NR: Collaborative Research: DiffServ-Aware Multicast

支持服务质量的群组应用的激增和日益增长的重要性，加上高速网络的进步，推动了对可扩展和可部署的因特网群组通信架构、算法和协议的需求。这种应用的例子包括点播音频/视频服务、电话会议、服务器推送操作、远程教育和娱乐中的多媒体演示以及实时信息传播。这些应用消耗很高的网络带宽，并要求提供服务质量保证。组播和区分服务(DiffServ)是满足这些需求的两种有效技术。DiffServ试图在互联网上提供可扩展的服务质量，而多播旨在最大化组成员之间的带宽共享。尽管这些技术具有互补的目标，但它们的共存带来了几个独特的挑战。本研究的目标是开发解决这些挑战的体系结构、算法和协议。该协作项目特别关注用于支持DiffServ的组播的可行方法，以解决诸如可伸缩性、组播树构建和维护、异类服务质量和SLA管理以及接收者发起的差异化服务等关键问题。这项拟议的研究将回答与DiffServ多播有关的许多关键问题，这将使Internet上的Qos多播成为现实。

The proliferation and increasing importance of QoS-aware group applications coupled with the advancement in high-speed networking are driving the need for scalable and deployable group communication architectures, algorithms, and protocols over the Internet. Examples of such applications include on-demand audio/video services, teleconferencing, server push operations, multimedia presentations in distant education and entertainment, and real-time information dissemination. These applications consume high network bandwidth and demand QoS assurances. Multicasting and differentiated services (DiffServ) are the two effective technologies that address these requirements. DiffServ attempts to provide scalable QoS over the Internet, whereas multicasting aims at maximizing bandwidth sharing among the members of a group. Although these technologies have complementary goals, their coexistence introduces several unique challenges. The goal of this research is to develop architectures, algorithms, and protocols addressing these challenges. This collaborative project concentrates in particular on viable approaches for DiffServ-aware multicasting addressing key issues, such as scalability, multicast tree construction and maintenance, heterogeneous QoS and SLA management, and receiver-initiated differentiated services. The proposed research will answer many key questions pertaining to DiffServ multicasting, which will enable QoS multicasting over the Internet a reality.