Minimizing the overhead in implementing flow-aware networking

An enhanced flow-aware Internet is arguably a more effective means of ensuring adequate performance than implementing the complex standardized QoS architectures. This flow-aware network would provide flow-level performance guarantees for real time and data applications by implementing per-flow fair queueing and by limiting the impact of overload through flow level admission control. The paper discusses the feasibility of the implied router mechanisms and proposes original solutions that minimize the necessary overhead with respect to the current best effort network. Preferred solutions significantly reduce requirements for flow state by employing directly addressed bitmaps to record flow status, as necessary for scheduling and admission control, respectively.