Application-level control of IP networks: IP beyond the Internet

The Internet today can be compared to a road system that is freely accessible to everyone with a car. Traffic jams are the inevitable consequence. Traditional switched telephone networks, on the other hand, can be compared to railways, which have limited access to tracks, resold (or even reserved) seats, and limited or nonexistent traffic jams. Delays and cost are predictable. The Internet, with its increasing importance for telecommunications and business, can no longer afford unpredictable traffic jams. The convergence of voice and data on a single packet-based network imposes stringent requirements for quality of service (QoS), stability, billing, and security. Therefore, the Internet must conform to basic rules that govern traditional telecommunication infrastructures as well as accommodate new, flexible business models beyond the present free-for-all that address regional market differentiation and local regulation. This paper describes a network architecture that allows today's Internet to evolve in a way that permits more flexible business models and differentiated policies. Networks are modeled as separate domains, each with its own set of transport services, policies, and QoS mechanisms within an autonomous business framework. This architecture combines elements of both telecommunication and data networks: it is Internet protocol (IP) based but without the business constraints imposed by the Internet today.