QoS Aware Path Protection Schemes for MPLS Networks

Uninterrupted transmission in case of failure is a major concern in MPLS based networks, and path protection is an effective method for this. Existing approaches towards path protection include local and global path protection. However, they provide fixed solutions and cannot be adapted to QoS and resource constraints for various kinds of traffic. In this paper, we introduce a new approach, “segment” based path protection, which provides efficient recovery from failure and guarantees QoS (like end-toend delay, jitter) even after failure. We develop a resource-efficient algorithm which provides Segment-based protection for a given primary path, which guarantees an upper bound on the switch-over time. The protection configuration can also adapt to various QoS constraints, hence availing flexibility to the network administrator. We also present simulation results which show that Segment-based algorithms perform well in comparison to existing schemes in terms of resource reservation and assurance of QoS.