The BCD Forum launched a new initiative aimed at providing a standard way to signal end-to-end delivery requirements of any content or application to the service control mechanisms of the network and server/software systems along the content delivery path. The goal is to develop a fully integrated network model that prioritizes content and ensures its smooth flow through the network from the content creation point to the consumption point.
The BCD Forum Technology Working Group is undertaking an initiative to define a standard set of APIs that, when implemented in network equipment and applications, will allow network content to flow uninterrupted and with the appropriate priority level. The initial focus is to develop a control framework and industry standards for negotiating realistic end-to-end requirements, mapping them to the components of the delivery path, and communicating with the appropriate subsystem controls.
The BCD Forum said the development of "content-to-network" API standards represents an initiative transcending the entire service delivery infrastructure and complements the current standards work of other network or content-specific industry standards bodies such as the DSL Forum, the IETF, MPLS Forum, ITU-T, and W3C.
The BCD Forum will hold its next meeting on March 1-2, 2004 in Miami.
   
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