Update on QoS, Part 3
 
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In this series on quality of service, or QoS, we're hearing from a couple of LAN equipment vendors to get their take on where the technology is today.
Extreme Networks has long advocated using QoS, but it will also admit that the hype surrounding it got out of hand. The industry is starting to realize what a true QoS implementation entails, says Todd Holley, product manager at Extreme. " I think the reality of QoS is sobering, " he says.
At the same time that QoS - and the related concept of Directory Enabled Network - started to get hyped, companies were going through a huge upgrade from processor-based routers to Layer 3 switches, Holley says.
" Now that the industry is getting over this hangover about QoS, people are asking what all this stuff is really good for, " he says.
In the enterprise, QoS is good for handling stress conditions. It's good for protecting control protocols, to make sure they get through a network even if traffic is high.
The more aggressive goal of automatically managing a network through a set of policies has been put on hold in most enterprises, Holley says.
One upcoming technology that may help is the IEEE 802.1x security standard under development. With that mechanism, network equipment can tell what user is connected to what port on a switch, and can therefore assign the appropriate policies to that user. Crucial to this technology working is support from operating system vendors. While it looks like Microsoft will support it, the question is if Microsoft will support IEEE 802.1x in older versions of its Windows operating system.
Extreme is working on a way around this, with a technology to determine what user is connected without requiring a software agent. That technology is in beta tests now, Holley says.
Next time: Reader feedback
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In addition to writing this newsletter, Jeff Caruso edits Network World's e-mail newsletters from his office on New York's Long Island. If you would like to make suggestions about newsletter format or content, or even just express your opinion on today's topic, you can reach Jeff at jcaruso@nww.com.
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