# Quality of Service

Quality of Service (QoS) allows the adapter to send and receive IEEE 802.3ac tagged frames. 802.3ac tagged frames include 802.1p priority-tagged frames and 802.1Q VLAN-tagged frames. In order to implement QoS, the adapter must be connected to a switch that supports and is configured for QoS. Priority-tagged frames allow programs that deal with real-time events to make the most efficient use of network bandwidth. High priority packets are processed before lower priority packets. Microsoft* Windows* XP, Windows Vista*, Windows Server* 2003, and Windows Server 2008 support QoS.

Under Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, tagging is enabled and disabled using the "QoS Packet Tagging" setting in the Advanced tab in Intel® PROSet. Under Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2, tagging is enabled using the "Priority/VLAN Tagging" setting on the Advanced tab.

Once QoS is enabled in Intel PROSet, you can specify levels of priority based on IEEE 802.1p/802.1Q frame tagging.

The supported operating systems have a utility for 802.1p packet prioritization. For more information, see the Windows system help and Microsoft's knowledge base.

| NOTE: The first generation Intel® PRO/1000 Gigabit Server Adapter (PWLA 8490) does not support QoS frame tagging.

`Last modified on 4/22/09 10:46p Revision`