A policy based architecture for guaranteed QoS multimedia services

One of the most challenging issues in the deployment of multimedia services with real-time requirements over IP-based networks is the possibility to guarantee a given quality of service to the constituent flows involved in the calls. This requires a strict control by network administrators on the network resources actually available and on the identity and profile of the user requiring the service; moreover, the provision of services with guaranteed QoS involves the deployment of accounting and billing systems synchronized with these network control mechanisms especially in the case of real-time billing applications. The object of this paper is the definition of a framework for the cooperation of all the mechanisms (QoS, session control, policy, billing) that contribute to the deployment of the multimedia services over IP-based managed networks.