The principle purpose of this diploma work was to test the enhanced functionalities of IP routing, so called "Policy Routing". Policy Routing is used in new types of applications such as Voice over IP or video streaming. Since these applications have completely different requirements of a network than those of normal applications, Policy Routing is becoming irreplaceable.

This documentation is intended to provide greater insight into the complex subject of Policy Routing. In a first step there will be a closer look at the theoretical bases of Policy Routing. Mostly these explanations are based on Cisco technology because on the one hand they are the most widespread products and on the other hand only these types of products from this manufacturer were available for test purposes. In a second step the Policy Routing functionalities which have been presented will be examined and evaluated in extensive practical tests to test their value.

Here are some examples from the task list:

• IP Precedence
• IP Next-Hop
• Cisco Express Forwarding
• NetFlow Policy Routing
• Load Balancing

Because only Cisco products were involved, a certain level of Cisco IOS (Internetworking Operating System) knowledge is necessary. The version of IOS used was 12 or higher.

Since the topic of Policy Routing is constantly developing , this document cannot be seen as a final report, but indicates what is possible at the moment using Cisco technologies in the field of Policy Routing.