DiffServ extensions to dynamic link states and bandwidths for QoS-aware mobile networking applications

Differentiated Service (DiffServ) is currently the only known QoS provisioning mechanism that is compatible to In-Line Network Encryptors (INE) for military networking applications. However, DiffServ typically assumes stable link bandwidth capacity and interconnectivity state in QoS provisioning,; this is not the case in a dynamic ad-hoc mobile network environment. There will be a need for "DiffServ Extensions" to account for the dynamic link state and bandwidth characteristics in such a dynamic mobile environment. We have implemented DiffServ on a Linux router using Linux Traffic Control (TC) elements of queuing disciplines, classes, and filters. We have designed and implemented QoS Service Provider (QoS-SP) that performs two main functions. One function is to response to notifications from the link/physical layer indicating that link state and/or the available network/link bandwidth characteristics have changed. The second function is to respond to QoS requests, from QoS-aware applications through QoS Application Programming Interface (API). In this paper, we will provide the design and implementation details of the DiffServ extensions to dynamic link states and bandwidth characteristics, QoS Services Provider, and QoS API for QoS-aware applications.