NR: Collaborative Research: DiffServ-Aware Multicast

QoS感知的组应用程序的激增和日益增长的重要性，再加上高速网络的进步，推动了互联网上的可扩展和可部署的组通信架构，算法和协议的需求。这种应用的例子包括按需音频/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。这些应用消耗高网络带宽并要求QoS保证。多播和区分服务（DiffServ）是解决这些需求的两种有效技术。DiffServ试图在Internet上提供可扩展的QoS，而多播的目的是最大限度地提高组成员之间的带宽共享。虽然这些技术具有互补的目标，但它们的共存带来了一些独特的挑战。本研究的目标是开发解决这些挑战的架构，算法和协议。这个合作项目集中在特别是可行的方法区分感知组播解决的关键问题，如可扩展性，组播树的建设和维护，异构QoS和SLA管理，接收端发起的差异化服务。建议的研究将回答许多关键问题有关的DiffServ组播，这将使QoS组播在互联网上的现实。

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.