Load-balanced path provisioning for guaranteeing end-to-end QoS in inter-domain networks

Although new applications and services in next-generation networks will lead to the offering of end-to-end QoS guarantees, relatively few studies have explicitly considered the concept of load balancing under the condition of guaranteed end-to-end QoS in an inter-domain network. The load-balanced path-classification (LBPC) scheme described in this paper provides end-to-end QoS guarantees across inter-domain networks and dynamically balances the load in an intra-domain. This scheme extends the path-classification scheme by combining a technique for balancing the load with one for assigning responsibility for ensuring that the guaranteed QoS is provided. Because the interaction between Internet service providers in a non-cooperative environment is considered, non-cooperative game theory is used to identify the optimal operating point of the LBPC scheme. Evaluation of the scheme's performance by applying it to three concatenated network domains showed that the optimal LBPC, “LBPC with Nash equilibrium,” provides the best performance in terms of call blocking probability and utility compared with the most-effort, least-effort, equal-distribution, and Path-Classification scheme with Nash equilibrium policies.