Introduction

  • Article

Abstract

Within the past few years, there has been a rapid growth in network traffic. New applications, particularly multimedia applications, have placed increasing demands on networks, straining their ability to provide customers with a satisfactory experience. In answer to this situation, numerous mechanisms have surfaced for providing quality of service (QoS) networks. The ultimate goal of these mechanisms is to provide improved network service to the applications at the edges of the network. This white paper reviews emerging QoS mechanisms and how they are integrated to optimize the utilization of network resources. It then specifically discusses Microsoft's QoS mechanisms.

Introduction

During the past several years, numerous mechanisms have surfaced for providing quality of service (QoS) networks. The ultimate goal of these mechanisms is to provide improved network 'service' to the applications at the edges of the network. This whitepaper reviews emerging QoS mechanisms and how they are integrated to optimize the utilization of network resources. It then specifically discusses Microsoft's QoS mechanisms.

This article helps Windows 2000 administrators troubleshoot remote access connections by providing information on how to isolate the problem component in a failed connection. This article begins with a general introduction to the components of a remote access connection that are most likely to cause a problem and includes information on how to identify and isolate a component as the potential problem component. It then describes the connection setup process, which is critical to understanding the phases of a remote access connection and the information gathered by troubleshooting tools. Next, this article describes the tools used in troubleshooting and how to troubleshoot common remote access problems. It lists frequently occurring error IDs, describes how to trace events based on these IDs and refers to Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles that contain the related solution.

Ultimately, creating a standardized methodology that administrators can use to efficiently track down the problem area and fix it can save precious time spent deciphering complex error logs. Administrators can reduce the time taken to fix a failed connection by using the information in this article as a tool and checklist. It will also help them to resolve issues on their own before calling Microsoft Product Support Services.

Organization of this Document

  • Chapters 2 and 3 define network QoS and introduce the basic QoS technologies available.

  • Chapter 4 discusses the varying levels of guarantees that can be expected from a QoS-enabled network and the tradeoffs that can be expected in providing them.

  • Chapters 5 and 6 introduce a sample network incorporating the QoS mechanisms discussed and describe how the various mechanisms can be integrated to provide end-to-end QoS functionality.

  • Chapter 4 discusses the varying levels of guarantees that can be expected from a QoS-enabled network and the tradeoffs that can be expected in providing them.

  • Chapter 7 describes the application of policies in the QoS enabled network.

  • Chapter 8 describes Microsoft's QoS components in detail.

  • Chapter 9 describes the current level of support for various QoS mechanisms in generally third party network equipment.

  • Chapter 10 includes references to Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) documents describing the QoS mechanisms discussed in this whitepaper.