Architecture for Dynamic Protocol-level Adaptation to Enhance Network Service Performance

The paper describes a protocol management architecture to enhance the performance of network service provisioning to clientele. In our model, a service provider (SP) maintains multiple protocol modules to exercise the infrastructure resources, with each protocol exhibiting a certain degree of cost optimality in distinct operating regions of the network infrastructure. During run-time, the SP selects one of the protocol modules that can meet the client-requested service obligation against the current resource-level operating conditions. The goal is to offer a sustained access to the service with a resource-optimal and QoS-compliant service offering. Accordingly, the protocol selection by SP needs to consider the tradeoff between `service sustainability' and `resource optimality' in various operating regions of the network. Often, a robust protocol is less efficient in infrastructure resource usage, and vice versa. Our model allows a `dynamic switching' from one protocol module to another at run-time based on the changing resource conditions. The paper describes `protocol switching' as an architectural foundation for building cost-effective network services. A sample network service: adaptive `content distribution network', is also described along with a simulation study