CoS Rule Classification

Classification is the process of finding the first matching rule that defines a CoS (Class of Service) for an incoming packet. The order of classification is as follows:

1. Use the CoS assigned by the first role rule matched by the packet that explicitly assigns a CoS.
2. If no CoS found, use the default CoS of the Role.
3. If still no CoS found, use the default CoS of the WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) (for non-auth role).

For inbound traffic, classification is done at the AP (if AP Filtering is enabled), otherwise it is done at the controller. For outbound traffic, classification is always done at the controller.

The Rule that assigns authorization (Access Control) may not be the same rule that assigns CoS. Therefore, up to two passes are made through the policy rules for each packet. If the first pass results in the packet being allowed a second pass will take place to classify the packet for CoS.

• The first pass looks for authorization (allow, deny).
• The second pass classifies and assigns the CoS.

The number of rules reported to Policy Manager are limited to the number of rules allowed on the controller. On the controller, a single rule can contain different classification types whereas for Policy Manager this rule may be split into several rules. For example, if a rule defines an IP source address and also a ToS value, then this rule would be split into an IP type and a ToS type. Rules exceeding the limit after splitting will be dropped.