QoS Dashboard: Translation of User Inputs to Networking Strategies

Quality-of-service (QoS) metrics are usually defined in terms of technical parameters like delay, jitter and bandwidth. However, the use or the interpretation of these QoS parameters are rather subjective when it comes to the end user. Oftentimes, the end user finds it difficult to express his desired QoS in such technical parameters though he has a fair idea of what QoS he desires. In this paper, we propose a simple interface, called QoS dashboard, that translates the user inputs to networking parameters that are used by various layers of the protocol stack. The QoS dashboard is primarily meant for tactical network implementation within a military setting of network-centric warfare. We borrow concepts from pricing to show that there is always a cost associated when better QoS is desired. We conduct a case study where we consider the routing strategies in an ad hoc network environment. We show how the user's preferences or priorities translate to network parameters at the routing layer. Depending on the user inputs, the most suitable routing strategy is selected so as to deliver the desired QoS. Ns-2 based simulation results demonstrate how delay, throughput, and network lifetime are affected when the routing strategy is changed