Differentiated services

<p>Differentiated services or DiffServ is a <a href="/facts/Computer_networking/3w5RM99p">computer networking</a> architecture that specifies a mechanism for classifying and managing network traffic and providing <a href="/facts/Quality_of_service/joz9VkUm">quality of service</a> (QoS) on modern <a href="/facts/Internet_Protocol/Qq6VeEal">IP</a> networks. DiffServ can, for example, be used to provide <a href="/facts/Network_delay/JK7jmoJu">low-latency</a> to critical network traffic such as <a href="/facts/Voice_over_IP/5QGBbXYg">voice</a> or <a href="/facts/Streaming_media/4rPhSq0Y">streaming media</a> while providing <a href="/facts/Best-effort_service/W0JBRbtH">best-effort service</a> to non-critical services such as <a href="/facts/Web_traffic/vmR1QQDP">web traffic</a> or <a href="/facts/File_transfer/9qP8HDW8">file transfers</a>.
</p><p>DiffServ uses a 6-bit differentiated services code point (DSCP) in the 6-bit differentiated services field (DS field) in the IP header for packet classification purposes. The DS field, together with the ECN field, replaces the outdated <a href="/facts/Type_of_service/vDrH66oL">IPv4 TOS</a> field.
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Differentiated services open-in-new

Differentiated services