Networks must provide secure, predictable, and sometimes even guaranteed services in order to maintain a competitive edge. Quality of Service (QoS) refers to a networks ability to provide improved service to selected network traffic over various underlying technologies including Frame Relay, ATM, Ethernet and 802.1 networks, SONET, and IP-routed networks. QoS features provide improved and more predictable network service by providing dedicated bandwidth, reduction of packet loss and other performance degrading events, avoiding and managing network congestion, shaping network traffic, and setting traffic priorities across a network.