This article presents an architecture for supporting inter-domain QoS across the multi-provider global Internet. Whilst most research to date has focused on supporting QoS within a single administrative domain, mature solutions are not yet available for the provision of QoS across multiple domains administered by different organizations. The architecture described in this article encompasses the full set of functions required in the management (service and resource), control and data planes for the provision of end-to-end QoS-based IP connectivity services. We use the concept of QoS Classes and show how these can be cascaded using service level specifications (SLSs) agreed between BGP peer domains to construct a defined end-to-end QoS. We illustrate the architecture by describing a typical operational scenario.

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Continuous monitoring of network status and its resources are necessary to ensure proper network operation. Deployment of QoS-based value-added services in IP networks necessitates the employment of resource management techniques and specifically the use of traffic engineering. The latter typically relies on monitoring data for both offline proactive and dynamic reactive solutions. The variety of data to be collected and analyzed using different measurement methods and tools, and the extent of monitoring information to use demand a proper QoS monitoring infrastructure. A monitoring system should be scalable in terms of network size, speed, and number of customers subscribed to value-added services. This article investigates the requirements of scalable monitoring system architectures, proposes principles for designing such systems, and validates them through the design and implementation of a scalable monitoring system for QoS delivery in IP differentiated services networks. Experimental assessment results prove the accuracy and scalability of the proposed monitoring system.