Core Stateless and Configurationless QoS Scheme for Airborne Networks

Currently implemented traditional quality of service (QoS) schemes such as the DiffServ services require that all routers in the user data path be configured with the same traffic management policies prior to the flow of the data, implying some coordination effort must have been performed up front. The routers must locally store these policies in order to achieve consistent service treatment of the user data end-to-end. Incoming data with a matching service "tag" are queued and scheduled for transmission according to these locally stored policies. The required traffic management policies can be distributed to the routers in non-real time using configuration via the network management plane or in semi-real-time using signaling via the control plane. For airborne networks, it may be desirable to have an alternative QoS scheme that does not require traffic management policies be disseminated to and stored at all routers in the data path yet which can still provide guaranteed QoS services compatible with those of traditional QoS schemes. We propose and assess the performance of such a QoS scheme for its operational suitability to the airborne network. The evaluation also assesses the means by which the new QoS scheme in the airborne network seamlessly integrates with QoS scheme in other networks comprising the GIG in accordance with policies from the DISA QoS working group. We present our simulation results and assessment in the context of operational scenarios that reflect airborne operations with the results showing that our proposed QoS scheme can provide the needed QoS services without the cumbersome traffic management policy coordination and configuration to all routers in the network