What are the QoS requirements and recommendations for IPv6-based IoT and smart city applications?

1 QoS challenges for IPv6

One of the main challenges for QoS in IPv6 is the heterogeneity and diversity of IoT and smart city applications, devices, networks, and users. IoT and smart city applications can range from critical services such as health care, public safety, and traffic management, to non-critical services such as entertainment, education, and social media. Each of these applications may have different QoS requirements in terms of bandwidth, latency, jitter, packet loss, availability, and security. Moreover, IoT and smart city devices can vary in their capabilities, resources, power consumption, and mobility. Some devices may be constrained by battery life, memory, processing, or connectivity, while others may be more powerful and flexible. Similarly, IoT and smart city networks can involve different technologies, architectures, and protocols, such as wireless, wired, cellular, satellite, mesh, or cloud. Finally, IoT and smart city users can have different preferences, expectations, and priorities for accessing and using the applications and services.

2 QoS mechanisms for IPv6

To address the QoS challenges for IPv6, several mechanisms and techniques can be employed at different layers of the network stack. Traffic classification and marking, for example, involves labeling different types of traffic according to their QoS requirements and characteristics. Utilizing the 8-bit Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) field in the IPv6 header allows routers and switches to apply different policies and treatments to different traffic classes, such as prioritization, queuing, scheduling, or shaping. Traffic engineering and routing, on the other hand, optimizes the path and resources for traffic flows across the network based on their QoS requirements and network conditions. Utilizing the 20-bit Flow Label field in the IPv6 header allows traffic to be assigned to specific flows that are routed along predetermined paths with reserved bandwidth and resources. Additionally, resource reservation and admission control allocates and manages the network resources for traffic flows based on their QoS requirements and availability. Using protocols such as Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP), or its extensions, traffic can request and reserve resources along the path from the source to the destination. Admission control is also employed to accept or reject traffic based on the network capacity and QoS policies.

3 QoS standards for IPv6

In addition to the QoS mechanisms for IPv6, there are also standards and frameworks that provide guidelines and recommendations for QoS in IPv6-based IoT and smart city applications. For instance, IEEE 802.1Q defines the Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) technology which can be used to isolate and prioritize traffic. IEEE 802.11e defines the Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) mechanism, a QoS enhancement for wireless networks based on the IEEE 802.11 family of protocols. IETF 6TiSCH is a framework that defines the Time-Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) mode of operation for low-power and lossy networks, which can be used to support various IoT and smart city applications that require low latency, high reliability, and low power consumption. Allowing for end-to-end QoS across different networks, these standards and frameworks can be integrated with DSCP values in the IPv6 header.

4 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?