Introduction

Planning for HP-UX IPQoS Deployment

As part of this analysis, you must understand the current factors preventing your organization from achieving its network performance goals. Then you can better understand how to use HP-UX IPQoS policies to achieve improvements in network performance.

•Assess your network traffic. Analyze the baseline data on both your overall network as well as on your HP-UX hosts.

Understand the typical traffic patterns and bottlenecks in the network, including determining which traffic is most sensitive to congestion. Measure response times for critical applications, determine the bottlenecks in response time or performance, and look at the mix of traffic. Gather data over a long enough time period to show the effects of the cyclical realities of your environment. Prioritize among the various types of traffic in the network.

•Review your network topology so that you can plan a strategy for using IP QoS-enabled systems and DS-aware routers. Determine the network resources available for QoS management. Determine if you have the types of devices (hosts and routers) and the capacity on the network to carry out the actions required to meet your business goals.

Decide which systems will be IP QoS-enabled and which routers will be DS-aware. Minimally, you will need at least one IP QoS-enabled system and at least one DS-aware router. If your local router is not DS-aware, then it will pass marked packets on to the next hop without evaluating the DSCP marks. For each DS-aware component, you must plan an IP QoS strategy and map it into policies.

As part of identifying specific resources for IP QoS deployment follow these steps:

1.Determine key connector devices and locate frequently used paths.

2.Know the resources that are the bottlenecks in these paths.

3.Know which adapters (NICs) on these resources you must specifically apply IP QoS mechanisms to.

4.Isolate parts of the network that cause problems or need to be managed.

HP-UX Host Specific Planning Considerations

After examining network wide considerations, analyze HP-UX host specific considerations to help you plan your HP-UX IPQoS implementation.

•Review, classify, and prioritize the outbound traffic HP-UX hosts generate. Determine any groups into which outbound HP-UX host traffic can be divided. Organize these groups into differentiated classes of service by determining appropriate classification, metering and marking behaviors that can then be translated to filter and policy specifications.

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Chapter 1