Softswitch Multicriteria AnalysisforSoftware Quality based on IPCC ReferenceArchitecture

Quality ofservice (QoS)isdifficult toachieve inmodernvoice overIP(VoIP) systems because software andhardware haveasymbiotic relationship. Thepurpose ofthis paperistopresent ananalysis ofsoftswitch quality thatidentifies wherehigher quality requirements should be enforced whendesigning orevaluating VoIPsolutions. The workisbasedontheinternational standard ISO/IEC9126 andtheInternational Packet Communications Consortium (IPCC)reference architecture. Therefore, itapplies tomost vendors andarchitectures regardless theunderlying tech- nology. Since thesoftswitch isfairly complex andinvolves manysoftware andhardware modules, quality attributes havebeenanalyzed through their functional behavior. This paperprovides softswitch vendors andbuyers withresults thatwill helpthemmakebetter resource allocation decisions andtherefore reduceboththeir capital andoperational expenses.