for a router to take the packet from an input interface, examine it, and put it into the output queue of the output interface Queuing Delay: The time a packets resides in the output queue of a router Serialization Delay: The time it takes to place the bits on the wire Propagation Delay: The time it takes to transmit a packet

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

QoS v2.21-10

Types of Delay

Processing Delay: The time it takes for a router to take the packet from an input interface, examine it, and put it into the output queue of the output interface Queuing Delay: The time a packet resides in the output queue of a router Serialization Delay: The time it takes to place the bits on the wire Propagation Delay: The time it takes to transmit a packet

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

QoS v2.21-11

Ways to Reduce Delay

Upgrade the link; the best solution but also the most expensive. Forward the important packets first. Compress the payload of Layer 2 frames (it takes time). Compress IP packet headers.
QoS v2.21-12

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Packet Loss

Bad Voice Due to Packet Loss

Tail drops occur when the output queue is full. These are common drops, which happen when a link is congested. Many other types of drops exist, usually the result of router congestion, that are uncommon and may require a hardware upgrade (input drop, ignore, overrun, frame errors).
2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. QoS v2.21-13

Ways to Prevent Packet Loss

Upgrade the link; the best solution but also the most expensive. Guarantee enough bandwidth to sensitive packets. Prevent congestion by randomly dropping less important packets before congestion occurs.
2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. QoS v2.21-14

Summary
Traditional networks use a separate network for delay- and jitter-sensitive voice traffic. The voice network is engineered to support the required number of calls. For data traffic, protocols like TCP have been developed to adapt to the bursty nature of a data network. Converged networks that support voice, video, and data create new requirements for managing network traffic. QoS meets those requirements. Converged networks suffer from different quality issues, including lack of adequate bandwidth, end-to-end and variable delay, and lost packets. Lack of bandwidth causes networks to experience different types of delay, including processing delay, queuing delay, serialization delay, and propagation delay.
2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. QoS v2.21-15

Summary (Cont.)
End-to-end delay is the sum of all propagation, processing, and queuing delays. Packet loss can cause applications that use TCP to slow down. Applications that do not use TCP, such as voice traffic, will experience poor voice quality if the packet loss is too excessive. Ways to increase the available bandwidth, decrease the delay and packet loss include: Increasing the link capacity Using QoS mechanisms such as queuing, WRED, traffic policing and shaping, and link efficiency mechanisms such as payload and header compression

2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

QoS v2.21-16

 2006 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

QoS v2.21-17