QoS
Also known as: Quality of Service
QoS (Quality of Service) prioritizes certain network traffic so time-sensitive applications keep working reliably even when the connection is busy.
Network equipment normally treats all data packets the same way, forwarding them in the order they arrive. QoS (Quality of Service) deliberately breaks that rule: certain kinds of traffic get forwarded ahead of others when a link is busy, instead of simply competing on a first-come basis. It exists because not every application tolerates delay equally well.
A classic example is IP telephony running alongside large file transfers: a voice packet that arrives a tenth of a second late shows up as a dropout or robotic-sounding audio, while a backup that takes a second longer goes completely unnoticed. With QoS rules, voice packets get tagged at the router or switch and forwarded ahead of the queue, while the large file transfer waits for capacity to free up.
A common misunderstanding is that QoS creates additional bandwidth. It doesn't — QoS only reorders existing capacity by priority. If the internet connection is simply too small for daily demand, QoS can at best keep the most important applications stable a little longer, but it doesn't solve the underlying capacity problem.
What it means in practice
For a business running IP telephony, video calls, or other time-sensitive applications alongside regular traffic, QoS is worth setting up once calls noticeably break up during large downloads or backups. NDVDL configures QoS rules as part of network projects for businesses in Vienna, Lower Austria and Slovakia based on the applications actually in use.
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