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Internet Governance Glossary

2

2.11 Quality of service / QoS

Measure of overall network performance that reflects the quality and reliability of a connection commonly seen as the guaranteed minimum level of performance by the users of the network.

Note:

In packet-switched networks like the Internet with its abounding multimedia content and delay-sensitive applications, QoS is affected by various ‘human’ or ‘technical’ factors, resulting among others in the following problems as seen from the point of view of the sender and receiver:

  • Low throughput,
  • Dropped packets,
  • Errors,
  • Latency,
  • Jitter,
  • Out-of-order delivery.