Policy-based QoS management for heterogeneous networks

One objective of the policy-based networking paradigm is to enable a formulation of operational goals on level that is more generic and abstract than the low level configurations understood by various networking devices. However, implementation of these policies often appears to be inflexible and complex solution in the context of heterogeneous network environment. Recent innovations in the field of ontologies can significantly simplify the management system by reducing the complexity of modules and interactions, providing unified data interfaces and integrating different types of knowledge into single large, extendable and scalable policy framework. Current paper describes ontology oriented QoS policy description and management framework for heterogeneous network environment (wireless, wired, broadcast) developed in NETQOS project. It focuses on the policy-based QoS management in accordance with actors' preferences. The proposed approach is based on flexible and open a rchitecture and includes semantic decomposition of the policies and data based on ontologies. Moreover, the proposed solution impacts the overall functioning of the policy management system with respect to implementation of user interfaces, interaction of components and enforcement directives.