Quality-of-Service (QoS) is a method used to manage network resources and prioritize different types of traffic. QoS solutions can be either hardware- or software-based, and they use different mechanisms to achieve their goals. The most common QoS solutions are Traffic Shaping, Traffic Policing, and Quality of Service Marking.
QoS is important because it allows you to prioritize different types of traffic, which can be important in a number of situations. For example, if you are running a VoIP call and your computer is also downloading a file, you can use QoS to give priority to the VoIP call and ensure that the call quality is not affected.
There are a number of benefits to using QoS, but there are also some disadvantages that you should be aware of. In this blog, we will discuss what QoS is, the different types of QoS solutions, how QoS works, the benefits of using QoS, and the disadvantages of QoS.
Note: If you haven’t read the previous blog of our CCNA 200-301 series, I highly recommend you do so.
Let’s get started!
What is QoS?
Quality-of-Service (QoS) is a networking technique used to prioritize certain types of traffic over others. It ensures that important traffic, such as VoIP calls, receives first priority on the network.
QoS solutions can be either hardware- or software-based, and they use different mechanisms to achieve their goals.
Common QoS solutions include the following:
- Traffic Shaping,
- Traffic Policing, and
- Quality of Service Marking.
The main purpose of QoS is to ensure that important network traffic is prioritized over less important traffic, such as file transfers. This is done by applying different levels of priority to different types of traffic, as well as by controlling the amount of bandwidth available for each type of traffic. By doing this, important traffic can be given priority and not affected by any congestion caused by traffic on the network.
Why is QoS Important in a Computer Network?
QoS is important because it allows you to prioritize different types of traffic over others. The following are the important functions of the QoS. These are:
- Prioritize traffic:
This can be essential in a number of situations, such as when you are running a VoIP call and your computer is also downloading a file. In this case, you can use QoS to give priority to the VoIP call and ensure that the call quality is not affected.
- Balancing resource access:
QoS is also important for ensuring that all users have equal access to the resources on the network.
- Managing bandwidth usage:
By using QoS, you can guarantee that certain traffic (such as VoIP or video streaming) gets the bandwidth that it needs, while less important traffic (such as file transfers or web browsing) receives the remaining bandwidth.
With QoS, you can also ensure that no one user or application is using too much bandwidth, thus preventing any one user from dominating the network resources.
What are the different types of QoS Mechanisms?
There are several different types of QoS mechanisms that can be used to prioritize network traffic. These include:
- Traffic Shaping
- Traffic Policing
- Quality of Service Marking.
1. Traffic Shaping:
- Traffic Shaping is a QoS mechanism that is used to manage the amount of data that is sent on the network.
- It helps to ensure that important traffic is not adversely affected by congestion.
2. Traffic Policing:
- Traffic Policing is another QoS mechanism that is used to control the amount of data sent over the network.
- It can be used to limit the amount of bandwidth that a certain type of traffic is allowed to use.
3. Quality of Service Marking:
- Quality of Service Marking is a QoS mechanism that is used to set different levels of priority for different types of traffic.
- This allows important traffic to be given priority over other types of traffic.
- The Quality of Service Marking can also be used to identify and provide priority to latency-sensitive traffic, such as VoIP.
Implementing QoS in a Computer Network
This is how Quality-of-Service (QoS) is implemented in a computer network:
- The first step in implementing QoS is to identify all of the applications, users, and devices that will be using the network. This will allow you to identify which traffic should be given priority.
- After this, you will need to configure the appropriate QoS solutions. This will include Traffic Shaping, Traffic Policing, and Quality of Service Marking.
- Finally, you will need to monitor the network to make sure that the QoS policies are working as intended.
- You will also need to adjust the QoS settings as needed. This can be done manually, or you can use a network management system to automate the process.
What are the benefits of QoS?
There are several benefits to using QoS on your network.
- The most important benefit is that it allows you to prioritize different types of traffic over others. This is important for ensuring that VoIP calls, video streaming, and other latency-sensitive traffic are not poorly affected by any congestion on the network.
- Another benefit of QoS is that it can be used to ensure that no one user or application is hogging the network resources.
- By setting limits on how much bandwidth each user or application is allowed to use, you can manage the resources on the network and ensure that everyone is getting a fair share.
What are the drawbacks of QoS?
While QoS can be beneficial in many cases, there are some drawbacks as well.
- One potential drawback is that it can be difficult to configure a QoS solution correctly. If the QoS settings are not configured correctly, the network may not operate properly.
- Another potential drawback is that the QoS solutions available on the market are often expensive. This means that using QoS may add an additional cost to the network.
- QoS solutions can also be complex and hard to manage, which can increase the amount of time that is needed to configure and maintain the network.
Bottom Line
Quality-of-Service (QoS) is a networking technique used to prioritize certain types of traffic over others. It allows you to prioritize important network traffic and ensure that everyone has access to the resources on the network.
There are a number of benefits to using QoS, but there are also some drawbacks that you should be aware of. With the right configuration and management, QoS can be a great tool for managing your network resources. It just depends on the user how he can make the most out of it!
Stay tuned for upcoming informative blogs for our free CCNA series.
