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  PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DITA Concept//EN" "concept.dtd">
<concept id="GUID-75539D46-4DE9-5522-AC02-FA1BFD465937" xml:lang="en"><title>Network
Characteristics of the QoS</title><shortdesc>This topic describes the concepts of the network characteristics
of the QoS. </shortdesc><prolog><metadata><keywords/></metadata></prolog><conbody>
<p>The Quality of Service (QoS) of any communication network is defined by
the bandwidth, reliability, and latency. The other defining factors such as
coverage, security and interoperability are taken as a provided by the user. </p>
<p>When the demand for the network services increases the network carriers
need a way to share the network resources among the subscribers. Some subscribers
demand a high bandwidth such as streaming video, others require basic characteristics
such as voice telephony and messaging. </p>
<p>The service provider must handle the competing demands and charge for them
appropriately. The service provider needs tools to limit the rate and volume
of the traffic entering and passing through the network. These tools must
adapt to the changes in the environment so that the resources available to
the network are allocated when required. </p>
<p>The QoS determines: </p>
<ul>
<li id="GUID-F8F09EBA-FBCF-5D05-AB95-B6096A628D60"><p>the actual performance
of the network. </p> </li>
<li id="GUID-BD0861C4-FE84-514F-954A-29E4CAC0B90A"><p>the network management
and the distribution of shared resources. </p> </li>
<li id="GUID-B0C51074-0175-5821-B188-ECC70F598F32"><p>the cost of carrying
the traffic so that any level of QoS can be charged at a reasonable rate. </p> </li>
</ul>
<p><note> Any QoS measurement must take a balanced account of all the three
factors. </note></p>
</conbody></concept>