Al, An ESNET Differentiated Services Allocation System--Aldea Communication, Inc., 7720 El Camino Real, #425, Carlsbad, CA 92009-8508; 760-510-8406
Ms. Susan Estrada, Principal Investigator
Ms. Susan Estrada, Business Official
DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-99ER82831
Amount: $375,000

A management policy is needed for allocating Internet Protocol Quality of Service (IP QoS) among the users of DOE's ESnet (Energy Sciences Network) and for deploying that policy into bits per-second. This project will develop a software program, structured as a policy management tool, to allow less sophisticated network personnel to intelligently configure their IP QoS using human policies. Phase I demonstrated the concept of translating human policy into QoS policies. Design information was gathered from the literature as well as from QoS researchers and standards bodies. The findings narrowed the design of the policy management tool. The Phase II project will further develop software to transform human policy information into data that can be formatted into network-ready policy information. The software structure will include a wizard feature to simplify the translation of human policy to QoS-speak, a relational database to translate that policy into accurate and useful configuration files for improved network operation, an input interface component, and an output interface component.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The target market for this software product is enterprise internets and the Internet. The software should provide a sim-ple way to configure various network devices for QoS and to validate what was deployed. Router, switch, and policy server vendors should seek such tools to enhance their IP QoS product lines.