National security/emergency preparedness and the next-generation network

National security/emergency preparedness (NS/EP) requires-effective communications supporting leadership and key staff in their access to information and their coordination of decisions. Results of testing voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) as a next-generation network (NGN) application are presented and illustrate that effective NS/EP support is at risk during congestion possible in events requiring NS/EP services. The results also demonstrate substantial benefit of mitigating the risks with the types of differentiated service capabilities currently being advanced within the Internet engineering task force (IETF). The test results are shown to align with predictions from event simulation. Extending the event simulation to a more complex topology and application arrangement than those tested in the laboratory suggests the feasibility and means of ensuring effective NS/EP support