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Content Overview Customer networks exist to service application requirements and end users efficiently. The tremendous growth of the Internet and corporate intranets, the wide variety of new bandwidth-hungry applications, and convergence of data, voice, and video traffic over consolidated IP infrastructures has had a major impact on the ability of networks to provide predictable, measurable, and guaranteed services to these applications. Providing required quality of service (QoS) by properly managing network delays, bandwidth requirements, and packet loss parameters, and still maintaining simplicity, scalability, and manageability of the network, is fundamental to running an infrastructure that serves business end-to-end applications. Cisco IOS software offers a portfolio of QoS features that enables customer networks to address voice, video, and data application requirements. Cisco AutoQoS dramatically simplifies QoS deployment by automating Cisco IOS QoS features for voice traffic in a consistent fashion and leveraging the advanced functionality and intelligence of Cisco IOS Software. Cisco AutoQoS provides the user with a simple, intelligent command-line interface (CLI) for enabling campus LAN and WAN QoS for Voice over IP (VoIP) on Cisco switches and routers. The network administrator does not need to possess extensive knowledge of the underlying network technology (PPP, Frame Relay, ATM, ATM to Frame Relay internetworking), required QoS service policies, or link efficiency mechanisms needed to ensure voice quality and reduce latency, jitter, and packet drops. Web Links Cisco AutoQoS Customer Presentation
http://www.cisco.com/application/vnd.ms-powerpoi nt/
en/us/guest/tech/tk759/c1482/ccmigration_09186a00
80133fd7.ppt Cisco AutoQoS White Paper
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk543/tk759/
technologies_white_paper09186a00801348bc.shtml Configuring QoS
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/
ps5528/products_configuration_guide_chapter09186
a00802113d0.html

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Content 5.1 Introducing Cisco AutoQoS 5.1.1 Cisco AutoQoS Major enterprise QoS challenges include those pictured in Figure :

• Voice quality for IP telephony applications
• Guaranteed bandwidth for mission-critical applications
• Simpler QoS deployments (reducing operator errors)
• Inexpensive QoS deployments (reducing costs)
• Fast QoS deployments (reducing deployment time)

Cisco AutoQoS automates the deployment of QoS policies in a general business environment, particularly for midsize companies and branch offices of larger companies. As summarized in Figure , Cisco AutoQoS offers several benefits including the following:

• Cisco AutoQoS incorporates value-added intelligence in Cisco IOS software and Cisco Catalyst operating system software to provision and manage QoS deployments.
• Cisco AutoQoS protects business-critical data applications in the enterprise to maximize their availability.
• Cisco AutoQoS provides QoS provisioning for individual routers and switches, simplifying QoS deployment.
• Customers can implement the QoS features required for voice, video, and data traffic without an in-depth knowledge of the underlying technologies (PPP, Frame Relay, ATM, service policies, and link efficiency mechanisms, such as link fragmentation and interleaving [LFI]).
• Cisco AutoQoS simplifies QoS implementation and speeds up the provisioning of QoS technology over a Cisco network. It reduces the potential for human error and lowers training costs.
• Cisco AutoQoS creates class maps and policy maps based on Cisco experience and best-practices methodology. AutoQoS, in creating the QoS configuration, follows industry standards, such as the differentiated services (DiffServ) model, to achieve an interoperable environment.
• Customers can also use existing Cisco IOS commands to modify the configurations automatically generated by the Cisco AutoQoS, as needed to meet specific requirements.

Automating the Key Elements of QoS Deployment
Figure is a depiction of how Cisco AutoQoS addresses the five key elements of QoS deployment. The following describes these five elements in detail:

• Application classification: Cisco AutoQoS uses intelligent classification on routers, utilizing Network-based Application Recognition (NBAR) to provide deep and stateful packet inspection. Cisco AutoQoS uses Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) for device recognition, helping ensure that the device attached to the LAN is really a Cisco IP phone.
• Policy generation: Cisco AutoQoS evaluates the network environment and generates an initial policy. It automatically determines WAN settings for fragmentation, compression, encapsulation, and Frame Relay-ATM interworking, eliminating the need to understand QoS theory and design practices in various scenarios. Customers can meet additional or special requirements by modifying the initial policy.
• Configuration: With one command, Cisco AutoQoS configures the interface to prioritize critical traffic while still offering the flexibility to adjust QoS settings for unique network requirements. Cisco AutoQoS not only automatically detects Cisco IP phones and enables QoS settings for the port of the phone, it will also disable those QoS settings to prevent malicious activity when you move or relocate a Cisco IP phone.
• Monitoring and reporting: Cisco AutoQoS provides visibility into the classes of service deployed using system logging and Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) traps, with notification of abnormal events (for example, VoIP packet drops). Cisco QoS Policy Manager (QPM) is the QoS monitoring platform, which uses the Cisco intelligent IP network to provide visibility into network operations. You can measure traffic throughput for top applications and service classes. You can also troubleshoot problems with real-time and historical QoS feedback. AutoQoS displays traffic and QoS statistics as line or bar charts, in bits or packets per second, per interface or policy. Cisco QPM enables you to view graphs before and after QoS deployment, tied to traffic filters and policies, as well as results from QoS policy actions.
• Consistency: Cisco AutoQoS policies work together across Cisco devices, helping ensure consistent end-to-end QoS. Cisco QPM enables users to view the following:
  • Statistics matching policies and specific filters, including NBAR application filters
  • Traffic rate before any QoS policy actions, traffic transmitted after QoS policy actions, and traffic dropped (rather than transmitted) because of QoS policy drop actions
  • QoS action statistics: weighted random early detection (WRED), policing, traffic shaping, and queuing