Architecture and configuration of broadband access networks supporting multimedia applications

Recent Internet access speeds have made it possible even for home users to reach and use previously unavailable bandwidth consuming (e.g. video on demand) services. However, the rapid spread of these applications is hindered by the lack of QoS guarantees in packet networks. In this article a QoS architecture is presented which have been designed for access networks and applies a logical overlay network to make network management tasks easier. The novelty of the architecture lies in the application of two key procedures adopted for dimensioning logical channels between edge nodes and mapping them to the physical routes. The upper load thresholds of the applied logical channels are also determined, which may form the basis of a more sophisticated call admission control policy.