Quality of Service
Quality of Service (QoS) is a networking concept that refers to the ability to provide different priority levels to different applications, users, or data flows, or to guarantee a certain level of performance to a data flow. It involves managing network resources to ensure that critical applications receive the bandwidth, latency, and reliability they require, often by controlling traffic congestion and packet loss. QoS is essential in environments where network capacity is limited or where certain services (like voice or video) need consistent performance.
Developers should learn and implement QoS when building applications that rely on real-time communication, such as VoIP, video conferencing, or online gaming, to prevent latency and jitter from degrading user experience. It is also crucial in cloud computing, IoT deployments, and enterprise networks to prioritize business-critical traffic over less important data, ensuring service level agreements (SLAs) are met and resources are used efficiently.