End-to-End QoS and Security in IP Networks

During the Phase I of the project, we developed a system level architecture for quality of service (QoS) provisioning at the end-host that works with secure communication protocols. This architecture will enable deployment of agile, split-based, networkcentric communication systems that are distributed, collaborative, and scalable. By breaking the mold of server-based methods for QoS and Security, we achieve significant cost reduction while improving the performance and scalability. Our proposed solutionwill be the first product with true end-to-end QoS (IS and DS) and security.Our Phase II goal is to deliver a prototype software and hardware that provides support for end-to-end QoS and Security. Dedicated hardware integrated into a network interface card (NIC) will be used to improve performance with in-line implementation ofQoS and Security protocols and data processing. There are some NICs in the market that have tried to support security and QoS, but they have not been very successful because of lack of end-to-end feature.Since our architecture allows for application independent QoS and security, there will be no need to modify individual applications. Centralized policy control enables quick optimization of the network for improved performance. This approach also blendsnaturally with peer-to-peer networking.