Highlights:
- Grid is aware of different application types and traffic classes, and understands how network metrics like latency, jitter and bandwidth affect their performance.
- This awareness, combined with dynamic routing, allows it to maintain performance even as conditions change.
- Grid helps customers maximize their existing connectivity while delivering the connectivity experiences end-users expect.
Delivering connectivity to remote sites is tough. When those sites are also moving, with constantly changing application and data demands, the task becomes exponentially more challenging. What’s needed is orchestration that’s smart, adaptable and able to respond in real time to changing environments. That’s exactly what Quiva Grid was built for.
Grid is an AI-powered network management solution designed to optimize Quality of Experience (QoE) at the edge—whether on an aircraft, a ship or an offshore platform. It surveys a site’s network environment every 500ms and makes routing decisions every 50ms—continuously tuning performance based on live conditions.
In our last Grid blog, we explored how the decision engine behind Grid works at scale. A key part of that engine is its ability to intelligently allocate different application types and traffic classes across different links. But what are application types? Why do traffic classes matter? And how do they influence Grid’s routing decisions?
Let’s take a closer look at application types and traffic classes and how they factor into Grid’s approach to optimizing QoE.
Application Type Explainer
Network traffic can be categorized into several different buckets based on the type of application that generates the traffic. The application types commonly used by Grid are:
- Web - browsing to a website such as Wikipedia or Amazon
- Streaming - streaming content from Netflix or YouTube
- Collaboration - video or voice calls like Zoom or WhatsApp
- File Transfer - downloading app updates or or accessing file shares like Google Drive
- Corporate - traffic on the corporate network
A single device, such as a phone or laptop, can run many applications at the same time, each with different connectivity requirements. For example, one individual might scroll social media while on a WhatsApp call—and at the same time, their phone is running app updates in the background. Each of these applications depends on different network metrics, so even when all traffic shares the same link, limited bandwidth or high latency can cause the user to experience each application differently.
The chart below shows the importance of network metrics and bandwidth availability on the performance of the different application types.
On fixed terrestrial networks, link attributes are very stable. Over non-fixed links, and especially where one end of that link is in motion (e.g., a ship, plane, etc.), the link attributes can vary significantly. Grid’s ability to route based on application type and dynamically reroute traffic when links change ensures that it can deliver even in the most challenging network environments.
Traffic Classes Explainer
Because of where Grid sits in the network, it can identify the different types of application traffic generated at each site. Using the application types above, customers have the ability to create and customize traffic classes as needed - such as crew streaming, passenger basic streaming, passenger premium streaming, etc. - with Grid supporting up to 40 different traffic classes.
Grid’s decision engine understands how each traffic class responds to conditions such as jitter, latency, packet loss and bandwidth constraints, and the priority assigned to the traffic. Using that data alongside granular link metrics, Grid dynamically routes traffic to the links best suited for each application—continually optimizing QoE at the application level.
But just because one link is ideal now, doesn't mean it will be later. To account for this, Grid surveys the network every 500 ms and dynamically adjusts as network conditions change to maintain optimal QoE. It is also aware of traffic priorities, ensuring that the highest priority applications always have access to the best-performing links during periods of congestion. This protects the QoE of critical applications and users, even in the event of limited or restricted bandwidth.
Grid in Action
More bandwidth doesn’t always mean better QoE. Grid recognizes application types and their unique networking requirements to make full use of existing connectivity and maximize performance. By pairing application types with traffic classes, it protects critical use cases and delivers consistently high-quality user experiences—even in remote or challenging network environments.
Interested in learning more about Grid? Watch our Grid explainer video below and contact us for a demo: https://www.quvia.ai/contact-us.
