Since their development in the early 1970\u27s, the underlying function of IP routers has not changed - they still support a best effort delivery method in order to pass frames from source to destination. With the advent of newer, bandwidth intensive Internet-based services and applications, such as video conferencing and telemedicine, many individuals wonder if the current approach to routing is the most practical. The Internet needs to provide quality of service ( QoS ) as predictably as conventional circuit switching networks. Although some QoS capabilities in an isolated environment have been demonstrated, providing end-to-end QoS at a large scale across the Internet remains an unsolved problem [1]. The alternative to the traditional method of IP routing is a concept known as flow-based routing, whereas traffic is sent across the network as part of a common flow, rather than individually inspecting each packet. As part of this thesis, the differences between flow-based routing and the current standard of IP routing will be investigated. There are many benefits to be had from routing based on flows, for both routers and applications. Some research has already been done on specific aspects of flow-based routing, but because the concept is so cutting-edge, resources are scarce. This study delves into the benefits and obstacles of flow-based routing, and analyzes characteristics such as practicality and security, along with the benefits of this model
