End-to-End System QoS Modeling based on Network Calculus: A Multi-Media Case Study

Network Calculus has been used for formal modeling and analysis of timing properties, i.e., Quality-of-Service (QoS), in realtime embedded systems. Prior analyses often focus only on a particular aspect of an entire system such as scheduling algorithm, traffic shaping, or a hardware subsystem such as network-on-chip, leaving end-to-end system QoS analysis seldomly touched. Based on a video playback system, we intend to conduct an end-to-end system-level QoS modeling using network calculus. We build an abstract end-to-end service model for various software routines and hardware modules dealing with both computation and communication. In FPGA prototype experiments running real video clips, we show that the parameters in the service model can be measured and QoS-related operational details can be monitored for continuous assessment of QoS fulfillment at runtime.