How Quality of Outcome captures important aspects of network quality that other metrics ignore
September 6, 2024
In the digital age, where applications from video conferencing to online gaming hinge on network performance, understanding network quality is crucial for network engineers and everyday users alike. Enter Quality of Outcome (QoO), a pioneering metric designed to transform how we perceive and evaluate network quality.
Why QoO matters
Traditional network metrics like bandwidth and latency tell part of the story, but they fail to predict how well applications will perform in real-world conditions. QoO fills this gap by focusing on the likelihood that your network will meet specific application requirements—essentially predicting how well your applications will run based on current network conditions.
Quality attenuation: The backbone of QoO
At the heart of QoO lies the concept of Quality Attenuation. This metric provides a nuanced view of network performance by combining latency and packet loss into one comprehensive measure. It reflects the probability that a network will meet an application's needs, thus providing a more accurate forecast of application performance than traditional metrics. Quality Attenuation has solid theoretical foundations in the mathematical field of process algebra and has been widely used in practical applications.
How QoO works
QoO operates by first defining what good performance looks like for any given application. This is done by setting benchmarks for different network performance metrics like latency and packet loss at various percentiles. For instance, a video streaming service might specify that 90% of data packets should arrive within 100 milliseconds to avoid buffering.
The framework then measures current network conditions and compares these measurements to predefined requirements. This comparison yields a simple, user-friendly probability score indicating the likelihood of the network supporting the application effectively—say, "a 93% chance of lag-free video streaming."
2 Quality Attenuation for design of the Cardano blockchain
3 A history of Quality Attenuation
QoO presenting application performance during a Microsoft Teams call in a way everyone can understand.
The user-centric approach
In addition to capturing short-lived network problems that other metrics tend to ignore, QoO has a uniquely user-centric approach. Instead of inundating users with technical jargon and complex metrics, it provides a straightforward probability score. This score tells users precisely what they want to know: Will my application run smoothly?
Benefits across the board
For end-users, QoO demystifies network quality, offering a clear indication of what to expect from their internet service in terms of application performance.
Application developers gain a powerful tool to articulate and test network requirements, ensuring their applications deliver optimal performance.
Network operators can utilize QoO and the composability of Quality Attenuation to pinpoint and troubleshoot network issues more effectively, ensuring consistent service quality and maximum return on investment in network resources.
Regulators can define network service levels that are suitable for specific use-cases, like work-from-home or telehealth. A certain capacity in Mbit/s does not guarantee good performance for specific applications if latency, packet loss and reliability is left unspecified. QoO is a simple way to specify all of these things, and is therefore uniquely well-suited for specifying per-use-case service levels.
Conclusion
The Quality of Outcome framework represents a significant leap forward in network performance evaluation. By bridging the gap between technical network metrics and real-world application performance, QoO not only enhances user experience but also empowers developers, network providers and regulators to meet and exceed user expectations. With its intuitive approach and robust methodology, QoO is set to redefine the standards of network quality assessment.
In the digital age, where applications from video conferencing to online gaming hinge on network performance, understanding network quality is crucial for network engineers and everyday users alike. Enter Quality of Outcome (QoO), a pioneering metric designed to transform how we perceive and evaluate network quality.
Why QoO matters
Traditional network metrics like bandwidth and latency tell part of the story, but they fail to predict how well applications will perform in real-world conditions. QoO fills this gap by focusing on the likelihood that your network will meet specific application requirements—essentially predicting how well your applications will run based on current network conditions.
Quality attenuation: The backbone of QoO
At the heart of QoO lies the concept of Quality Attenuation. This metric provides a nuanced view of network performance by combining latency and packet loss into one comprehensive measure. It reflects the probability that a network will meet an application's needs, thus providing a more accurate forecast of application performance than traditional metrics. Quality Attenuation has solid theoretical foundations in the mathematical field of process algebra and has been widely used in practical applications.
How QoO works
QoO operates by first defining what good performance looks like for any given application. This is done by setting benchmarks for different network performance metrics like latency and packet loss at various percentiles. For instance, a video streaming service might specify that 90% of data packets should arrive within 100 milliseconds to avoid buffering.
The framework then measures current network conditions and compares these measurements to predefined requirements. This comparison yields a simple, user-friendly probability score indicating the likelihood of the network supporting the application effectively—say, "a 93% chance of lag-free video streaming."
2 Quality Attenuation for design of the Cardano blockchain
3 A history of Quality Attenuation
QoO presenting application performance during a Microsoft Teams call in a way everyone can understand.
The user-centric approach
In addition to capturing short-lived network problems that other metrics tend to ignore, QoO has a uniquely user-centric approach. Instead of inundating users with technical jargon and complex metrics, it provides a straightforward probability score. This score tells users precisely what they want to know: Will my application run smoothly?
Benefits across the board
For end-users, QoO demystifies network quality, offering a clear indication of what to expect from their internet service in terms of application performance.
Application developers gain a powerful tool to articulate and test network requirements, ensuring their applications deliver optimal performance.
Network operators can utilize QoO and the composability of Quality Attenuation to pinpoint and troubleshoot network issues more effectively, ensuring consistent service quality and maximum return on investment in network resources.
Regulators can define network service levels that are suitable for specific use-cases, like work-from-home or telehealth. A certain capacity in Mbit/s does not guarantee good performance for specific applications if latency, packet loss and reliability is left unspecified. QoO is a simple way to specify all of these things, and is therefore uniquely well-suited for specifying per-use-case service levels.
Conclusion
The Quality of Outcome framework represents a significant leap forward in network performance evaluation. By bridging the gap between technical network metrics and real-world application performance, QoO not only enhances user experience but also empowers developers, network providers and regulators to meet and exceed user expectations. With its intuitive approach and robust methodology, QoO is set to redefine the standards of network quality assessment.
