Achieving QoS in a Hybrid Cloud Implementation

Quality of service, or QoS, is important when mixing real-time and bulk traffic. Add big data applications and the challenge grows. Let’s look at strategies that we can use to protect real-time traffic in a hybrid cloud environment where end-to-end QoS may not be possible.

I define a hybrid cloud as a combination of an enterprise on-premises cloud system and a remote, vendor-provided cloud system. The on-premises systems typically support either infrastructure or platform delivered in the as-a-service model, while the vendor systems could provide a variety of services (infrastructure, platform, data center, or software). In a hybrid cloud, applications might have components located on premises or externally. An application that has real-time communications requirements between sites should be prioritized over non-real-time traffic.

You may also have a software service, such as VoIP, that has real-time components. Somehow, you must connect your voice endpoints within the enterprise to the voice control system service. Call control services typically have less critical timing constraints than real-time streams going to conference calling services located in a cloud provider’s infrastructure.

No QoS over the Internet

QoS is normally used to prioritize different types of traffic, relative to each other. The process involves classifying traffic by marking packets with either a class-of-service (CoS) or Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) identifier. Once packets are marked, the network uses the embedded CoS/DSCP identifier to perform rate limiting and prioritization for forwarding. Time-sensitive packets get transmitted before less-time-sensitive packets. A QoS design typically has four, eight, or 12 different classes.

Read the rest of the article on NoJitter.

Keep up to date on the latest hybrid cloud technology innovations by attending the infrastructure track of this year's Interop conference.