Hardware Strategies for the Diffserv Network

Typically, customers run IPQoS on servers and server consolidations, such as the Sun Enterprise™ 10000 server. Conversely, you can also run IPQoS on desktop systems such as UltraSPARC systems, depending on the needs of your network. The following list describes possible systems for IPQoS configuration.

• Solaris systems that offer various services, such as Web servers and database servers

• Applications servers that offer email, FTP, or other popular network applications

• Web cache servers or proxy servers

• Network of IPQoS-enabled server farms that are managed by diffserv-aware load balancers

• Firewalls that manage traffic for a single heterogeneous network

• IPQoS systems that are part of a virtual LAN

You might introduce IPQoS systems into a network topology with already functioning diffserv-aware routers. If your router does not currently offer diffserv, consider the diffserv solutions that are offered by Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, and other router manufacturers. If the local router does not implement diffserv, then the router passes marked packets on to the next hop without evaluating the marks.